File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
I'm going to San Francisco next month with my husband and my 10-year-old and I was thinking about whether I should take a car or go via Amtrak. Taking a car sounds nice, since I will be all over the place, but then again there's also the parking issue. Gas isn't a a problem. Taking the Amtrak will save me money, and I don't have to worry about parking. However, I will have to walk around everywhere, which I am imagining is very difficult when you have a whiny ten-year-old and an even whinier husband. Train travel stresses me out a little (tickets, bus transfers, finding the right train), but you get to relax once you're in the cabin. We are only staying for three nights, so carrying around luggage is also not a big problem. I live in Fresno, Ca. It takes about 4-5 hours to get to SF via car OR train, so amount of time I actually spend getting there is not an issue. San Francisco is a pretty cool city, and walking will let me capture more of it, but I'm worried about time and distance it takes to get to places. /trv/, what do you think I should do?

tl;dr Amtrak vs car
>> Anonymous
The public rail system in the Bay Area is expensive and inefficient. BART doesn't actually go anywhere people need to be, because the system was constructed by buying the cheapest land to build on rather than actual destinations people would want to go. Without a car, you'll have trouble visiting the area nearby. MUNI is crap, too.

That being said, parking in San Francisco itself is one of the worst experiences known to man. The rude Californian driver brought to one of the most idiotically designed cities in the world creates this monstrosity. Pretty much every street is a one way, everyone is always looking for a spot, and the homeless are everywhere.

Nonetheless, I would say car if you plan on visiting anything outside of S.F.
>> Anonymous
>>42716

Yep. Motorcycle is the PERFECT way for a family of three to travel cross country.
>> Anonymous
So I have 2 for train, 1 for car. Anyone else?
>> Anonymous
Amtrak haters, OP is in Fresno and can use the San Joaquins, a commuter service run by the state that runs much faster than the Coast Starlight or other instate routes.

OP, I'd take Amtrak. Get off at Richmond Station, and then ride the BART red line into SF (which has no Amtrak station.) Don't get off at Oakland or wherever, if you use Richmond you can transfer to BART without having to go to another station anywhere.
>> Anonymous
>>42786
It is expensive, but it's only inefficient insofar as how the region is laid out, where the cities are, and how their landmass affects their ability to grow.

Like it or not, SF is still the best mass transit city west of the Mississippi River. The only people who think it sucks are lost New Yorkers.