Public Transit in the city of San Francisco: How do you rate it? (Richmond: lease, house)

[Rwarky]

How would you rate the public transportation system in San Francisco (city proper), is it good or bad? How reliable is it? Is it a good city to live in without owning a automobile? Additionally, how good is public transit in this city in comparision to other U.S. cities?

[ImRandy]

Depends on where in the city you are and where/when you're trying to go. For most of the city I think it isn't very good and it's easier to get around with a car.

[Rwarky]

Originally Posted by ImRandy

Depends on where in the city you are and where/when you're trying to go. For most of the city I think it isn't very good and it's easier to get around with a car.

What about parking fees and parking space?

[absurd_planet]

San Francisco has by far some of the best public transportation options provided in the United States. Only Boston, NY, and several other cities on the east coast have the such an extensive network. On top of that everything is close together. It is absolutely easier to get around in most areas of san francisco without a car. Parking being the number one reason.

[matt345]

Compared to most American cities, San Francisco has excellent public transit. IMO, the only US cities with better mass transit are NYC, Boston, DC, Chicago, and maybe Philadelphia. However, the effectiveness of SF transit has more to do with the compact nature of the city, rather than the extensiveness of the system. There are major holes in the MUNI rail system and filling those gaps with buses only 'works' (relatively speaking) because of the city's small size. A "complete" rail system would require something going through Richmond and at least some kind of North-South route (and no the Central Subway is not nearly enough).

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by Rwarky

How would you rate the public transportation system in San Francisco (city proper), is it good or bad? How reliable is it? Is it a good city to live in without owning a automobile? Additionally, how good is public transit in this city in comparision to other U.S. cities?

It's GREAT, I loved MUNI, the #38 Bus ran a half block from my house and I could be downtown in 15 minutes. I often wondered why I bothered to keep a car, it cost a fortune to keep there. I could take the bus to Trader Joes or walk to the Butcher Shop or Produce Market. Actually much of the time I would pick up affordable take out. My wife and I joked about not needing a Car or a Refrigerator. My Medicare Card allowed me to to ride around town all day for $1. Where in the city are you planning to live?

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by Rwarky

How would you rate the public transportation system in San Francisco (city proper), is it good or bad? How reliable is it? Is it a good city to live in without owning a automobile? Additionally, how good is public transit in this city in comparision to other U.S. cities?

Horrible. Very Slow. Overcrowded. Ok during business hours,sporadic service evenings and Sundays. I have had friends tell me they waited for an hour for a number 23 bus in the evening. Frequently you can wait a very long time for a bus,then see a very overcrowded jammed bus pull up,followed immediately by one or two near empty buses.

Other cities have printed bus timetables and adhere to a schedule. In SF they just say every 10 minutes or every 15 minutes and they do not have printed schedules.

You could live without a car in SF if you live near the Muni train lines which are a lot faster than the buses. An example of a good spot to live without a car in SF is around 16th & Dolores. From here you are 3 blocks from Church St. Station. You can easily access all the Muni lines(J,K,L,M,N & T) near this location so you can go to a lot of places. You are also 3 blocks from the 16th St. Bart station to give you fast access to more places.

If you are in Richmond along the Geary corridor the 38 bus has very frequent service to downtown however to go other places in the city like the Mission,Noe Valley,Haight St. or Stonestown will involve waiting for a 2nd transfer to another very slow overpacked bus.

[misscassandra]

Originally Posted by capoeira

Horrible. Very Slow. Overcrowded. Ok during business hours,sporadic service evenings and Sundays. I have had friends tell me they waited for an hour for a number 23 bus in the evening. Frequently you can wait a very long time for a bus,then see a very overcrowded jammed bus pull up,followed immediately by one or two near empty buses.

Other cities have printed bus timetables and adhere to a schedule. In SF they just say every 10 minutes or every 15 minutes and they do not have printed schedules.

You could live without a car in SF if you live near the Muni train lines which are a lot faster than the buses. An example of a good spot to live without a car in SF is around 16th & Dolores. From here you are 3 blocks from Church St. Station. You can easily access all the Muni lines(J,K,L,M,N & T) near this location so you can go to a lot of places. You are also 3 blocks from the 16th St. Bart station to give you fast access to more places.

If you are in Richmond along the Geary corridor the 38 bus has very frequent service to downtown however to go other places in the city like the Mission,Noe Valley,Haight St. or Stonestown will involve waiting for a 2nd transfer to another very slow overpacked bus.

Agreed. It depends on your exact location. I lived on Fillmore and Eddy and never needed a car. I also lived a 10 minute walk away from Geneva and Ocean and it took me 25 minutes to walk to BART in the mornings because the buses were unreliable, so I wouldn't take them.

For the most part you should be just fine, overall it's great and you shouldn't need a car. However; it's still a place where you can own a car and be better off with it than without it, IMO.

When my boyfriend lived in the Sunset, I could either take the #6 bus to work in the morning, which was a 25 minute bus ride plus 15 minute walk to my work; or he could drop me off which was a 10 minute car ride. More often than not I had him take me b/c it was scary to wait for the bus in the dark of the winter morning for this small town girl. In all fairness to the bus, it was always on time and the drivers were very nice.

[uptown_urbanist]

I agree; it depends on where you live and where you're going. I had heard so many glowing things that I think my expectations were too high; it's decent, certainly, and in many parts most people can live easily without a car, but I think it's a bit over-hyped. So... yes, it's good, and yes, it's a great city to live in without a car (which would certainly save you money and the hassles of worrying about parking), but check out the schedules and routes between work, home, and wherever else you think you'll be spending a lot of time before you sign a lease, as if you live in the Inner Richmond and hang out with your friends all the time in the Mission you'll be spending a lot of time waiting for transfers or sitting on stop-and-go buses zigzagging across the city.

[daepro]

In my opinion it is to expensive.