Blackout Thruway Alternatives

[mlanoue]

Hello, everybody. Been lurking here for about a decade. I've learned a lot and appreciate all the info.

Unfortunately, I've come across a scenario for which, I haven't been able to find an answer by searching.

I'm using AGR points to take my family on the California Zephyr. Roomettes to EMY. I've been saving for years and we're going to go at the end of the year. With the new system coming in, I wanted to book this while I still could use the Zone Map.

Anyhow, most of the days at the end of the year are blackouts, but we booked for Christmas Day. That is fine, until I found out that I can't book the thruway bus to the SF Financial District because the transfer falls on a blackout day. I was willing to pay for the thruway bus but I can't just book the bus without a train. So, these are the options I'm weighing:

1. Book coach tickets for us from the closest stop on the CZ so that I can also book the thruway to SF. (We would just stay in the roomettes, of course.) It looks like I'd have to book from Sacramento, which makes the whole thing a three digit expense.

2. Book three unreserved coach seats on one of the other trains. I can book from Martinez and a thruway. It's pretty inexpensive. The only problem is, I would think that we wouldn't be able to get on the thruway bus that connects with the CZ, and it's kind of a gamble to hope that we would get there in time for one of the other unreserved train/bus connections.

3. Get a cab from the Emeryville Station. Which, I understand is kind of costly.

Can anybody tell me if a cab from Emeryville is really as expensive as booking the coach/bus combo from Sacremento? Is there some other way to book the thruway bus that connects to the CZ?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Matthew

 

[Tennessee Traveler]

Your assumption does not make sense. If you are able to book the roomettes with AGR, you should be able to book the Thruway bus to SF as part of the roomette booking. Have you already booked the roomettes? Blackout date should apply to origin date for trip not the date of arrival at destination.

 

[BCL]

There are alternatives.

The AC Transit F bus can take you from Emeryville to the Temporary Transbay Terminal. Of course that means hauling all you luggage to the bus stop.

http://www.actransit.org/maps/schedule_results.php?quick_line=F&Go=Go

There's Emery Go Round (free) to the Macarthur BART station. The Hollis shuttle is the most convenient for you. Luggage may be an issue though. Then you could take BART to San Francisco.

http://emerygoround.com/hollis.html

Another alternative is to book multicity BKY-EMY-SFC where you specify you bus trip as route 5005. Pick whatever train you want. It's not specifically tied to the train. I've tried creative stuff like a Capitol Corridor trip to Silicon Valley with an SFC-EMY bus later that night. The requirement is that the bus segment has to be booked with a train, and it's not required to make sense. You could just throw away the train portion. Total fare is $10.50 before discounts. You could even book the bus first, then something like OKJ-EMY later, although that would cost more.

Here's an estimate for taxi fare:

http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Emeryville-CA&from=Amtrak+Station+-+EMY%2C+Horton+Street%2C+Emeryville%2C+CA%2C+United+States&to=Hyatt+Regency+San+Francisco%2C+Embarcadero+Center%2C+San+Francisco%2C+CA%2C+United+States&fromCoord=37.8403318,-122.29169000000002&toCoord=37.794372,-122.39584300000001

It's estimating about $36 with a tip. I don't know if bridge toll or a return fee is charged. If the CS is late, you might need to take this.

 

[BCL]

Your assumption does not make sense. If you are able to book the roomettes with AGR, you should be able to book the Thruway bus to SF as part of the roomette booking. Have you already booked the roomettes? Blackout date should apply to origin date for trip not the date of arrival at destination.

Connections can't be made on a blackout date. That includes buses.

https://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/info/redemptionguidelines

Redemption travel is not permitted for any segment with a scheduled departure on a blackout date. Rule Buster redemptions are exempt from blackout date restrictions.

 

[City of Miami]

What I have done with this exact problem is to get off the Zephyr at Richmond and make the easy change to BART [not exactly cross-platform but close] which will take you right into the city pretty much where the thruway bus goes (Market St.). Of course you will have to buy BART tickets from the machine for everyone in your party. Look at the BART website and find out the particulars of getting a single trip ticket.

 

[City of Miami]

Here's an estimate for taxi fare:

It's estimating about $36 with a tip. I don't know if bridge toll or a return fee is charged. If the CS is late, you might need to take this.

I think that's way cheap - it's eight miles just to cross the bridge after all. Last I heard it was about $50 to get to SFO from downtown.

 

[mlanoue]

Another alternative is to book multicity BKY-EMY-SFC where you specify you bus trip as route 5005. Pick whatever train you want. It's not specifically tied to the train. I've tried creative stuff like a Capitol Corridor trip to Silicon Valley with an SFC-EMY bus later that night. The requirement is that the bus segment has to be booked with a train, and it's not required to make sense. You could just throw away the train portion. Total fare is $10.50 before discounts. You could even book the bus first, then something like OKJ-EMY later, although that would cost more.

This looks perfect! I don't know why I hadn't thought of trying to do it as a multi-city before. Thanks!

Your assumption does not make sense. If you are able to book the roomettes with AGR, you should be able to book the Thruway bus to SF as part of the roomette booking. Have you already booked the roomettes? Blackout date should apply to origin date for trip not the date of arrival at destination.

Actually, when I called AGR my assumption was the opposite--that a connection on a blackout date wouldn't be a problem. That's because I didn't read the fine print! I guess that's one good point about the new system--there won't be blackouts, correct?

 

[mlanoue]

What I have done with this exact problem is to get off the Zephyr at Richmond and make the easy change to BART [not exactly cross-platform but close] which will take you right into the city pretty much where the thruway bus goes (Market St.). Of course you will have to buy BART tickets from the machine for everyone in your party. Look at the BART website and find out the particulars of getting a single trip ticket.

I looked at that too, and am considering it. I probably would definitely do it if it were just myself--but with my wife and daughter and all the luggage, I'm not sure how that would go down with them!

 

[SubwayNut]

The Zephyr stops at Richmond where you could connect to BART and get off at Embarcadero where the financial district stop basically is. It's $4.50 each. That would be my solution if your traveling light and not checking any luggage.

 

[BCL]

What I have done with this exact problem is to get off the Zephyr at Richmond and make the easy change to BART [not exactly cross-platform but close] which will take you right into the city pretty much where the thruway bus goes (Market St.). Of course you will have to buy BART tickets from the machine for everyone in your party. Look at the BART website and find out the particulars of getting a single trip ticket.

Won't be practical if there's luggage checked in. However, I'm not sure if luggage can be checked in with a combination of an AGR redemption and a paid ticket with a throwaway segment.

I'm thinking the CZ SAC-EMY-SFC idea might not work if the ticket doesn't get scanned. Can't the entire trip (especially the reserved bus segment) be cancelled if it's considered a no-show?

 

[BCL]

Another alternative is to book multicity BKY-EMY-SFC where you specify you bus trip as route 5005. Pick whatever train you want. It's not specifically tied to the train. I've tried creative stuff like a Capitol Corridor trip to Silicon Valley with an SFC-EMY bus later that night. The requirement is that the bus segment has to be booked with a train, and it's not required to make sense. You could just throw away the train portion. Total fare is $10.50 before discounts. You could even book the bus first, then something like OKJ-EMY later, although that would cost more.

This looks perfect! I don't know why I hadn't thought of trying to do it as a multi-city before. Thanks!

That particular route is only served by Capitol Corridor, so you wouldn't likely have a problem with a no-show on the train segment. I was thinking your original idea of the SAC-EMY-SFC booking might end up getting totally cancelled as a no show if you couldn't track down a conductor to scan you ticket. It shouldn't matter with a Capitol Corridor train that you don't show up, since it's an unreserved route.

It wouldn't really matter if the CZ is late. The 5005 waits for the CZ to arrive in Emeryville.

How much luggage do you have? It might be possible to get your checked in luggage all the way to SFC, but the agent checking in your luggage might not think so. If it's not too much, you can still use your carry on allowance on the bus's baggage hold, but that would require luggage within Amtrak's carry on size. I don't even think I have luggage bigger than Amtraks carry on size.

 

[BCL]

Oh. I just noticed the Financial District stop was mentioned. Forget what I said about checked in luggage. You might want to check it in anyways just to Emeryville.

 

[mlanoue]

That particular route is only served by Capitol Corridor, so you wouldn't likely have a problem with a no-show on the train segment. I was thinking your original idea of the SAC-EMY-SFC booking might end up getting totally cancelled as a no show if you couldn't track down a conductor to scan you ticket. It shouldn't matter with a Capitol Corridor train that you don't show up, since it's an unreserved route.

That's exactly what I was worried about--would the trip be cancelled if I didn't get the tickets scanned. I'm glad the Corridor will work. I see that the Corridor seats are unreserved, but the bus seats are reserved, so that is good.

For luggage, I was thinking of checking in 3 bags at CHI and bringing one bag with us for the roomettes. Four bags total shouldn't be a problem None of them are very large.

Thanks! This has been a big help.

 

[BCL]

What I have done with this exact problem is to get off the Zephyr at Richmond and make the easy change to BART [not exactly cross-platform but close] which will take you right into the city pretty much where the thruway bus goes (Market St.). Of course you will have to buy BART tickets from the machine for everyone in your party. Look at the BART website and find out the particulars of getting a single trip ticket.

I looked at that too, and am considering it. I probably would definitely do it if it were just myself--but with my wife and daughter and all the luggage, I'm not sure how that would go down with them!

What are the particulars? I certainly understand it if you'd prefer to not deal with carry on luggage as long as you can and not have too much stuff in your room. When I took the CS from Seattle to Emeryville I checked in my luggage even though I was within my carry on limits. If it's three large pieces and other assorted stuff, you might be able to manage. If it's more than that, I'd understand if you don't want to deal with herding all that luggage.

Doing it all by Amtrak and Amtrak bus would be the most convenient. If you check in luggage, they bring it out to the front where the buses are loaded. The through luggage to SFC is placed on the bus by Amtrak workers, but you can claim your luggage tagged for EMY, and then place them on the curb for placing in the hold.

If you have a large quantity/volume of luggage, it might not fit in a taxi depending on the vehicle.

 

[fairviewroad]

Actually, when I called AGR my assumption was the opposite--that a connection on a blackout date wouldn't be a problem. That's because I didn't read the fine print! I guess that's one good point about the new system--there won't be blackouts, correct?

That is a logical assumption, and the fact that connections (especially short-hop Thruway connections) aren't valid on blackout dates was one of the biggest pains of the "old" AGR program. You are correct that the new program will not have blackout dates.

 

[BCL]

That particular route is only served by Capitol Corridor, so you wouldn't likely have a problem with a no-show on the train segment. I was thinking your original idea of the SAC-EMY-SFC booking might end up getting totally cancelled as a no show if you couldn't track down a conductor to scan you ticket. It shouldn't matter with a Capitol Corridor train that you don't show up, since it's an unreserved route.

That's exactly what I was worried about--would the trip be cancelled if I didn't get the tickets scanned. I'm glad the Corridor will work. I see that the Corridor seats are unreserved, but the bus seats are reserved, so that is good.

For luggage, I was thinking of checking in 3 bags at CHI and bringing one bag with us for the roomettes. Four bags total shouldn't be a problem None of them are very large.

Thanks! This has been a big help.

If you're really paranoid about your bus segment being cancelled, you could book the train segment for after the bus segment. However, that changes the pricing from a discounted "through rate" to separate charges for the bus and train.

The buses attached to Capitol Corridor are "unreserved", but I've never heard of them being full. That just means you can use the ticket on an earlier or later bus. I think it's possible to use one on a bus for the San Joaquin.

In any case you'll want to book the 5005. It's odd how the reservation system works, but the Amtrak buses are subsidized by the state to aid with Amtrak travel. State law doesn't allow those Amtrak bus trips to be booked separately, with the rationale that they don't compete with private bus services.

 

[mlanoue]

No, I'm not paranoid or anything--just curious how it will work. I think I'll book the Corridor train to connect with the 5005 bus and we'll be good. Since we're flying back our luggage will have to be fairly manageable. I wold like to check at least a couple of bags just for convenience. We should be fine. Thanks for all the advice!

Hopefully we will have better luck on this trip. I had booked this trip for last summer, and it ended up being one of the days in late June when they cancelled it because of the flooding in Iowa!

 

[BCL]

No, I'm not paranoid or anything--just curious how it will work. I think I'll book the Corridor train to connect with the 5005 bus and we'll be good. Since we're flying back our luggage will have to be fairly manageable. I wold like to check at least a couple of bags just for convenience. We should be fine. Thanks for all the advice!

Hopefully we will have better luck on this trip. I had booked this trip for last summer, and it ended up being one of the days in late June when they cancelled it because of the flooding in Iowa!

Certainly enjoy yourself. I've taken several of the EMY-SFC buses as points runs. The absolute killer deal I got was a 50% off weekend special RIC-EMY-SFC-EMY-RIC for $12. That yielded me 400 AGR tier-qualifying points and was scheduled to take 122 minutes end to end. It wasn't just the low cost, but the small amount of time.

For whatever reason you can book BKY-EMY then to any San Francisco bus for a combined price of $10.50. If you break it up For the train after the bus, that turns into $5.50 for the bus and $7.50 for the train.