How is the Temporary Transbay experience in SFC?

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JoeZeppy412

Train Attendant
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Nov 10, 2013
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What's it like getting in and out of this place to connect with the CZ? We'll be arriving Monday, and leaving on Sunday. Options and prices for getting to the Marina District?

How are the facilities? I read on Yelp someone says the restrooms are only available from 7am to 7pm on weekdays, and the same is stated on the Transbay web page. That seems arbitrary, and a whole lot of no fun for those of us with sensitive morning stomachs. Can anyone confirm or deny that rumor?
 
I drove by yesterday but didn't have a look. It's supposed to be shared (via lease) with the Greyhound building and open 24 hours. I'd be surprised if they didn't mean those restrooms were also 24 hours.

I have used the temporary Transbay Terminal to take a public transit bus back to Emeryville after taking a trip down to San Jose and to San Francisco by Caltrain with my kid. It was on a weekend and the restroom was locked with those posted weekday 7-7 hours. In the end I was getting desperate and I waved at the guy in the security office that I needed to go really badly. In the end he relented but he said he though it was because my kid needed to go really bad. In any case, I was really appreciative.

My understanding is that they're a lot more stringent on ticket checks in the Greyhound building.
 
Last Ferryboat to San Francisco…1958

Off topic but a great read! (I;ve read these before too...still a good read again) Great pictures too!

http://cruiselinehistory.com/last-ferryboat-to-san-francisco/

Oakland Pier. The Mole...

A complete history of the OAKLAND PIER and the Ferry Service connecting with trains…

SOUTHERN PACIFIC’s OAKLAND PIER – The MOLE that moved the West! by Ken Shattock (from www.trainorders.com)

..And 56,000 passengers with connecting ferry service operating between San Francisco and Oakland Pier. The delightful eighteen-minute trip across the bay, with its invigorating ocean breeze, was also a welcome climax to a cross-continent journey. All this, combined with the tremendous flow of baggage, mail and express, qualified Oakland Pier as one of the busiest terminals in the United States.

(1958):

...

...The last ferryboat to San Francisco, the “San Leandro”, operated on July 29, 1958. The last trains to use the Mole were # 19 and # 20, the “Klamath”, Shasta Route mail trains, in 1960.:

Also there:The BAY AREA FERRIES… by David Givens…

1958 "... It was a chilling omen that day when passengers were whisked onto an awaiting Greyhound bus for the final leg to the City. The ferry was “out to lunch” and the handwriting was on the wall. After all, SP opined in their press release, what could be better than modern buses affording you a view of the city skyline from the bridge?"

Ends with: It makes me cherish all the more that day in 1955 when the EUREKA was just your everyday “point A to B” (albeit outlandish) unit of transportation, calling on a dying Ferry Building still opened to a waiting public sheltered from inclement weather. That day we waited for the 3:00 ferry call for Oakland so we could connect to a train for Berkeley. As the redcap heaved open the screaming gate, we were greeted by this gleaming white anachronism. The EUREKA was ready for another crossing. The pulse of her walking beam engine drawing her huge side wheels will live with me forever.

And yes, we were riding legally. The fare to Berkeley: 55 cents!"
 
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Asa waiting room, it is a charmless bus station, but the Amtrak connector will get you to Emeryville, if a little early. It is right downtown, so walking distance to a lot. Public transit to the Marina is notoriously awful, so bad that at least two private bus services started last year (Chariot and Leap) but at least Leap was shut down by the state. I'd just get the Lyft ap and go that way.
 
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Asa waiting room, it is a charmless bus station, but the Amtrak connector will get you to Emeryville, if a little early. It is right downtown, so walking distance to a lot. Public transit to the Marina is notoriously awful, so bad that at least two private bus services started last year (Chariot and Leap) but at least Leap was shut down by the state. I'd just get the Lyft ap and go that way.
That sort of describes the previous waiting room near the Ferry Building. However, you could step right out of the building and see the Bay Bridge (or even see it from the window). It's kind of tough to see anything beyond buildings (maybe a sliver of water) at the current site. Honestly I think the Temporary Transbay Terminal was nicely done as far as similar structures go.
 
I waited there when I departed from SF to go back to EMY to catch the CZ. It wasn't nearly as bad as people made it out to be before my trip.

There were bus passengers, of course, but everyone was clothed, quiet, and polite. The station was clean, and there was a security guard wandering around the lobby.

I realized it was probably more of a case of NIMBY-ism than the station actually being a den of tramps and thieves. I've waited in much, much worse areas.
 
I waited there when I departed from SF to go back to EMY to catch the CZ. It wasn't nearly as bad as people made it out to be before my trip.

There were bus passengers, of course, but everyone was clothed, quiet, and polite. The station was clean, and there was a security guard wandering around the lobby.

I realized it was probably more of a case of NIMBY-ism than the station actually being a den of tramps and thieves. I've waited in much, much worse areas.
You mean the Coach Cattle Pens @ Union Station in Chicago? LOL
 
I waited there when I departed from SF to go back to EMY to catch the CZ. It wasn't nearly as bad as people made it out to be before my trip.

There were bus passengers, of course, but everyone was clothed, quiet, and polite. The station was clean, and there was a security guard wandering around the lobby.

I realized it was probably more of a case of NIMBY-ism than the station actually being a den of tramps and thieves. I've waited in much, much worse areas.
I'm guessing it was a lot more interesting when Amtrak was using the original Transbay Terminal (I remember the Amtrak sign thinking they had a tube for underwater trains like BART). That place had gotten progressively more interesting over the years. When I worked (college job) in San Francisco in the early 90s I'd sometimes go home by bus, and there were tons of homeless and apparently a policy that they wouldn't be rousted just for being there.

At least at the previous Ferry Building waiting room they could toss people who clearly weren't passengers. I'd been there once when some kids asked for tokens to use the bathroom and were denied since they couldn't produce a ticket or at least be there to do Amtrak business. I got a token since I was there to buy a ticket. At the Greyhound waiting room they can kick out anyone who they don't feel has any business.

I'm wondering if the plan is to stay there or move into the new Transbay Terminal when it's done. I'm sure Greyhound is staying, and maybe they'll have the room for a small Amtrak-only building.
 
My understanding is that Amtrak will move into the new Transbay Terminal. Hence the word "Temporary." :)
Yeah - I heard that too, but who knows what happens. I believe the "temporary" refers to the public transit bus services, but I thought that Greyhound (and of course Amtrak is subletting from Greyhound) was going to stay there and then who knows what happens to the remainder of the place.
 
According to TRAINS on 3/415, and I know I read it at Amtrak's website too, Amtrak is expected to move into the new Transbay Terminal when it is (scheduled to be) completed in late 2017.
 
So overall its a typical mass transit public area :) . Can anyone confirm or deny that restrooms aren't available on the weekends? that seems rather odd, but I've read it in a few comments. I'm having a hard time distinguishing between comments about the Greyhound/Amtrak waiting area and the other terminal tenants hosted elsewhere on the property.
 
So overall its a typical mass transit public area :) . Can anyone confirm or deny that restrooms aren't available on the weekends? that seems rather odd, but I've read it in a few comments. I'm having a hard time distinguishing between comments about the Greyhound/Amtrak waiting area and the other terminal tenants hosted elsewhere on the property.
The only restrooms that are supposed to be closed are the public ones at the center island of the Temporary Transbay Terminal. Apparently the ones that were added were a response to there not being any. And there originally weren't because of concerns that it might be used as a gathering place for the homeless, but that seemed to change after a lawsuit was filed. I think the limited hours were an attempt to curb the use by the homeless who might gain access despite it being locked (like going in as someone else leaves). Also - it looks like one is supposed to obtain keys after displaying some sort of proof of payment, but I don't see any ticket machines and most of these transbay buses accept cash or multi-agency fare card (Clipper) as payment.

http://abc7news.com/archive/7590586/

http://blog.sfgate.com/scavenger/2010/09/01/lawsuit-over-bathroom-less-temporary-transit-hub/

http://archives.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/waiting-riders-might-soon-find-bathrooms-at-temporary-transbay-terminal/Content?oid=2167771

I haven't really checked it out personally, but Amtrak is supposed to be sharing the Greyhound bus depot, including use of Greyhound specific bus bays. I first heard of this when talking to an Amtrak agent who used to work at the Ferry Building station..

http://www.capitolcorridor.org/news/whats-new/upcoming-changes-san-francisco-bus-service-march-1-2015-schedule/
Effective Sunday, March 1, Amtrak’s San Francisco Ferry Building bus stop and ticket office will be closed permanently and relocated to the Transbay Temporary Terminal (in the shared space with Greyhound). On Saturday, February 28, all scheduled buses will arrive at and depart from the Ferry Building for the last time; the ticket office will close at its regular time, 10:30 p.m., and the lobby/waiting area will close at approximately 10:45 p.m. Service at the Transbay Temporary Terminal, including the new ticket office, will begin on March 1.
 
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