Be Green, Save Money: Catch a Ride on Public Transport!
Perhaps like many of us in this new fuel-conscious era, you’ve considered exploring the other, wild side of getting around the Bay Area: public transportation.
Maybe, you’ve even considered challenging yourself by giving up your car one day a week or more. However, is that even realistic given the current structure of public transportation in this area?
The truth is that public transportation in the Bay Area is not at the level of what it should be for a metropolitan area of this size—consider the ease with which one can get around London or New York. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t alternatives to taking to the freeways and burning up more gas in your tank.
If you’re lucky enough to be located in the North Bay (San Francisco and Oakland areas), you’re at an advantage. This is probably the best place to get around easily. Commuters move around the city and/or between Oakland and San Francisco via ferry, rail, bus, cabs, shuttles and more. When you factor in your savings on gas and parking, it’s a no-brainer for many to skip the car altogether and head for SF Muni.
Those who are in the South and East Bay are less fortunate, as the number of accessible, connected public transit systems are just not as available. Still, you can get to and from downtown San Jose, avoid high parking fees, and connect to some of the adjacent communities via VTA’s light rail. To see just how easy or difficult it is to make it to work via VTA, check out their web site at http://www.vta.org/. In the East Bay, BART and the Capital Corridor Rail service offer commuter service to outlying communities, as does ACE (Altamont Commuter Express.)
If you’re heading up the Peninsula, consider Caltrain which provides good rail service from Gilroy to San Francisco. Though for many, the distance to and from the rail stops can be daunting. Many businesses today have connector shuttles, while other commuters prefer bringing their bike with them to make the journey shorter.
When you do decide to make the plunge and go “public,” even if for just one trip, a great resource is the San Francisco Bay Area Transit information site which offers new transit trip planning software that includes at-a-glance summaries of multiple trip options, giving you the best route, closest location, fees and more. So go ahead, be brave and jump on the light rail. Your wallet and our environment will thank you for it.
