How reliable is SF public transport?

[citylove101]

Whenever I hear of people relocating I always tell them a cardinal rule: Make sure you have at least TWO ways to get to work. I think that's as true in SF Bay area as it is in NYC or DC or Chicago or anywhere. There's nothing worse than having to be at a desk and the only way you have to get there is screwed up because of traffic, police activity, delays, reroutings, bad weather, etc.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical

LoL no delays on Bart. Bart has delays like every week. Parts of lines get shut down do to issues. The tunnel, out in Concord, Fremont off the top of my head that I can remember. Then the regularly scheduled suicides.

Air conditioning malfunctions, filthy , crowded, nasty bathrooms (if the station has them open at all)and unruly passangers.

It's there, but outside of not sitting in a car it is not a particulalry pleasant ride. NYC, LA,Chi, Boston, and DC heavy rail is much more pleasant to ride, IMO

There are all sorts of delays. But they are generally a handful go minutes. The tunnel under the Bay is reliable. The delays mean that it takes 1-3 minutes longer to get under the bay or into the Embarcadero.

I never go as far as Fremont, but they are constructing Warm Springs over there, so there are construction slow downs. And yes, occasional maintenance of sections of track. If BART needs to close a section of track, they do it on the weekend. They closed the track from Fruitvale to the Coliseum for a couple of Saturdays during the summer.

It's not bad in terms of on time performance. Whenever I think to myself OMG BART took forever today, I look at my watch and it was 3-5 minutes longer than normal. Not a problem at all.

The OP didn't ask about crowds and comfort (and yes it is super crowded these days, and the trains are old.)

I do concur about knowing multiple options to get to work though.

[HappyinCali]

I have no problems with Muni. I think if there is a direct route to from point A to Point B, MUNI is great. It becomes annoying if you have to switch and then it becomes long and less predictable. However, it also has great routes - all of the bus lines that go from the richmond area to downtown - 38, 31 and 5 are great. The buses that serve the Marina are also good.

Muni also has these express lines that run 7 am - 9 am and 4 pm - 6 pm, which are amazing. They basically run from downtown to different areas in the city and make NO stops between downtown/area. My wife takes one every day and it takes her 20-25 mins from Outer Richmond to her office building, which is similar to car.

[smarino]

Bart is usually reliable but often packed to capacity, especially during commute hours.

I hate MUNI. Just hate it. The buses were not safe the last time I was in S.F., and when I lived in the city, if I couldn't get to where I wanted to go by Bart, I would walk, take a cab, or not go. You never, ever know when a bus will come, and often, after a long wait, three of them will show up one after the other. They may stop for you, they may not.

Here is the mind set of MUNI. Someone once asked why there were no schedules posted of when the buses would come. The MUNI head honcho was quoted as saying "that would only encourage people to think that was what time the bus should arrive". Duh, that is exactly the whole point of a schedule! What he was saying is that he had no intention of telling the drivers that they had to keep to a schedule. Did you know that MUNI drivers have so many "sick" days each month that they can use by simply not showing up? No phone call, no nuthin. So MUNI never knows exactly how many drivers they will have each day, or on which routes.

The last time I had to go to MUNI to get a form of some kind, there were 4 people behind a window. Two were reading the paper, two were carrying on a loud personal conversation, and the three people I could see at a table behind them were reading. Finally, someone consented to wait on me after tapping on their window for 5 minutes off an on. Unions suck, especially the one at MUNI. So I would say that MUNI is very reliable. It is reliably a huge joke of a transit agency.

[MisterCali]

thanks for the feedback, guys. Another question: what are BART/Muni/public transport like for bike riders? I'm considering a hybrid bike/public transport commute, depending upon where I land up. Is it going to be challenging to get a bike on board during the busiest morning commute times?

[jade408]

Originally Posted by MisterCali

thanks for the feedback, guys. Another question: what are BART/Muni/public transport like for bike riders? I'm considering a hybrid bike/public transport commute, depending upon where I land up. Is it going to be challenging to get a bike on board during the busiest morning commute times?

Muni only supports bikes on the buses, and has 2-3 slots depending on the bus.

BART technically allows bikes at any time, but if you are getting on in the middle of Oakland during peak hours the odds are slim you can get a bike on, unless a few trains pass you. Most likely there is no space, or no one will move to let you use the bike space. Or you get the death stare.

If you want to, your best bet is not to even think about getting on at 12/19/West Oakland. The trains are most likely too packed. Macathur isn't so bad. And before that should be do able. Also, technically you can't take your bike on the escalators, and the station agent will call you out for it during the commute. There are elevators but they are both far, slow and potentially really smelly. So get a bike that won't be too annoying to carry up / down stairs. Sometimes it is a 3-4 floor walk for the underground stations.

The evenings are pretty much a disaster, unless you get on at Civic Center or the Mission. Maybe Powell can work but it is pushing it. Don't even think about it at Embarcadero or Montgomery. The platform is really full, and there is no space at all.

From the Peninsula, or points west on BART, it is much less crowded and it would be fairly easy to get your bike on, but I think those places are not in your budget.

I'd probably recommend you pick a route with an AC Transit line, the buses have anywhere from 2-8 bike slots (the coach buses used on many routes have compartments near the wheels for bike storage beyond the front rack). My bus route usually doesn't have many bikes on it. Occasionally the rack is full, but not often and I am basically the last stop. In the evenings I can't think of a time I have seen more than one bike on my bus. Other routes are different but it is less impacted.

[Maceart]

There's a reason why Uber started out in San Francisco. MUNI's average speeds are 8mph. For a metropolis of 800k sitting on top of a small peninsula, SF should have a world class subway dug around its major neighborhoods. But nope.

BART's reliability is pretty good when compared to other systems in the USA.

Outside of the USA? Bay Area transit reliability ****s the bed. Delays of 1 minute to 2 minutes are unheard of in Tokyo/Beijing/Taipei.