Anyone can get from Silicon Valley to San Francisco for a day of sight-seeing or shopping — no car needed.
Public transportation can be a big boon for teens, especially those who aren’t old enough to drive or can’t afford a car. There are discounted fares for youths and a wide range of destinations, both of which can broaden riders’ horizons far beyond the local strip mall.
The Bay Area boasts some of the best public transportation systems in the country. BART recently was ranked as the No. 1 system in America, based on service and reliability reviews, by the American Public Transportation Association. And Caltrain was recognized by the California Transportation Foundation for improving the operation of its Baby Bullet express service.
So not having access to a car should not be an obstacle for teens who want to travel around the region.
• Getting There
In Santa Clara County, the Valley Transportation Authority operates bus lines through every city, as well as light-rail service from Mountain View through South San Jose. Youth bus riders can buy day passes for $4.50 at any light-rail station or bus depot, or pay $1.50 per ride to the driver.
Gyakunta Favors, a technician at Great America and a regular rider of VTA’s bus and rail systems, can testify to the system’s usefulness.
“The trains and the buses are pretty good, and they’re almost always on time,” Favors said. “The buses go more or less everywhere in Santa Clara.”
VTA connects to Caltrain and BART, so riders can get to the North Bay easily. Every Caltrain station between San Jose’s Diridon station and Palo Alto’s downtown station is accessible by bus, and the new Campbell light-rail line will also connect directly to the Diridon station.
VTA also runs an express service that connects downtown San Jose with the Fremont BART terminal. Check the destination of each bus, or ask the driver for the major transfer points for trips outside of Santa Clara Valley.
Ron Ferguson gets around the Bay Area on bus and bike. A frequent rider of both VTA and Caltrain, Ferguson knows the system’s strengths and weaknesses.
“Both trains are reliable and work well for getting around,” Ferguson said. “But they would be faster if they had fewer stops. Caltrain’s express service is really good. It goes from San Jose to San Francisco in less than an hour.”
Although it may not be the fastest way to get there, Caltrain does offer the most direct service to San Francisco. Trains run about every half hour on weekdays and every hour on weekends. The standard trains take about an hour and a half from San Jose to San Francisco, but the trip is rewarding. The seats are soft and comfortable, and the large windows offer an up-close view of green trees and bushes that practically hug the train.
“It’s a fun experience,” said Roman Duvdevany, who rode a recent midday Saturday train for a family outing with his daughter. “It’s cheap and it always comes on time.”
Local service trains stop at regular intervals in San Mateo County. Some of the stations are very close to parks and shopping centers. The passenger coaches are double-decker, allowing riders on the upper level to see areas stretching beyond the stations. As the train approaches San Francisco, bayshore factories and highways give way to the condos and high-rises of the South Beach District. The train ride ends in the heart of downtown, within one block of SBC Park, the home of the Giants, and five minutes by MUNI metro to Embarcadero Center.
• Once you’re there
On game days, the streets around SBC Park are swarming with activity. Follow the crowds and banners with Giants’ names and numbers to get to Willie Mays Plaza. On other days, there is a small concessions and amusement center on the bay-side of the stadium, which offers a view of the field and stands from under the scoreboard. Although it caters mainly to younger kids, it’s still a fun way to see the field and get into the baseball spirit. Embarcadero Center is farther along the waterfront, and can also be reached by MUNI metro.
The youth fare on all MUNI buses and trains is 35 cents for three hours of unlimited travel. This makes it easy to explore the sights around San Francisco, from the bayside teen attractions at Pier 39 to the maritime and historical exhibits in Aquatic Park and the specialty stores in North Beach and Chinatown.
The area north of downtown Market Street is accessible by cable car, which has two routes ending on Market Street. Riding the cable car up steep hills that overlook the bay, with the wind blowing hats off, is as thrilling as a roller coaster ride – and at a fraction of the cost.
For San Francisco residents like Loralei Osborn, public transportation is a way for her and her family to get around the binding traffic congestion. MUNI also offers speedy transportation around the downtown area, where traffic gridlocks almost daily and parking is nearly impossible to find.
“It’s not the most reliable system,” Osborn said, “but nearly all the sights and attractions are accessible by bus or metro. Just be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get around. There’s a lot to do.”
Even a several-block stretch of Market Street offers a lot to do. If you continue to Powell Street, you’ll get to the center of San Francisco’s metropolitan shopping arena. You can enter the Nordstrom complex from the station, or go upstairs to Market Street for other brand-name stores. The Gap’s flagship store has a large selection of teen clothing, while across the street, the Old Navy store offers similar clothes at cheaper prices. Music fans might spend hours at Virgin Records sampling the latest pop albums or across the street at the Apple Store, San Francisco’s center for iPods and their colorful accessories.
Two blocks south is Yerba Buena Gardens. The Metreon cinema complex is there, along with an indoor ice-skating rink, bowling alleys and the Zeum youth arts and tech center. Gamers will find a haven at the Sony store, which carries almost every imaginable PlayStation pleasure. In addition, Yerba Buena Gardens is a relatively safe place to hang out after dark.
BART links San Francisco with the East Bay at Embarcadero station. Through an extensive and far-reaching rail network, San Francisco residents are one jump from the East Bay’s attractions.
Riding BART can be both quick and enjoyable. Most of the BART lines are above ground, which allows riders to see the world whizzing by. From Second Street in downtown San Jose, VTA Express 180 provides direct transit to the Fremont BART terminal and links Santa Clara County with hot destinations like the McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, which connects with the Oakland airport BART station via a concrete pedestrian bridge. This gives riders the advantage of attending A’s and Raiders games without facing the cracked sidewalks of the surrounding industrial back alleys.
BART also goes to one of the more interesting East Bay intersections: Bancroft and Telegraph avenues in Berkeley. This pocket of counterculture looks (and smells) like a scene from the hazy late-‘60s.
From anti-war T-shirts and bumper stickers to exotic jewelry and music, every revolutionary and rebel can find a symbol of self-identity from the street vendors. Follow the southern edge of the University of California, Berkeley campus, past Cal stadium, to get there from the BART station.
While there weren’t many teens riding BART on a recent Saturday afternoon, other Bay Area residents like Greg Thomas have discovered how useful public transit is.
Thomas, who was gently holding his bike, could barely hear over the rumble of the train’s wheels. His hearing aid was tucked under his white hair, which peeked out from under his helmet. This older BART veteran still goes all around the Bay Area on his bike.
“BART is really a wonderful system,” Thomas said. “I like to ride to the end of the line, as far as BART will go, and then bike back. It’s the best way to get around the bay.”
For more information, go to 511.org.