help with hotel to SFO ferry

[sutton8596]

In November I'm catching the train from Emeryville to Omaha. I'll be staying at the Grant Plaza Hotel near Chinatown. I believe it's a block from the cable cars. The thing is: what time does the Amtrak bus leave the ferry terminal for Emeryville? They'd changed the times so I'm unaware of the current time. Does anyone know, also, whether I can walk from the Grant Plaza down to the ferry building? Will the cable car be running at that early hour? If I stay at the downtown youth hostel instead, I can walk down to the place where the amtrak bus stops to take people on over to the ferry!

Thanks

 

[sechs]

I'd suggest calling Amtrak about the time for the bus. Since the running time for the Zephyr has changed, I'm quite sure that bus has changed as well.

There are three cable car lines, and none of them go to the Ferry Building. You could take the California cable car line as far as Drumm. Walking might be more convenient, but it would be a hike.

 

[Rafi]

sutton,

You could take a cable car to California & Drumm (they start running around 6 AM), and it's about a 2 block walk from there (the Ferry building is in plain sight from California and Drumm), but to be honest, the cable car may not be your best option. Getting suitcases onto the cable cars is not a fun activity, to start with. If the car is packed, they probably won't let you on with the suitcases in any case. Then there's the fare, which is $5 per person. If there's more than 1 person, then you might as well take a cab.

As of today, the bus is scheduled to leave the Ferry Building at 7:55 AM, although that time could change when the new timetable comes out in October.

Rafi

 

[Guest_George Harris_*]

It would be quite a hike. go to sfmuni.com for maps of the bus system which also shows streetcar and cable car routes. If sfmuni.com does not work, just search muni san francisco. It looks to be no more that about a $10.00 taxi ride which would be the same as two cable car tickets. Unless you are traveling very light, it would be much more enjoyable to spend your $10.00 on the cable car to ride other places rather than use it to lug your luggage back to the Ferry Building. By the way, the Amtrak station is not in the Ferry Building itself, but in another building that is the next building south of the Ferry Building. The waiting room is on the back side of this building. The bus stop is on the Embarcardero just in front of this building. There may be more than one bus out there, so best ask the driver whether the bus you are looking at is for your train or some other train.

It is highly unlikely that the cable car will be packed early in the morning, however. Since the normal bus and muni streetcar fare is $1.50 per person, the cable cars do not exacly cater to commuters.

 

[caravanman]

This reminds me of my trip a few years back.. I was visiting S.F. with my young son, and teenage stepdaughter. We arrived at Mcarthur Bart and squashed onto the Emery Go Round bus to take us to Emeryville Amtrak station. Not that great trying to get 3 people with 3 cases onto a bus jammed with commuters at 8am! I spoke loudly in my best English accent, that seemed to be enough to explain that we were "foreign eccentrics!"

Ed B)

 

[sutton8596]

Caravan Man, your using the brit accent cracked me up. Smart boy! Rafi, (and all), thanks for great advice; I'll likely do the cable car because last time I was on it (and 6am), the thing was empty and the conductor waved my money off since noone was about. I only have one tiny backpack so no problems handling luggage. Thanks all! I'll definitely check out the new timestables in October.

 

[PRR 60]

...I'll definitely check out the new timestables in October.

Check by doing a dummy booking from SFC to OMA for your day of travel on amtrak.com . The booking feature links to the most up-to-date schedule information in the Amtrak computer reservation system. The PDF timetables are sometimes wrong the day they are posted and are not necessarily updated when changes are made.

 

[AlanB]

The PDF timetables are sometimes wrong the day they are posted and are not necessarily updated when changes are made.

Ain't that the truth. For years now, depending on which train one rides it's either 225 miles between DC and NYP or 226 miles. :blink:

 

[greatcats]

I love cable cars, but I would opt for a cab in this case. When I took the bus out of there last November, nobody bothered to show up to open the Amtrak station, but I readily boarded a bus with an earlier departure time to get to Emeryville. The driver was very helpful.

 

[sutton8596]

I love cable cars, but I would opt for a cab in this case. When I took the bus out of there last November, nobody bothered to show up to open the Amtrak station, but I readily boarded a bus with an earlier departure time to get to Emeryville. The driver was very helpful.

GreatCats, it seems to me that if Amtrak didn't open their station, they are at fault. I'm paying for the bus back to Emeryville so I presume if they don't show up, they owe me cash and a free train trip the next day back! Not to mention putting me up at a hotel! Anyway, I'll call Amtrak when I'm in SFO to make sure of everything. I've decided to try the cable car down to the Embacardo; failing that, I'll get a taxi. Thanks agaiin!

OH, does anyone know what time the Amtrak bus stops on Market Street? (just in case I stay at the hostel instead of the Grant Plaza)??

 

[Guest_George Harris_*]

I love cable cars, but I would opt for a cab in this case. When I took the bus out of there last November, nobody bothered to show up to open the Amtrak station, but I readily boarded a bus with an earlier departure time to get to Emeryville. The driver was very helpful.

GreatCats, it seems to me that if Amtrak didn't open their station, they are at fault. I'm paying for the bus back to Emeryville so I presume if they don't show up, they owe me cash and a free train trip the next day back! Not to mention putting me up at a hotel! Anyway, I'll call Amtrak when I'm in SFO to make sure of everything. I've decided to try the cable car down to the Embacardo; failing that, I'll get a taxi. Thanks agaiin!

OH, does anyone know what time the Amtrak bus stops on Market Street? (just in case I stay at the hostel instead of the Grant Plaza)??

The bus showing up at the bus stop on the street in fron of the Ferry Building station will happen whether or not the station is open. If you try to use "the station was closed" as the reason for missing the bus, you will probably, and rightly so, be laughed at.

The time of the bus stopping on Market should be listed. However, as a person who has taken the bus to Emeryville several times, I always go to the Ferry Building bus stop to leave. The bus sits there for several minutes, and is much more of the main stop compared to any of the other locations. If you are on Market Street, it could be well worthwhile to spend the $1.50 to take the F Route streetcar to the stop that is very close to the Amtrak Ferry Building stop, for peace of mind if nothing else.