Location Transport

Public Transport in San Francisco?

I am from Orlando FL, and out here public transportation sucks (bus comes by every hour) and you need a car for everything. I might be getting transfered to San Francisco due to my job, and a friend of mine told me that i minus well sell my car, because it's not really necessary out there. Is that true? I was told that the Bart takes you anywhere around the bay and you can take your bike with you. I think that is awesome, if that is true. I am tired of grid lock traffic and driving everywhere.

Public Comments

1. yeah, a car is actually a bit of a hindrance in SF, as you need a place to park it and they're in short supply! having said that, nice for trips to Marin, Reno, when you need to buy more groceries than you can carry, etc etc.... If your living quarters come with a parking space, I would say hang on to your wheels, at least until you figure out if you can do without them or not
2. Your friend is right lose the car, 7/8 of San Franciscan's don't own cars. Most of us shop in our neighborhood with all the services, stores and restaurants within walking distance of either home or work. The City is very bike friendly, with over 50 miles of bike lanes. All city buses, most of the north, east & south bay buses are equipped with bike racks [2 bikes per bus], and both Cal Train and Bart allow bikes aboard [rules apply]. Parking is expensive and a hassle. One way or another you pay to park in San Francisco. If you need a car once a week for an hour or two consider joining one of the car share programs.
3. Im from New York and I was impressed with the public transportation in San Fran/ We loved the Historic Streetcar which goes down the embarcadero and the piers/wharf. Definitely a walking/biking/public transportation city. And very diverse too, we loved the Mission District and the North Beach area. I am not a big coffee drinker but the best coffee I ever had was at Cafe Trieste. Good Luck!
4. You really dont need a car unless you plan on going on road trips throughout the year. If you plan on just going through the bay area. BART goes through the Bay Area. SF is very BIKE friendly. So I reccomend buying a bike when you get here. Its faster and all the busses and bart have bike accomodations.
5. We have several mass transit systems. They all suck.