Whether you’re out of state or simply not from the area, all incoming freshmen and junior transfers were fed the same lie when they first came to UC Berkeley: San Francisco is just 15 short minutes away!
Don’t get me wrong, I am aware of the luxury of being close to a city filled with so much history and excitement. However, 15 minutes is simply not enough time to allocate when traveling to San Francisco.
About a week ago, my best friend and I decided we wanted to partake in the aesthetically pleasing activity of watching the sunrise near the Golden Gate Bridge — cheesy, I know. But she had just brought her puppy up from Los Angeles to visit, and we wanted to bring him to a beach in Northern California for a change of scenery.
After waking up at 5 a.m. — a task I never would have thought possible — I picked up my friend and her pup and we made our way to the big city. As soon as we got near the Bay Bridge, we quickly discovered that this would be no smooth drive. To our surprise, there was still traffic so early in the morning!
Looking back, I should have accounted for an early bird traffic jam from those who start their work days much earlier than I do. In the moment, though, my mood shot down as I realized we’d have to watch the sunrise from my white Chevy, rather than the beautiful beach.
Traffic when entering the city is almost inevitable unless you’re traveling at 3 a.m. on a weekday. With parking and gas being so expensive these days, driving is pretty much completely out of the question as a student at UC Berkeley. So how does one take a much needed break from campus in a time- and cost-efficient manner?
One thing that my friends and I made sure to take advantage of freshman year was our campus-provided Clipper cards. I know the buses can be unreliable at times, but if you’re not in a rush, sparing a few minutes due to a miscalculation on Apple Maps can definitely be worth the wait.
While it does add extra time to your travel itinerary, the buses that travel through Berkeley will take you all around the bay — even straight to the city, if that’s what you’re looking for.
On another note, while it will always be confusing to me, BART will truly take you anywhere in the Bay Area. From San Jose to San Francisco to Walnut Creek, there is nowhere that BART won’t take you. When traveling back home and trying to avoid the high costs of an Uber, BART always offers a quick and inexpensive trip to both the Oakland and San Francisco airports.
Speaking of traveling home, if you are an in-state resident, I highly recommend taking Amtrak to travel to and from your home base. Not only can Amtrak be cheaper than a flight, but it also allows you to spend time doing those assignments that you promised yourself you’d do while spending time at home (spoiler alert — no one ever does).
Before my grandmother moved from Bakersfield to Lake Tahoe, I’d always visit her via Amtrak to save some cash during the holidays. Those seven hours allowed me to have time to myself to catch up on some assignments right before dead week, as well as watch movies that I had been meaning to see. And the snack cart offers everything from personal size pizzas to candy and chips.
If you ever want to drive somewhere during the semester to clear your head or simply get out of Berkeley, I recommend signing up for Zipcar or GIG Car Share. These are car share programs that allow you to rent vehicles for a low cost without having to worry about gas. While I’ve had little luck with GIG (since it charges you by the minute), I always turn to Zipcar when I want to roll down the window, blare my favorite songs and forget about the billion Canvas notifications on my phone.
Not having a car in Berkeley can make you feel like you’re trapped at school for what seems like an eternity, but with these cheap travel tips, I hope you can plan your next getaway and take some time off from Main Stacks — at least for a day or two.
