Commute Time between Tracy and San Francisco (Oakland, Stockton: for sale, apartment)

[cherripi]

Hi everyone I've been lurking here for a while to get information on Tracy. What a great forum this is!

My husband and I currently live in downtown San Francsico in a 1-bedroom apartment and would like to buy a house in the coming year. We don't want to spend too much money on a house so Tracy came into mind. He works in downtown and I work in the Castro area.

So my question is, what is the commute time between Tracy and San Francisco during peak hour? I am planning to take the Bart into the city to save gas and time. Is it better to take the ACE train from Tracy to Pleasanton then Bart from Pleasanton to SF, or drive to Pleasanton Bart station then take the Bart?

Any suggestions will be appreciated!

[humboldtrat]

I would skip the ACE train which doesn't stop anywhere near the Pleasanton BART station and just drive to the Pleasanton BART station (there is a shuttle between the ACE and BART stations in Pleasanton, however). They have plenty of parking on both sides of I-580.

In SF, from the BART stations along Market St., you can go to the upper level and take Muni light rail to Castro St.

[18Montclair]

If you can swing it financially, I would recommend moving closer in.

What price range of homes were you thinking about?

[DMenscha]

Welcome to the Altamont Pass! I had a job in SJ and was promised a transfer to Stockton, so I bought my home in Calaveras County. They rescinded the transfer I've ridden ACE and driven ALL of the alternative ways from the valley into the south bay. You will HATE 580! It can take 45 minutes to get from Tracy to BART.

The ACE train doesn't connect directly to BART in Pleasanton, the station is next to the fairgrounds. There may be a shuttle between ACE and BART but that's going to add quite a bit of time to the equation. Your best bet would be to drive to the Pleasanton BART station and go from there

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

Welcome to the Altamont Pass! I had a job in SJ and was promised a transfer to Stockton, so I bought my home in Calaveras County. They rescinded the transfer I've ridden ACE and driven ALL of the alternative ways from the valley into the south bay. You will HATE 580! It can take 45 minutes to get from Tracy to BART.

The ACE train doesn't connect directly to BART in Pleasanton, the station is next to the fairgrounds. There may be a shuttle between ACE and BART but that's going to add quite a bit of time to the equation. Your best bet would be to drive to the Pleasanton BART station and go from there

Would it be worth it to take Amtrak to the Oakland coliseum BART..I read somewhere that its now a joint BART/ Amtrak station?

That way, you would only drive to the Amtrak station in San Joaquin County as opposed to shlepping over the Altamont pass.....what an awful drive.

Ya know when I was in Sac, I saw something on TV. apparently the 205 is the worst commute in CA outside of the immediate LA and the Bay Areas.

yikes.

[cherripi]

Oh that's good to know! I know that Bart comes more often in the morning and afternoon, does it get stuck at all? I take the Muni Metro to work everyday and sometimes it's just impossible to get to work on time because something always goes wrong!

I may have to rethink moving to Tracy then, seems like it can easily take up to 4 hours everyday just to commute!

Our price range is around 350-400k for 3 bedrooms. It's really not high enough for the bay area.

[cardinal2007]

There are a few places in the Bay Area that are that affordable, but maybe you won't like the area, Pittsburg and Antioch come to mind.

As an example here is a house built in 2005 in Pittsburg:
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Granted Pittsburg is not know to be as nice as other places, but yeah, if your price range is that high you can afford the Bay Area in this day and age, not that much selection, but there are a few foreclosures every here and there.

You don't really need to go all the way out to Tracy unless your budget is less than 300k.

Just as a warning prices in Tracy, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood and those areas are still going down, don't get in over your head, because getting out won't be easy, try to find a place you will want to stick around for a while.

Though 400k is not as little as you make it sound, you can even buy a house in Concord for that much.

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You should talk to an agent who knows these areas if you really want to buy a house, you will have to make compromises on location or amenities, but it can be done.

[sonarrat]

Aren't they widening 205? That should make a difference, though 580 will still be a problem.

There is an express bus to Pleasanton BART from Tracy, but you have to reserve in advance and that would be more $$$ than I could stomach personally.

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by cherripi

Oh that's good to know! I know that Bart comes more often in the morning and afternoon, does it get stuck at all? I take the Muni Metro to work everyday and sometimes it's just impossible to get to work on time because something always goes wrong!

I may have to rethink moving to Tracy then, seems like it can easily take up to 4 hours everyday just to commute!

Our price range is around 350-400k for 3 bedrooms. It's really not high enough for the bay area.

You have to pay for parking at dublin bart as well. 580 is horrific. I go there in the evenings and it takes forever. Morning are sometimes better. I went from portola to hacienda and it took 25 minute usually at 8:30am. Downtown Oakland to Livermore at 4:30pm takes me a little over an hour usually.

[tennis368fan]

The following post is one of mine from another thread about Mountain House, a community west of Tracy with its own in-community commuter bus stop. It is modified to suit your context.

You have more choices than just Pittsburg, Antioch, and Brentwood, that's for sure. Consider Mountain House, which is just as affordable, especially during developer "fire sales": Mountain House Forums: Homes/townhomes for sale .The elementary and middle schools compare to some of the best schools in Brentwood. See this post on Mountain House's community forum and website in a comparison between the two cities: Mountain House Forums: Mountain House vs. Brentwood .

Mountain House is master-planned and has a luxury commuter bus service that takes you from the heart of the community to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station, from where you can take BART to San Francisco. Plus, I saw on the forum that new metering lights are lightning the traffic on the Altamont Pass and I-580, in addition to a widening project. If you live in Brentwood, it is going to be tricky to drive on Highway 4, and there is no commuter bus that I know of that takes residents to Pittsburg/Bay Point BART Station in 45 minutes.

In Brentwood, you need to drive to the Brentwood Park and Ride, which takes time, ride the bus for one hour to the Pittsburg/Bay Point BART Station, and then ride on BART for another hour.

From Mountain House, the bus picks up passengers from within walking distance of most residents, and takes only 45 minutes to get to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station. From there, the BART journey is only 45 minutes to Embarcadero Station, shorter than the hour of BART from Pittsburg.

In all, the journey from Mountain House to San Francisco is shorter than that from Brentwood by half an hour. In Mountain House, you will also be living in a better community with close-knit neighbors. Pittsburg and Antioch are not that great, and Brentwood is slowly being impacted by those cities.

Mountain House is also near the affluent Tri-Valley and its technological industry base, conveniently accessible by I-580.

To find out more about Mountain House, you can visit its community website at Mountain House Villages


Edit: I figured the cost of a monthly pass for the luxury commuter bus service. The cost of the unlimited monthly pass of $110 averaged over twenty weekdays comes to less than the price of gas per mile per gallon of a car that has a mileage that is less than 30 MPG. Also, you would not have to deal of the stress of commuting, making the bus-to-BART option from Mountain House a bigger plus.