All Nighter
The All Nighter is a night bus network of service in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, which shadows the rapid transit and commuter rail services of the BART System (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and Caltrain, the major rail services between San Francisco, the East Bay and the San Francisco Peninsula. BART and Caltrain do not run at night; the All Nighter network is used to fill this gap while still allowing the night hours for track maintenance on the rail systems. Their slogan is, "Now transit stays up as late as you do!"
History
The service launched initially in December 2005, and fully launched in March 2006. BART and Caltrain riders who previously were left stranded after the transit service closed at midnight can now take advantage of new All Nighter buses that operate between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.
The service is operated by AC Transit, Muni, SamTrans, County Connection, and WHEELS. The agencies have created a network of timed transfers as well as new weekend service every half hour from downtown San Francisco to BART stations along the Richmond and Fremont lines. AC Transit has an 800 route that travels down Market Street and around downtown San Francisco, within walking distance of more than 75 late-night venues, before heading over to the East Bay. It's the first time AC has run buses in San Francisco beyond the Transbay Terminal.
The All Nighter service also includes a late-night line run by County Connection, the 820, to central Contra Costa County, and a new 810 WHEELS line between the Bay Fair BART station and Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton.
The service is funded by Regional Measure 2, which voters approved in 2004. The measure increased tolls by $1 on state-owned bridges in the Bay Area.
Overnight transit service within San Francisco, to Santa Rosa, to the San Francisco International Airport, to Oakland, within the East Bay, and within the South Bay predated the All Nighter initiative. Overnight service outside San Francisco has been volatile, rising and falling with the financial fortunes of the various transit agencies. AC Transit's long-standing overnight service was completely withdrawn in 1996[1] and then restored and expanded in later years. SamTrans introduced overnight service to SFO in 2001[2] and maintained it with a subsidy from the airport starting in 2003. VTA introduced overnight service on Route 22[3] and the light rail network, but later withdrew the overnight light rail component. Golden Gate Transit, which had long offered an essentially 24-hour service on Route 80 to Santa Rosa, reduced the span of service in 2003. 24-hour service was one of the issues considered in the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's LifeLine study, about the transportation needs of economically-disadvantaged individuals.[4]
Service
The service to Contra Costa & Alameda Counties (including Alameda, Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro) is mainly provided by AC Transit; this includes Transbay service to and from San Francisco over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. However, County Connection serves Oakland, Concord, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek; additionally, WHEELS serves Hayward, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore.
For the West Bay and South Bay, service is provided by the
The service runs hourly Tuesday through Friday early in the morning (Monday through Thursday nights) approximately from Midnight to 5 AM. Service on Saturday through Monday early mornings (Friday through Sunday nights) runs every half-hour between Midnight and 7 AM Saturday and 9 AM Sunday. Since each bus is coordinated by its own transit provider and 511.org's trip planner does not work for trips beginning and ending on either side of 4 AM, it is advisable to plan trips on the All-Nighter Network by hand. Furthermore, travel between San Jose and Fremont or the environs of either is lengthy; a considerable defect in the Network is present in that there is no night bus service between the two.
Transfer Points
So-called pulse transfer points are points where schedules are coordinated to facilitate transfer between All-Nighter Network lines. The main such point is in Downtown Oakland where the Bay Bridge (AC Transit) 800 service meets up with (County Connection) service along the BART line to Pittsburg/Bay Point, and service that shadows the BART line to Fremont station. Another important transfer point is the one at Bay Fair BART Station where those who transferred at Oakland towards Fremont can again transfer to WHEELS service along the BART line towards Dublin/Pleasanton and along I-580 to Livermore. The main pulse point in San Francisco, operating on the hour on weekdays and the hour and half-hour on Friday and Saturday nights, is at Van Ness and Market where the AC Transit 800 line has scheduled meets with the Muni L and 90 Owl line, along with SamTrans (Muni's N Line operates at :15 and :45); a secondary pulse at the Transbay Terminal allows for transfer between Muni, SamTrans and AC Transit services. View the Muni Market Street late night map at: http://transit.511.org/providers/maps/SF_613200665109.pdf .
Downtown Oakland Pulse Transfer Point
- 800
- 801
- 802
- 805
- 820
- 851
All Nighter & other owl routes
L-Taraval Owl (SF Muni)[5]
The L Taraval Muni Metro line provides 24-hour service in the Twin Peaks Tunnel as far as West Portal Station before turning off on Taraval Street towards the San Francisco Zoo. From 1 to 5 am, bus service replaces the light rail service, and travels over Twin Peaks, allowing repairs in the tunnel and Market Street Subway. Currently (2007), bus service temporarily begins at 9 P.M. due to renovations currently being done inside the Twin Peaks Tunnel
N-Judah Owl (SF Muni)[6]
The N Judah Muni Metro line, the busiest in the system, has 24-hour service on the Judah Street corridor, including service to the University of California, San Francisco, and on the Embarcadero towards the Caltrain terminal at Fourth and King Streets. From 1 to 5 am, bus service replaces the light rail service, taking Haight Street around the Sunset Tunnel, allowing repairs in the tunnel and Market Street Subway.
5 Fulton (SF Muni bus)[7]
The 5-Fulton serves the Richmond District from Cabrillo and La Playa to downtown's Transbay Terminal, via Fulton and McAllister Streets along Golden Gate Park. From 1 to 5 am, the bus turns around at Market Street instead of continuing to the Terminal.
14 Mission (SF Muni bus)[8]
The 14-Mission serves the entire length of Mission Street in San Francisco from the Embarcadero to San Jose Avenue in Daly City.
22 Fillmore (SF Muni bus)[9]
The 22-Fillmore serves the Potrero Hill, Mission, Western Addition, Pacific Heights and Marina neighborhoods. starts in Potrero Hill at 20th Avenue and Third Street, travels west on 16th Street to Church, crosses Market, and goes north on Fillmore Street to Bay.
24 Divisadero (SF Muni bus)[10]
The 24-Divisidero serves the Bayview, Bernal Heights, Glen Park, Noe Valley, Castro and Laurel Heights neighborhoods. From 1 to 5 am, the route starts at Cortland and Bayshore and ends at Divisidero and Sutter.
38 Geary (SF Muni bus)[11]
The 38-Geary serves the Richmond district from downtown's Transbay Terminal, primarily via Geary Boulevard, and is the busiest bus line on the west coast. The line has three different terminals of Fort Miley, 48th and Point Lobos, and La Playa and Cabrillo next to Ocean Beach. From 1 to 5 am, the line only serves the Ocean Beach route, turning off Geary at 33rd, and traveling down Balboa Street to La Playa.
90 Owl (SF Muni bus)[12]
A combination of 9-San Bruno and 47-Van Ness daytime bus lines, serving San Bruno, Potrero and Van Ness Avenues from Bayshore Boulevard in Visitacion Valley to North Point Street next to Fort Mason.
91 Owl (SF Muni bus)[13]
A loop around San Francisco running every 30 minutes, that operates on parts of the 28-19th Avenue, 30-Stockton, 9X-Bayshore Express daytime bus lines, and the K-Ingleside, and T-Third Street streetcar lines. Starting in West Portal, it takes Ocean and Geneva Avenues to Visitacion Valley, Third Street to downtown, Stockton and Columbus Avenues to Fisherman's Wharf, Lombard Street and Doyle Drive to the Richmond, down Park Presidio Boulevard to the Sunset and down 19th Avenue to San Francisco State University. The loop takes a little more than an hour, ending less than two miles away from its starting point.
108 Treasure Island (SF Muni bus)[14]
Service to Treasure Island from downtown San Francisco's Transbay Terminal. Buses run 24 hours, stopping in front of the terminal when the building is closed.
376 North Richmond Night (AC Transit)[15]
A figure 8 two way loop service in Richmond that runs between El Cerrito del Norte BART, Richmond BART, Contra Costa College, Hilltop Mall, Pinole Vista, and North Richmond.
397/297 (SamTrans)[16]
SamTrans' 397 service links the Transbay Terminal and San Francisco International Airport with Redwood City and Palo Alto, where one connects to the VTA 22 line. The 297 is an abbreviated service that runs between Redwood City and Palo Alto.
800 Transbay (AC Transit)
The 800 provides service between Downtown San Francisco & San Francisco Transbay Terminal to Richmond BART and Amtrak Station.[17] It connects to the Downtown Oakland pulse transfer point to connect with line 820 to Concord, 802 to Berkeley, and 801 to Fremont. Line 802 pulses with the 800 in Berkeley at San Pablo Avenue (State Route 123) at University Avenue.
Runs along Market Street in San Francisco; 13th Street, Broadway, and Telegraph in Oakland; Ashby, Adeline, Shattuck, and University in Berkeley; San Pablo Avenue in Albany and El Cerrito; and finally MacDonald Avenue in Richmond.
801 International-Mission (AC Transit)[18]
Downtown Oakland to Fremont BART via Bayfair
802 San Pablo Ave (AC Transit)[19]
Downtown Oakland to Berkeley Amtrak Station
805 MacArthur-Airport (AC Transit)[20]
Oakland International Airport to Downtown oakland
810 East Avenue (WHEELS)[21]
Bay Fair BART to Dublin/Pleasanton BART & Livermore
820 (County Connection)[22]
Downtown Oakland to Concord
840 Foothill (AC Transit)[23]
Oakland to Eastmont
851 Broadway (AC Transit)[24]
Alameda to downtown Berkeley via downtown Oakland. Follows most of the route of the daytime 51 Broadway, however it ends at Center and Shattuck (Berkeley BART) instead of continuing to 3rd and University.
880 Castro Valley[25]
Shuttle between the 801 at Bay Fair BART and Castro Valley BART a station ignored in the original network.
Lack of service
There is no night service to Marin County by Golden Gate Transit, or to northwestern Contra Costa County in the WestCAT service area. There is a similar lack of service in far eastern Contra Costa County in the Tri-Delta Transit service area, and there is no service along the Interstate 80 corridor of Vallejo Transit in Solano County. One of the worst gaps in the system, and the only gap preventing the circumnavigation of the bay, is the lack of service between Fremont and San Jose. Similarly, there is no service along I-680 between Walnut Creek and Dublin. Additionally, there is no Highway 17 Express service to Santa Cruz and there is no service along Highway 1 between Daly City and Half Moon Bay. There is also no service between San Joaquin County (Stockton, Tracy) or Stanislaus County (Los Baños, Modesto) and the WHEELS service area. There is also no service acrross the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge between 12:30 AM and 05:00 AM or the Dumbarton and San Mateo Bridges. The heavily traveled San Jose-Gilroy corridor is inaccessible after the last bus leaves the San Jose Diridon Station at midnight.
In June 2007 AC Transit closed the first gap commencing route 880 from Bay Fair BART station to Castro Valley BART. A trip from San Francisco involves an uncomfortable 3 late night transfers, however they are timed, synchronized and seamless.
See also
References
- ^ http://www.actransit.org/pdf/planning_focus/planning_focus_122.pdf
- ^ http://www.flysfo.com/about/press/releases/SF-01-01.pdf
- ^ Route 22 Website
- ^ http://www.mtc.ca.gov/library/2001_rtp/downloads/lifeline/Lifeline_Network.pdf
- ^ L Owl Website
- ^ N Owl Website
- ^ 5 Website
- ^ 14 Website
- ^ 22 Website
- ^ 24 Website
- ^ 38 Website
- ^ 90 Owl Website
- ^ 91 Owl Website
- ^ 108 Website
- ^ Route 376 Website
- ^ Routes 397/297 Website
- ^ Route 800 Website
- ^ Route 801 Website
- ^ Route 802 Website
- ^ Route 805 Website
- ^ Route 810 Website
- ^ Route 820 Website
- ^ Route 840 Website
- ^ Route 851 Website
- ^ New Date: Upcoming Service Changes, June 249, "Addition of new All Nighter service to Castro Valley BAR", by AC Transit Marketing, May 15, 2007, retrieved June 3, 2007
External links
- All-Nighter Network page
- 511 general regional transit information
- "'All Nighter' Closes the Late-Night Gap in Regional Transit Service" AC Transit News Article
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