Commute to SF - BART or CalTrain (San Jose, San Francisco: live in, cost)

[kenjikoo]

I got a job offer in SF in the Financial District but I live in San Jose. I am trying to figure out what is the best way to commute to SF.
1. Drive to Fremont and take BART to Powell Station.
2. Drive to Diridon station and take CalTrain to 4th and King. Driving to Diridon will be shorter than driving to Fremont but from the SF Caltrain station I think I need to walk bit to get to my work though (Union Square).

Which way is better? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[HockeyMac18]

Caltrain with a muni connection sounds like a better option to me personally, but only you can determine your tolerance for fighting through traffic.

Either way its two modes of transportation.

[ccm123]

The express Caltrain is an hour ride and BART is about 45 minutes, pretty close. I don't know the parking situation at Diridon station, but parking at Fremont BART is full on weekdays. I would elect the Caltrain ride since you'd have to commute from San Jose to Fremont.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I enjoy riding Caltrain. I loathe riding BART.

So, for me, I'd take Caltrain and figure out how to get to work from the Caltrain station.

[jribe]

i hear better things about caltrain than BART.. have you thought about moving closer?

[jade408]

For me frequency and location trump everything.

It is annoying getting from Caltrain to FiDi. The streets are congested. Muni is very very packed. And Caltrans schedule outside of commute hours sucks. Worst case BART is every 20 minutes.

It you have one express train and you miss it, your ride is 20-30 minutes longer. Caltrain delays can take hours. Bart's are rarely longer than 15 minutes.

Also the Fremont line is one of the emptiest Bart trains during the commute.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by jade408

For me frequency and location trump everything.

It is annoying getting from Caltrain to FiDi. The streets are congested. Muni is very very packed. And Caltrans schedule outside of commute hours sucks. Worst case BART is every 20 minutes.

It you have one express train and you miss it, your ride is 20-30 minutes longer. Caltrain delays can take hours. Bart's are rarely longer than 15 minutes.

Also the Fremont line is one of the emptiest Bart trains during the commute.

The issue here is getting from SJ to Fremont, which is a big wild card. Seems like at least a 25/30 minute drive, and if there's traffic? I imagine that could become a really annoying first round of your commute.

This was why I recommended the Caltrain option.

Muni can be crowded, but BART is a bit overcrowded these days, too (the Fremont line is not that busy, though, as you mention).

I suppose the OP could always try each option out as a trial run to see which is easier.

[ketch89]

If you're able-bodied, the quickest way would definitely be Caltrain + BayAreaBikeShare (or taking your own bike on Caltrain). Yeah, you'd have to deal with a few messy streets, but traffic always moves slowly during commute hours.

[04kL4nD]

I'd go with BART too. It's more frequent/direct of the two options.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by jade408

For me frequency and location trump everything.

It is annoying getting from Caltrain to FiDi. The streets are congested. Muni is very very packed. And Caltrans schedule outside of commute hours sucks. Worst case BART is every 20 minutes.

It you have one express train and you miss it, your ride is 20-30 minutes longer. Caltrain delays can take hours. Bart's are rarely longer than 15 minutes.

Also the Fremont line is one of the emptiest Bart trains during the commute.

For the inbound BART trip in the morning you are virtually guaranteed a seat, but for the return trip it will be standing room only as the trains fill up completely between Hayward and downtown San Francisco. Driving to the Fremont station is annoying as it is extremely far from the freeways, and parking is limited though not impossible. Either way is likely to be about the same, time and cost wise.. about an hour and a half, door to door.