Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area

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The following is a list of transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Contents

[edit] Airports

The following airports are served by commercial airlines. In addition there are many general aviation airports in the region.

[edit] Public transportation

Bay Area Light Rail and Regional Rail Services.
Bay Area Light Rail and Regional Rail Services.

[edit] Mass transit

The Bay Area is served by a number of mass transit systems:

[edit] Light rail

  • In Santa Clara County, VTA operates operates its own light rail network, serving mostly San Jose, and northern Santa Clara.

[edit] Bus

Numerous and often overlapping bus transit agencies service the area. The following is a partial list:

[edit] Ferries

Public ferry services cross the bay to serve both commuters and leisure travelers. Operators include Golden Gate Transit, Blue and Gold Fleet, and Red and White.

[edit] Airport shuttle service

[edit] Freeways and highways

The Bay Bridge connects San Francisco with Oakland and the East Bay.
The Bay Bridge connects San Francisco with Oakland and the East Bay.
Interstate 80 is a major urban freeway in the Bay Area (seen here in Berkeley, California as the Eastshore Freeway). This section of freeway is among the busiest in the region, carrying a peak average of roughly 300,000 cars per day.
Interstate 80 is a major urban freeway in the Bay Area (seen here in Berkeley, California as the Eastshore Freeway). This section of freeway is among the busiest in the region, carrying a peak average of roughly 300,000 cars per day.
For more details on this topic, see San Francisco Bay Area freeways.

The Bay Area possesses an extensive freeway and highway system.

[edit] Trans-bay crossings

[edit] The Peninsula to the South Bay

  • Interstate 280 and U.S. Route 101 - Eight-lane and, in some parts, 10-lane freeways connecting San Francisco to San Jose, passing through the Peninsula as Junipero Serra and Sinclair Freeways (I-280) and Bayshore Freeway (101). Highway 101 continues south to Gilroy and Salinas, California, before continuing to Los Angeles. For most of its route I-280 runs along the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and is very scenic, while 101 is highly urban and is locally known as "the world's longest parking lot."
  • California State Routes 1 and 35 - Two-lane highways also traveling down the Peninsula, SR 1 along the Pacific coast, and SR 35 near the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. SR 1 as Cabrillo Highway connects to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, and Monterey, before continuing to Los Angeles.
  • California State Routes 17 (Santa Cruz Freeway) and 9 - Highways through the Santa Cruz Mountains, connecting the South Bay to Santa Cruz. Part of SR 17 in San Jose is an 8 lane freeway.
  • California Routes 237 (South Bay Freeway) and 85 (West Valley Freeway) - Six-lane freeways connecting the west Santa Clara Valley to the east Santa Clara Valley, bypassing Downtown San Jose.
  • State Route 87 (Guadalupe Parkway) - North-south six-lane freeway entirely in San Jose, connecting San Jose International Airport, Downtown to the Almaden Valley.
  • State Route 152 - Two-lane highway from Watsonville, crosses the Santa Cruz Mountains to Gilroy, then crosses the Diablo Range through Pacheco Pass to I-5 near Los Banos.
  • State Route 82 - Highway running from San Jose to Interstate 280 in San Francisco. It is designated a State Route, although it is more similar to an inner-city boulevard, and contains either 2, 4, or 6 lanes. Through much of the San Mateo County, it is also known as El Camino Real. It runs from Daly City in the north through the Peninsula and beyond.
  • The freeway system in Santa Clara county is augmented by its expressway system.

[edit] North Bay

  • US 101 (Redwood Highway) and SR 1 - Continue north of San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and connecting San Francisco to Marin and Sonoma counties, and eventually to Oregon.
  • State Route 29 - Four-lane expressway connecting Interstate 80 in Vallejo in Solano County as Sonoma Boulevard to the towns of American Canyon and Napa. North of Napa, SR 29 is a two-lane rural highway through the towns of the Napa Valley, California's Wine Country, to Clear Lake.
  • State Route 37 - Four- and two-lane expressway connecting US 101 in Novato with Interstate 80 in Vallejo, along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay.
  • State Route 12 - A highway connecting Santa Rosa with suburbs to the west and Interstate 80 through Sonoma and Napa to the east.

[edit] East Bay

[edit] Bridges

Due to the central location of the San Francisco Bay, several bridges cross the Bay or Bay tributaries.