Connecting from CZ to Southwest in SFO or Oakland?

[cheerose]

So... I'm looking at the options with ending the CZ trip westbound and getting back to Vegas.

The original thought would be to take the Thruway to SF and then BART to SFO. However, I wouldn't be able to make a Non-Stop trip on Southwest in time. There may be other options...

I realized that SW also flies out of Oakland. Knowing this, I wonder if taking the CC or walking to the closest BART station would be a viable option. But then...

Richmond is, not only a BART station, but Amtrak as well (stop prior to Emeryville). In addition, there is a line that stops there that goes to Oakland (weekday or weekend).
Finally, assuming that the CZ is on time (yeah... I know), it would give me time to catch a SW N/S .

Another option to add to the mix

 

[Steve4031]

If you are flying southwest you have a bit more flexibility if the train is late. You won’t lose your airfare if you have to change flight. If 5 is really late you could get off in Sacramento.

BART is not the best maintained system. Don’t anticipate that the escalator will work in the Bart station. If you have lots of luggage this could be painful. I’m not sure that Richmond is a great place to transfer. Iirc others have reported not feeling safe there.


At the Oakland airport you gave to get off Bart and ride a shuttle train to the terminal area. The BART station is not connected to the terminal. You have to cross the roadway in front of the terminal.

 

[Alice]

Emeryville has a free shuttle that'll get you to MacArthur BART. Service ends 10pm, 7pm on Sundays.
Emery Go-Round |

Here is info about taking BART to both SFO and OAK airports.
How to ride BART to the airport | BARTable

Richmond has been going whole-hog on upgrading the transit center where Amtrak, BART, and others stop. I haven't been there since the improvements to know if the place is any better or safer than it used to be. That said, as Steve said, BART is poorly maintained.

Have you looked at transferring from the Zephyr to Cap Corridor, and taking that to the Oakland Coliseum/Airport stop?

 

[roadman3313]

CZ to Richmond and BART to Coliseum and transferring to the BART to OAK Airtrain would most likely result in the least amount of walking around and the most frequent connections. Richmond is not the greatest BART station, but I have done that transfer many times and not had an issue personally. I have also taken BART to the Oakland Airport via their BART to OAK connection and not had much of an issue. The station at the Airport is just across the "street" from the Airport Terminals. I'd say about a 5 minute walk or less to the main Southwest Terminal (Terminal 2). This would be my recommended option if you were to try this approach.

MacArthur BART isn't the greatest either anymore outside of the station so just keep that in mind as well. Transferring from the Zephyr to the Capitol Corridor would be another option, however you would need to time the connection and then walk from the Capitol Corridor Station to the Oakland Coliseum BART station. There is a walkway, however that area is not the greatest and they are currently doing construction around there. All the options would be viable though.

I fly Southwest out of Oakland and would recommend that over SFO. Fewer ATC delays and also usually more flight options as Oakland is a crew base for Southwest and they are the predominant carrier out of OAK.

I live locally, commute to work on BART, use Richmond to connect to Amtrak when traveling, have flown SWA out of OAK several times over the past few months, and work in the transportation industry so I will help where I can with any specific questions you may have. There are a few others here who have the experience or who live in the Bay Area who can help as well. Happy travels!