SFO to DVC on public transit
The San Francisco Bay Area isn’t exactly known for its outstanding public transit—and people are pretty much right about that. By no means is it underrated—it’s a mess of different systems and the poophole that is BART. That being said, it’s better than I first imagined, and I decided to make the journey from SFO to DVC (Diablo Valley College/San Ramon Campus), entirely by public transit. Come along for some tips ☹
Options
Luckily, there are several options on getting from SFO to the college. Unluckily, all of them are pretty terrible.
- Via the BART Yellow Line (Antioch–SFO/Millbrae) northbound to Montgomery St, then over the Bay Bridge and through the East Bay Via the Blue Line (Dublin/Pleasanton–Daly City), and finally on the County Connection (Contra Costa bus service) 335 bus up Dougherty Rd
- Walking
These are the only good ways to get to DVC from SFO. There might be more options that include other BART routes + other county bus services, but Google Maps only returned one route when I clicked “Directions”.
Due to the fact that there are basically no BART stops east of The Hills south of Pleasant Hill, doing this via BART is extremely difficult. Just attend some other college.
Leg one: SFO to Dublin/Pleasanton
A typical BART run. Per Google Maps, this takes approximately 2 hours, but my train arrived late when I transferred from Yellow to Blue, so I was about 25 minutes late for my MATH-193 final and got a 0, bringing my final grade down to a 61.
Leg two: Bus 335
I couldn’t find this bus, so I decided to just walk the entire way instead, which was probably faster. The sun had set by the time I got to Alcosta Blvd, and I left this morning at 10:45.
A note on payment
This route costs a total of $15.50, so you are basically better off driving, unless you drive a tank or a semitruck with a hole in the gas tank. This is especially true because the Bay Bridge tolls westbound instead of eastbound, and you are on a reverse commute, so traffic should not be much of an issue.
Conclusion
The total journey time (including waiting) from SFO to DVC was about 8.5 hours. This time is pretty long for a 41 mile commute, and I was unsatisfied with the journey due to the fact that most of it took place on BART and I had to look at the new developments along Dougherty Rd.
I’m excited to see how public transport options to SFO change from some boondocks college way out east with the Danville Regional Curling Championships coming up in 2035. I’m especially excited for the not-hopefully proposed Brown line that will ravage through the nice town of Danville, CA and replace 680 in the Alamo/Danville/San Ramon area. That’ll enable an insane amount of protests and a more annoying place to live, but a bus/shuttle-free journey from SFO to the DVC/LMC/CCC/ABC/JND/Daly City/Livermore/Stockton/Manteca/Sonora/Salt Lake City Enhanced Greater Metropolitan Area and I’m looking forward to giving it a try!