Your Commute Alternatives During the BART Strike

Photo by Thomas Hawk

BART workers are going on strike Friday morning. If you must come into or move around San Francisco, instead of working at home in your sweatpants, here are your commuting options during the strike.

For a summary of all transit options, go to the 511.org Alert page. Here’s a handy resource guide for all transit agencies, including carpool options.

AC Transit

AC Transit won’t be striking Friday, so check your AC Transit options before you head out the door.

Weekday strike charter bus service

BART has limited bus services during the peak commute period. There will be 5-15 buses at each station during the weekday, according to  BART.gov.

This service will operate in the commute direction only. That means buses will go to San Francisco in the morning and to the East Bay in the evening for round trip ticket holders only. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis in the morning at the nine East Bay stations. People without those round trip tickets from the morning will not be allowed to board in San Francisco to return to the East Bay in the afternoon/evening.

Pick up and drop off points:

• In the morning, you can be picked up at the El Cerrito del Norte, West Oakland, Concord, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Dublin/ Pleasanton, San Leandro, Hayward, and Fremont stations to go directly into San Francisco from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.. The charter buses will be dropping passengers off at the San Francisco Transbay Terminal (loading zone located at Howard Street between Fremont Street and Beale Street).
• In the evening, the charter buses will pick up passengers from the Transby Terminal from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.  These buses will transfer at west Oakland, where you can board transfer buses to continue to the other BART stations listed above.

Weekend strike charter bus service:

• BART will have 3 buses at each of these same 9 stations and will offer limited round trip direct service into San Francisco in the morning and then back in the afternoon/evening on Saturday from 6 a.m. – 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. – 6 p.m, and on Sunday from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
• While the West Oakland station is a pick up location in the morning other buses will not transfer at West Oakland during the morning commute into San Francisco.
• All morning service is DIRECT to San Francisco; you can’t get to West Oakland in the morning from the outer stations.
• In addition, while the morning hours begin at  5am, they may end early if the buses become full earlier. Most buses will transfer at West Oakland during the afternoon/evening commute. Please consult bart.gov after 3 pm for an update on charter bus service for the following day.

Sam Trans

SamTrans buses will stop at all San Mateo County BART stations, while Caltrain service will stay on a normal schedule.
Caltrain officials said if trains reach capacity, more service may be added, if possible.

San Francisco Bay Ferry
The San Francisco Bay Ferry will operate 12 boats instead of its usual eight during the week. Two of the boats are on loan from the Golden Gate Ferry, which is running on a regular schedule from Marin County into San Francisco.

Muni
There are a number of Muni routes, including buses, light-rail, and streetcars, that run along the BART corridor. Try 511.org’s Trip Planner or Google Maps (transit) for your best alternative to BART. SFMTA also posted alternatives.