Measuring my options to reach the SF airport
One of the hardest things for me, when in a new country, is to understand how public transportation works and if the taxis are worth it (i.e. whether the higher price you pay is not that much, given the effort you will "pay" to get to your destination with the bus for example).
My flight is Saturday 16:00, from San Francisco to Paris. I remember that I arrived from SF airport to Market St. by the BART, but I have no memory of the station I disembarked at. I am staying some blocks below Market and 3rd St.
I was lucky enough to not use any means of transportation after that BART ride from the airport, so I have no clue.
What are my options to reach the SF airport from there, and a rough approximation about the price?
Remarks:
- In some countries, you have to switch lines when you use the subway, to get to the correct one that will get you at the airport. I would rather avoid that, since I will have one luggage, one hand-luggage and the laptop bag. I am not sure if BART that goes to the airport is accessible from every underground station I see in Market St. .
- My Greek phone will not work here, and is also very old (imagine it like an old classic Nokia if you want), so if something needs electronic interaction, I can only use my laptop, before leaving the house.
Edit:
By asking, you go to the city, as the Romans(?) said, but there is some heat where I stay now with Airbnb, that's why I am asking for help here... :/
Best Answer
So, I'll preface and say that if all else fails, just ask someone, like the staff at your hotel or someone on the street. People will generally be very helpful.
That said, here's a station map of the BART:
As you can see, all the BART train lines share a lot of the same stations on the San Francisco side, but you will want to be on the Yellow line that heads toward San Francisco International Airport/Milbrae.
Where you are in the city (near Market Street), you should be able to go into any BART station and take the yellow line toward the airport.
Finding the Closest BART Station
The BART site has a directions page that lets you find directions to the nearest.
Alternatively, you can use Google Maps to find the closest BART station by asking for directions to San Francisco International Airport via public transit. It will give you walking directions to get to the nearest BART station.
Cost of BART Trip
This depends on what station you're taking, but the fare is probably going to be something like $9 USD.
You can also calculate the fare on BART's Fare Calculator page.
Alternative Options
I'd recommend the BART, overall - it's less susceptible to traffic compared to taking something like an Uber or taxi, and it's also fairly easy to navigate.
However, since you want more options:
Uber (or Lyft) - According to my Uber fare estimate, it will cost something between $25-35 to get from downtown SF to the airport. UberPool (a shared version of Uber if you managed to get one) would make it more like $20 USD. I'd recommend this option as an alternative to BART, and they will pick you up where you are.
Regular taxi - Taxis are generally more expensive than Uber/Lyft for getting to airports, so I'd say a taxi from downtown SF to SFO (the distance is ~23 km or so) is probably $45-50 USD.
Bus - I have only ridden buses in San Franciso once, so I'm not very familiar with them. However, the SamTrans bus system has buses that will go through SFO. Cost is $4 USD.
Private shuttle - There are companies like GoLorries that allow you to book private shuttles (shared or individual) that go from downtown to SFO. For shared rides, the cost is typically around $17-20 USD. I don't have experience with these, and they may require you to go to specific locations for pick up.
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San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to San Francisco: 5 Transportation Options (2019)
More answers regarding measuring my options to reach the SF airport
Answer 2
The question seems to be specific to a particular time in a particular place, but here are more generalized suggestions:
Google Maps and IOS Maps have public transit information for some cities. Often Google will tell you the cost (I do not know whether it is accurate). Google pretends to have more flexibility, but when you change the date you want to travel, it still shows you the next one from "right now."
Rome2Rio: if you can get it to accept the address of your destination as the starting point, and someplace far away as the destination, it will give you an estimate on taxi to the airport. Again, I do not know whether the price is correct.
Answer 3
I don't know if this should be an answer or a comment but just to add to what @birryree and @Zach Lipton said about BART. Just to warn you, they are fixing a part of the track between the Glen Park and Daly City stations so it will take a little longer to get to the airport if you're traveling to the airport on one of the weekends there is construction.
Answer 4
On this particular Saturday, I would not recommend BART because they are maintaining the tracks between Glen Park and Daly City stations (@OP they're two stations between downtown SF and SFO). Bart has set up a free bus bridge between the two stations, and anticipates delays of up to 60 minutes for all trains that go through the area.
In my experience, the most cost efficient (only 4 bucks), and sometimes time efficient, way of getting from downtown SF to SFO is the Sam Trans KX or 292 bus routes. KX only runs on weekday commute hours. 292 runs all days. There are stops along Mission St., (parallel to and one block south of Market) and takes an hour.
The main benefit of taking 292 and KX, IMO, is there are 4 stops at SFO: 1 on each of the international terminals and 2 near the domestic terminals. You can just hop off at your terminal. The SFO Bart station is at International Terminal G, and up to 15 minutes walking/Airtrain ride away from the other terminals.
When that time is factored in, the bus drive time is not as noticeable. However, the 292 is not advised if you have more that 1 check in luggage, and it may have one or two (usually quiet) homeless people on it.
Edit 9/21/2016. Bart has finished maintenance so there are no scheduled delays between SF and SFO.
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