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A

AKA

OBS Chief
Joined
Apr 17, 2004
Messages
637
Location
Northern OHIO
Hello again, Will be going to SF in may with another couple. Walking any distance is a problem for our friends. We are staying at the Radission at Fishermans Wharf. Does anyone know just where the bus drops you at Fidhermans Wharf? Or would we be better off getting off at the Ferry Blud. and taking a cab to hotel ? Going out on the CZ of course, in romettes, in mid May. Hope for good weather. Have no doubt about CZ or the scenery. Good news bad news. Bad news trian is late, good news trian is late. Thanks in advance, you guys are all ways helpful :D
 
The Fisherman's Wharf stop is at Pier 39, roughly where Beach intersects the Embarcadero. The Raddison is two blocks west on Beach (between Powell and Mason). It is a relatively easy walk (short and no hills).

Note that the scheduled arrival time of the Zephyr gets the bus to SF in early evening. Each hour the Zephyr is late pushes the bus arrival to later in the evening when cabs become less plentiful even at the Ferry Building. I suggest planning to walk from the Wharf bus stop or, if walking is a serious issue, exit at the Shopping Center where cabs may be more available.

FYI: the station code for the Fisherman's Wharf bus stop is SFW. SFC is the Ferry Building stop.
 
Cabs should be plentiful though at the stop located at the Hyatt a.k.a. the "Financil District" stop. It's only about 50 feet to the cab stand at the front of the hotel.
 
tp49 said:
Cabs should be plentiful though at the stop located at the Hyatt a.k.a. the "Financil District" stop. It's only about 50 feet to the cab stand at the front of the hotel.
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For whatever stupid reason, the California Zephyr Thruway Bus does not stop at the Hyatt. Why not? Good question!
 
We will be taking the CZ for the first time in July and going to SFP (Peninsula) which is actually the Caltrain station and should probably bear that name instead of Peninsula. The schedule shows the Ferry stop with checked baggage but the other three without: Why? Is the ferry building actually staffed by Amtrak; the site doesn't say it is. If it is not staffed, then why can't baggage be checked to the other three stops since the same bus driver would be handling the baggage? Just curious.
 
bmlock said:
We will be taking the CZ for the first time in July and going to SFP (Peninsula) which is actually the Caltrain station and should probably bear that name instead of Peninsula. The schedule shows the Ferry stop with checked baggage but the other three without: Why? Is the ferry building actually staffed by Amtrak; the site doesn't say it is. If it is not staffed, then why can't baggage be checked to the other three stops since the same bus driver would be handling the baggage? Just curious.
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Yes, the ferry building is a staffed station while the other SF stops are merely bus stop signs.
 
Tanner929 said:
Wondering ?
Why is Amtrak in the Bus business? And what is this cost? :huh:
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Amtrak is in the bus business (actually, the contracting for bus services business) to cheaply and effectively expand their passenger base. It is a way to collect and distribute passengers to off-the line destinations at a minimal cost.

The San Francisco service is a perfect example. San Francisco is geographically isolated from the main rail lines that run north and east. There is a great big bay in the way. The only way into San Francisco by railroad (not BART) is from San Jose, 45 miles south of the city. To run a train down to San Jose and back up to San Francisco would take hours and would cost a fortune.

For the cost of a contract bus, the San Francisco-bound Amtrak passengers can be taken from the train at Emeryville (just north of Oakland), driven across the Bay Bridge, and dropped at any one of numerous San Francisco stops in less than an hour. By running the service themselves (rather than requiring passengers to ride local transit or cabs), Amtrak provides a more seamless service with coordinated schedules and through fares. It makes good sense, and is a service that the predecessor passenger railroads also supplied.
 
Yes, by getting off at SFP, i can take Cal-train all the way to San Jose. We are staying near the the airport (SFO) where hotels are cheaper. Cal-train will let us off one block from our hotel/suite that cost 70 bucks as opposed to smaller rooms downtown that go for over 100 easy.
 
Thanks PRR 60 While not the best of news about Thruway stops, at least I can make a better informed choice about where to debus. Sounds like ferry blud. is about the best way to go. Even two short blocks may be to much for our companions if we did SFW. Lets all hope we are not to late and there are cabs. Its all an adventure. Thanks to all. The CZ and sleepers with meals, the cab situation seems small stuff. :D :D :D
 
Don't forget in a metopolis like San Francisco you can almost always catch a cab by just walking along a main road. Enjoy your trip, I know I loved the Bay Area in the time I've spent there years ago.
 
AKA said:
Sounds like ferry blud. is about the best way to go. Even two short blocks may be to much for our companions if we did SFW. Lets all hope we are not to late and there are cabs.
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If you arrive at the Ferry Building stop and there are no cabs, Sinbad's Restaurant is right behind the Amtrak stop on the bay. It is a pretty popular evening spot and there usually are some cabs there until closing at about 10pm.

Good luck, enjoy the train ride, and enjoy the Bay Area.
 
The walking thing is becoming a problem. I did everything to try to explain about the romette and berths. Did the on line amtrak tour site ect. They are fine with it, they say. They have done the Capital Limited about three times and love the train. I cant do much more now. The husband is more mobile and should be able to do the upper. Its all about the train for them. Me too for that matter. Thanks for the Sinbad tip, sounds like the best bet. Now that these ducks are in a row, lets talk to UP about being somewhat on time. :rolleyes:
 
Look on the bright side, you've got the BNSF to keep you on time to Denver. It doesn't seem like UP does too bad with that line since there is very little traffic on it, since most of the freight goes through on the faster Cheyenne line.
 
Just a tip. From a nother web site. Yes there are other sites, just kidding. It seams that some cab drivers in SF will give you thier private phone numbers. All the information I get about cabs in SF is less than good. I now have a list of six phone numbers of the better ones. {the ones that might show up when called} Like I said, CZ sleepers meals. Cabs are small stuff. Not to worry THANKS B) B)
 

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