We used BART for a few days when visiting San Francisco. 1…read moreWhere am I? The BART red line train from SFO to Powell did not have a next station sign or announcement to tell us which station the train is approaching! Info is particularly important for the SFO line, because people arriving at an airport may not be familiar with the layout of the city. Some other trains had a good announcement and displays. 2 Some routes were seriously noisy: in the tunnel approaching Embarcadero from the north, it briefly reached 100 decibels (dBA) and was usually about 92-93 dBA. 3 Several times, we loaded just enough money onto the Clipper card according to the posted fares and then could not exit because we owed an extra 25c! So, the posted fares may have been 25c too low. This must be a recurring issue, as shown because the employee often came up and paid 25c to let us exit.

Unreliable service, and I've been charged twice while at work today for transportation purchases I…read moredidn't make. I called the attendant and they told me that they couldn't find my card information even after typing it in twice. I will have to dispute with my bank tomorrow.

In theory this Free Shuttle that is run by AC transit is a great idea. It could really be a great…read moreservice for those who live in Oakland to be able to get to the downtown Bart stations, Jack London, and to Grand Ave. But unfortunately it's irregular especially in the afternoons. Half the drivers are related to Oscar the Grouch and the Grinch who stole Christmas. And in actuality the shuttle isn't free because Oakland residents have a special assessment on their property tax, requiring us to pay for this unreliable service. As a tax paying Oakland resident, I'd rather stop paying taxes on this service and get rid of it.

This is a free service that runs the length of Broadway, more or less from the amtrak station in…read morejack london square to lake merrit-ish (25th). If you are taking taking the ferry/bart from the city, spending a day near Lake Merritt, Old Oakland, City Center, Chinatown or Jack London Square, this free service allows you to roam up and down downtown length of Broadway fairly easily. There are a dozen or so stops-pretty much located by anything you'd want to go to. There are some flaws. The scheduled time of one bus every 15 minutes doesn't always happen. Most times you are looking at a 20-30 minute wait. It can be super packed, especially the stretch that runs by Chinatown, so it's highly likely you'll be standing or at least sharing a not very comfortable seat most of the way. Some of the drivers are super professional others not so much. Mostly however it's pretty awesome. For one it's free and allows you to easily roam all over downtown Oakland. This makes it easy to bounce down to Chinatown or swans market form the office buildings near lake merrit for lunch or dinner, or a spot of shopping. Handy for getting to jack london square or the amtrak station as well. Perfect for happy hour bar hops. Did I mention the free part? 'Cause that's the best thing evah.

The best way to go to The City for the day! So relaxing and beautiful! So much better than sitting…read morein traffic on the Bay Bridge, then trying to find parking when you get there. It was a lovely sunshiny day. We could see the traffic completely stalled on the bridge. Easy boarding with the Clipper app. Nice cross section of humanity sharing the ride. The ferry has a great dependable schedule so no stress catching the ferry back that night. A nice day playing tourist complete with a Ghirardelli sundae. Can't get better than that!

Date: 6/7/2025 Time: 11:05 AM 59° Cloudy…read more I don't know what happened to my review from almost 12 years ago. I have ridden this ferry in the summer of 2013 when BART went on strike. The ferry was my mode of transportation from Alameda to SF and return. Ahh...quite an enjoyable commute on the weekdays. Even though the fare was more than traveling by BART, my preference was to travel above water than under the San Francisco Bay. On a BART train there is no restroom facility and a snack bar. My evening commute to Alameda was relaxing and mellow with a Kahlua and cream in hand. The Main Street Terminal is about 10 minutes from home. That was such an easy commute home. Arrival time for the ferry was at 11 AM, Alameda. The purpose of my visit was a Juneteenth event in plaza area. The one way trip to SF took almost an hour, but it was well worth it. In quite a distance away, a bunch of us passengers saw a hump back whale. That was quite a sight. I couldn't pull my cell phone fast enough for a photo. It has been several years I boarded at the Main Street Terminal. I believe the one way fare is about $4.70. There will be more ferry rides in the future.

"Oakland city represent, address me as your majesty" - Kreayshawn. Beep beep beep beep. I have a…read morelove hate relationship with what I call the Fremont bus in Chinese. AC transit has been part of my life ever since like 2000 or something. I have only ridden it for 7 years and use it mostly in Fremont, Hayward and Union City. Yes I use it Union City. Crazy of me eh. One thing I find cool is that when I am in Fremont near Lake Liz, I have no issues waiting for any bus nearby. The minimum wait I have is like 10 minutes. If you are well aware of the bus schedules and time your bus stop arrival correctly then you should experience no drama. One thing I dislike is that most buses are in Oakland. If you are waiting for the bus being that it's in Oakland please be aware of your surroundings because some bus stops are in unsafe neighborhoods. If you live in San Leandro please avoid because dangerous people from OAK will target you. Another hit is I love the Giant bus that you see on transbay lines. It's so cool. Only at AC Transit. I pretty much grew up with this transit agency. It was even there in my tough time when I nearly passed out after my ex-girlfriend dumped me. I forgot who the bus driver was but he or she was really calm in making sure my airlift picks me up on time. In Fremont and Milpitas this bus is here to help me stay fit and get my school work done. Warning: Some bus drivers can be very crabby so please do not cause any distractions. Be polite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbW2UK0b7fQ

6/4 Trying to catch…read more18 bus on shattuck and Allston and it's a fucking 16 min wait. Next bus behind is only 5 mins. How does this bunching shit keep happening? Why am I waiting 15 mins for a fucking bus? And this happens all the fucking time. You can't get anywhere fast and it's not reliable So fucking tired of showing up to a stop with a long wait.

After all of these years, the shuttle going from MacArthur BART to Kaiser Oakland and back is still…read morefree. I only use it to go to Kaiser during non-commute hours, so I've never experienced crowded shuttles. In fact, once despite a nearly full shuttle, I've always had a 2-seater to myself. It's quick, efficient, and reliable. And the drivers are always so friendly. I've only experienced one instance of a shuttle breaking down while I was waiting for all the customers to board. But there's always another shuttle, so it was a no brainer to wait for the next one. Thank you, Kaiser, for providing this service!

Okay, I admit that I'm not a Kaiser employee and just use it to get from my apartment to MacArthur…read moreand back. But it is such a convenience that I keep taking them up on the offer of free transportation. In my experience the drivers are super friendly and safe. It also doesn't take long for one to come around, so if you miss your ride, just wait 15 minutes and they'll be back.

I am an Angeleno, who went to visit a friend in Oakland. I wanted to experience San Francisco and…read moremy friend Denise suggested this ferry because it was cheaper than an Uber, more convenient than Bart, departed on time, like impeccably on time, and thus efficient, and in a way, a vacation experience in itself. Thus, I am here writing this Yelp, to describe it as a tourist experience, not as a mode of transportation to San Francisco, which of course it is too, on the daily. It was my first time taking the ferry so I needed instructions. Denise gave me the Clipper card, and one needed it as they enter, and as they exited. That is how the ferry people calculate the cost of the trip. Other than that, it is easy to use, and I found the staff who worked there polite and willing to explain this process to me. So unless one loses the card, then one will likely figure out the way in and out. I have experienced fog. But fog in LA, at least for me, is not a treat of nature. It is a way that nature reminds me to drive more safe or else. Like one time, I was in the freeway, and I was about to exit, and the fog was so thick-- scary thick. I could not see the car in front of me or behind me. As a result, I stopped driving because I was not sure if I needed to stall, or drive in by inch. With hindsight, I know I should have driven inch by inch, but in the moment, my thoughts for action were processing slower than usual because they were piercing the fog of the night. My passenger told me to drive, because if I did not drive we could be hit by another car who did not expect a car in non-movement in the freeway. This was my last vivid memory of fog, being in a freeway, slightly frightened. But, thankfully, the ferry allowed me to see the fog, as lovely, and more importantly, it transported me to Maine, or Avalon, and other places known for thick mist. As the ferry went to San Francisco, I marveled at the bay, in gray. I took care to snap pic to invite the reader to my moment in water, on boat. I saw the sun barely visible. Its own light could not shine through the blanket of gray. As a person, like I said before, who has not been around fog too much the sun looked like an alien point in the sky. I might sounding like a child whose imagination has not learned restraint, but I felt like I had traveled to foreign land and I was witnessing extraterrestrial heavenly bodies in space. Additionally, the water had no blue, it had no turquoise, it was gray, and slow, not still, just calm. The water I knew of beaches and other harbors had age. It had grown and I was visiting it not in a retirement home, not enjoying its golden years, but as it sat in a comfortable chair, resting because it was reflecting on its former youth and accomplishments. The water carried the rest of someone who grew old gracefully, basically. As I marveled at the other pictures, I heard the faint sound of a foghorn. And it did not sound obnoxious, it did not sound like melody either, do not get me wrong. It sounded like a flute making lovely boom sounds, helping me understand that I was in boat, tugging along the sea. The peace of the moment was felt in the breeze, the waters, and now in the waves that carry sound. It was a treat for all my sense, ok maybe not taste. I will not say that I tasted the sea breeze, but I could have tasted something from the snack bar. I did take an 8 second video, to share my voyage with others. For me, it felt, like I was standing still, and seeing a gray hoop skirt dress twirl with an ombre effect. I know that sounds weird, and maybe I am not explaining myself well, and I kind of know that I said the word gray a lot, but, what I am ultimately trying to say is that I felt transported to a day where the weather was foggy and all of that enhanced my vacation to a moment worth remembering. The most epic moment came when I was seeing out into the fog, and as the boat move, and outpace the fog, a ship crane appeared, seemingly from out of nowhere. I felt like I saw a drape made of fog pulled back revealing the ship crane. But the moment of awe came because the fog and crane remained still, it was the movement of the boat that pulled the curtain back. I also captured the ships with big boxes (forget what they are called) in a drape of fog which was quietly beautiful in its own way. In another picture, I clipped the plank as I walked to the ship. That is the moment that I knew I was about to be in fog, but I did not expect to be addressed by the fog--- and its message was, fog does not need to blind the eye, it can give it perspective in wondrous gray scale! Enjoy me, wayward voyayer!

Highly enjoyed the ferry trip from Oakland to San Francisco. I couldn't believe how quick the ride…read morewas. They have a lovely bar inside the boat where we ordered drinks. The ride is smooth and fun. It's a great and reasonably priced option to get from Oakland to San Francisco and/or back to Oakland.

Shoutout to Kundan on Hollis in the morning who is always on time…read more This is a great free service for riders (paid for by Emeryville business and homeowners via property tax). Since the schedule change earlier this year, both my roommate and I have found the buses are nearly always on time heading towards Bart in the AM even if they don't always show up on the tracking app (Hollis). I usually wait 5-10 min from the Bart during rush hour. Note travel on weekends and slow times during the weekday especially late at night might be hit or miss. Most drivers are friendly and I've rarely ever had a bus drive away while I'm running towards it. Busses are clean although some can be rather old. Tips: The app can usually capture when the bus will arrive to a stop but especially at the Bart, departure times vary so feel free to ask the driver if you must know.

How did I not know about Emery-Go-Round shuttle before? Great way to connect from MacArthur BART to…read morebusinesses around Emeryville. Friendly drivers and frequent, on-time service.

I needed help merging my Clipper Cards, and I was treated like a moron. I don't even want to share…read morethe issue because it will just piss me off. I got it kinda resolved. But Fu*k'um. And I'm sure they feel the same about the. Let them.

Always helpful. However if you have questions or need assistance regarding being overcharged for a…read moreride on for example Golden Gate Transit bus system when the Clipper system is down and you cannot tag off. You can remedy that IF you have the Clipper card on your phone OR you call the Clipper customer service number. I know this because I had to deal with such a situation and resolved it successfully by calling the customer service number. I do not have the Clipper card app on my phone by choice.

If your gluten free maybe don't come here. This isn't for the faint of heart…read more Public transportation isn't a luxury experience. Its if you want the most practical way into the city where parking is difficult. I use this transfer station once in a while. If you have a victim mindset just avoid it - I think kriminals can sniff out fear and target that sort of thing. Maybe its even a sort of self fulfilling prophecy sort of thing. Expect the worst out of people get the worst. I'm not sure though. For all the German tourists that send their 18 year old daughters here - its not a smart thing to do. Unless your really hurting for cash give them finances to avoid public transportation - especially after hours.

There is no maintenance at all , looks filthy and disheveled Trash cans are overflowing in front of…read morethe station. Where do the fare increases go?

Used on and off over years for transport relating to my aging parents. Unfailingly polite and…read morerespectful. Very positive attitude, kind and generous, and patient. Also always gets the job done, meeting or exceeding specific requirements of the transport job, getting there on time or slightly early. Real gold star service.

Marcus is the best! Really appreciate him stepping up and taking care of my family and friends…read moreduring a birthday dinner from Oakland to Sonoma. He was on time, ultra accommodating, most importantly a great driver. Within our party we had several executives. They felt safe and secure. We will 100% request Marcus for any future transportation needs. Thank you, God Bless