I recently joined the ranks of the San Francisco defectors to the East Bay (specifically Oakland). In addition to the usual brand of moving irritations, I also had the annoyance of figuring out my new commute. Since I did not move very close to a Bart station & Oakland busses give me the creeps, I needed to figure out a commute that involved my car or bike. Since my bike is a gorgeous piece of work, I decided that leaving it locked up all day outside would be asking for trouble. This left my car, a not-so-gorgeous piece of work about which I had no qualms leaving out all day.
My first couple of days, my roommate & I drove to the Bart stop with which he was familiar. I quickly realized that this was expensive & added too much extra time to said commute, though it did spit me out into a fairly cool neighborhood where I was unlikely to get shot.
I then let my fingers do the walking & went on the internet to research my options. I discovered that the Oakland/Alameda ferry was a viable option, so I checked it out. Much to my delight, I discovered that it was, well, delightful. The only rub was the fact that I had to leave about an hour before my work start time. It also caused me to be very strict about my comings & goings (which I HATE). I had to leave at 5 pm sharp in order to make my boat. This, of course, was offset by the fact that the ferry serves booze.
Now, I take the Bart…a sad fact that does not please me. The Bart is so depressing. Fortunately, I get on at West O & get off at Montgomery…making my total travel time about 10 minutes. As a matter of fact, I will make a list of pros & cons for each:
Ferry Pro:
- relaxing
- clean
- fresh air
- it’s a BOAT RIDE
- nice sights to see
- free parking
Ferry Con:
- have to sacrifice an hour of sleep
- the people chatter about vapid crap
- baseball fans going to Giants games (the WORST)
Bart Pro:
- super flexible
- can ride any train coming/going (they all go thru West O)
- shorter walk to work
- get to see more crazy people
- get to hear the buskers at the station
- get to see many shiny-suited men
Bart Con:
- depressing
- slightly more expensive
- kinda gross
I need to start alternating between my beloved Ferry & the wretched Bart, I reckon. The problem is that I am the world’s laziest gal & the Bart is so much easier (and it lends itself so well to after work drankin).
