Commuting from San Leandro to San Francisco

Taking BART or bus to the City from San Leandro

Nov 2015

Hello, My husband and I are house hunting right now and have specific questions about three localities- Alameda vs nicer areas of San Leandro vs Berkeley. We are looking at these three places because of their easy transportation to SF for work. I was wondering if it is faster to get to the city if we live in Alameda and take the transbay bus or live in San Leandro or Rockridge/Ashby/DT Betkeley and take bart? Does San Leandro or Rockridge Bart or Ashby and DT Berkley have plentiful side street parking (say ie. two blocks away) from the Bart station and is it relatively safe to park one's car there?

Is it safe to Park in San Leandro side streets near the Bart Station all day while I am at work?? Basically, I think it is faster and easier to drive to San Leandro Bart, then park there in one of the side streets and take the Bart into the city if car will be safe there. I think Alameda webster tube will have too much traffic to take the AC transit bus into the city (which is also longer 40 mins!). Also, I would have to come in muni from work (20mins) all the way to the SF Transbay Terminal then take the Transbay Bus to Alameda which would take 1 hour. Am I wrong?

I live in SL and my husband commutes to SF (Financial District). We live in the Estudillo area (which I also think is a little-known gem), and my husband commutes via Transbay bus in the morning and BART on the way home because his hours are variable. The Transbay bus couldn't be easier; it stops right under the 580 overpass, so it's very close to our house. There is also a very informal casual carpool there, but I don't think it's something you can count on. In terms of BART, as with any station there are colorful characters around the station itself, but we've never had any problems. If you're open to walking/biking, my husband prefers to walk home from BART, even at night -- it's a flat, straightforward walk/ride to Estudillo, and it gives him some exercise. You should be aware of construction around the SL BART station, which has eliminated some parking. Since the lot closed I have noticed that on the days that I take BART, it has been harder to find parking on the side streets if I don't go early. There are other options outlined here: http://www.sanleandro.org/depts/cd/projects/bartpark/default.asp As for Alameda, this may seem obvious, but have you considered the ferry? happy san leandran