San Francisco has great public transportation
For some reason, we got to SF with the impression that public transportation here is bad. Even I thought that. But it's completely false. We have found the Bart, Muni, and other lines to cover SF and the Bay Area really, really well. I've already taken countless busses, rides on the Bart, and even the Caltrain a few times.
We've taken public transportation to go out in San Francisco, visit Berkeley, hit the South Bay, go to the airport, take my car in for servicing, and basically run any errands needed.
I think there are a few things that make transportation in SF much different than New York, and you need to know these before you will love it here:
1. You have to use busses here. Maybe this sounds obvious, but at least coming from New York, the mentality is to use subways and light-rails only. Not here. There are tons of bus lines, and you have to utilize them.
2. The transit map sucks. Maybe we just haven't found a good one, but all the ones we see are way too crazy and impossible to navigate. Use the internet, not a paper map (which sucks, i love paper maps)
3. There are so many bus lines, there are a million options for every route. In New York, it was usually fairly clear which route was best. Here, you have to view all the various options, and depending on when you are traveling, pick the best.
4. Google Maps integration of public transportation is *phenomenal* and a really useful resource. But you can't always depend on it, and make sure to use other resources as well.
i. Google maps only shows you the transit options *now* not in the future.
ii. Google only shows you the next 3 options. What if the 4th option is quicker/easier?
iii. Google's times are the bus schedule. Busses don't keep to the schedule. Make sure you use NextBus to actually know what bus is where.
Basically, make sure you double check Google Maps results with TripPlanner and you might find a route that is much quicker or easier. There have been several cases when I looked at a bus map or google maps and it seemed really hard to get from A to B. But some more digging and research and I would find the *perfect* bus.
So this may sound like i'm complaining about San Francisco transit, but it's the opposite. I'm actually very impressed by it, though it just takes a little more work and understanding. Well worth it.
