Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lesser city of Berkeley via I-80 by the mammoth Bay Bridge (p. 112) and by the
underwater tunnels of the BART train system. To the south, the city is connected
by land.
GETTING AROUND SAN FRANCISCO
It's fairly easy as long as you're not afraid of public transport. The city—at least,
the parts you're likely to visit—is not too rangy, so even a bus trip will only take
10 or 15 minutes. The trick is knowing which mode to take for your journey,
because different rides head to different parts of town. Fortunately, the cost of
public transportation is always a reasonable $1.50 per trip (unless you take a cable
car), so getting around town won't break the bank.
CAR RENTAL
The one huge mistake a visitor can make is to bring a car downtown. Even locals
aren't so foolish; the tight parking situation is lamentable and expensive. The only
time you should have a car is when you're on your way out of town. If you do have
a car, you'll pay through the nose to park it (about $30-$45 a day downtown)
unless you've secured a motel room with a free parking space (see chapter 3).
If you do drive in the city, be very careful around the cable-car lines—those
carriages are sometimes gravity-powered and are not good at stopping quickly.
Also, be mindful of what your wheels do when you're parked: If you're pointed
uphill, turn the wheel to the left; if you're pointed downhill, turn it to the right.
This way, if your parking brake fails, your car won't roll into the street. This is not
just a suggestion; you'll be ticketed if you don't do it.
BART
BART
(Bay Area Rapid Transit;
%
415/989-2278; www.bart.gov),
aside from look-
ing like a setting for the perfect 1970s disaster movie, is quick and efficient. Trains
come every 15 or 20 minutes, although that figure calculates the arrivals of the
same type of train; in truth, there's a train every 5 or so minutes that will take you
at least down Market Street and then down Mission. Unfortunately, it doesn't go
a lot of other places where you need to go—that's about it unless you need to go
farther afield, say to Berkeley or Oakland. BART operates Monday through
Friday from 4am, Saturday from 6am, and Sunday and holidays from 8am, and
it always shuts down around midnight. Kids ages 4 and under are always free.
Seniors and students can secure discounted tickets, but it involves bringing ID to
the Muni booth at the Powell Street station.
The ticketing system is a pain. You get a ticket by sticking cash into one of the
ticket machines located before the entry gates at every station; the machines won't
give more than $4.95 in change. The trick of buying BART tickets is not over-
purchasing; you load up a magnetized ticket with however much you plan to
spend, and each time you take BART, the proper fare is deducted from your card
(so you always have to keep your ticket handy, because it gets you both in and out
of the system). If you spend too much, you've lost the money. If you spend too
little, you have to go through the hassle of topping off your card with a live per-
son, who is certain to be cranky.
