BART is one of the fastest ways to get around the San Francisco Bay. It is an electric passenger train which moves on rails that are underground or elevated above ground. In this part of your tour I will tell you how to try BART out on a fast trip under the bay to Oakland and then return to San Francisco for only $1.10 per person.

Above is one of the entrances to BART and MUNI trains, it is located at Powell and Market Street, next to the cable car turnaround. You can also board BART from the Civic Center, Montgomery Street, and the Embarcadero. To take this trip and pay the lowest fare you must get on at one BART station and get off at a different station when you return to San Francisco.

(The fare you pay is from the station you get on at to the station you exit the system).

When you get downstairs you will see the BART ticket machines, where each person must purchase a ticket to enter the BART system. At last check the price for a ticket between two stations in San Francisco was $1.00.

After you get your ticket, walk to the BART turnstiles that say Enter. Place your ticket into the slot on the front of the turnstile, it will now let you enter. As you enter your card will pop up on top of the turnstile, remove your card as you pass thru. Now ride the escalator to the boarding platform below the station.

As you ride the escalator down, you will pass by the MUNI boarding platform. If you look at the photo above you will notice an elevator for the handicapped. To the left of the elevator is a sign that tells you if any elevators are out of service at your destination. (Most of the stations only have one elevator.)

Now stand on the east bound side of the boarding platform, do not stand on the Daly City side. Catch the first train that comes along, and you may want to sit in the front car so you can look in the drivers compartment to see how fast you are going. The train travels about 65 miles per hour under the bay.

This is the interior of one of the BART train cars, I took this photo on a weekend and there was only one other person sitting in this car. During the week a train is usually ten cars long.

BART operates weekdays, 4:00 a.m. - midnight; Saturday, 6:00 a.m. - midnight; Sunday, 8:00 a.m. - midnight.

This map shows all the different directions that BART traveles around the bay area. From San Francisco you can travel all the way to Pittsburg, which is across the bay, and not in Pennsylvania. If you ever come to San Francisco and want more information on BART and a map, you can look in the front of our Yellow Pages in the Phone Book here. You can find many other interesting facts and information about San Francisco in the Phone Book Yellow Pages, your hotel room should have one in it.

When you get to West Oakland get off the BART train, take a look around, you can see the city you left behind. (The photo above was zoomed in so you can get a better view of San Francisco.) Now go downstairs to the BART station entrance, do not exit the station, but walk to the other side and go up to the platform on the other side.

When you come up to the boarding platform on the other side of the tracks, catch any BART train, they are all headed for San Francisco. When you get to San Francisco get off at any BART station, except the one you got on at. If you didn't get on at the Embarcadero then get off there for the next part of the tour.

Note: If you do get off at the same station that you got on at, you will be charged more money, because they have a tour of the system, which cost more.

When you walk out the exit turnstile you must insert you ticket in the slot on the front to get out, it will keep your ticket if you paid $1.10 for it, if you paid more for it then use it later or forget it they don't make refunds.

For more information on BART you can go to my Links Page for a direct link to BART. My Links Page is located at the bottom of my Home Page below. Note: Please save my Home Page before leaving this website.

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