- All Nighter
The All Nighter is a
night bus network of service in theSan Francisco Bay Area ,California , which shadows therapid transit andcommuter rail services of the BART System (Bay Area Rapid Transit ) andCaltrain , the major rail services betweenSan Francisco , the East Bay and theSan Francisco Peninsula . BART and Caltrain do not run at night; the All Nighter network is used to fill this gap while still allowing the night hours for track maintenance on the rail systems. The slogan is, "Now transit stays up as late as you do!"History
The service launched initially in December
2005 , and fully launched in March2006 . BART and Caltrain riders who previously faced uncoordinated substitute bus transit service after midnight can now take advantage of All Nighter buses that operate between midnight and 5 a.m.The service is operated by
AC Transit , Muni,SamTrans , VTA,County Connection , and WHEELS. The agencies have created a network of timed transfers as well as new weekend service every half hour from downtownSan Francisco to BART stations along the Richmond and Fremont lines. AC Transit has an 800 route that travels down Market Street and around downtownSan Francisco , within walking distance of more than 75 late-night venues, before heading over to the East Bay. It's the first time AC has run buses in San Francisco beyond theTransbay Terminal .The All Nighter service also includes a late-night line run by County Connection, the 820, to central
Contra Costa County, and a new 810 WHEELS line between the Bay Fair BART station and Livermore, Dublin and Pleasanton.The service is funded by Regional Measure 2, which voters approved in
2004 . The measure increased tolls by $1 on state-owned bridges in theBay Area .Overnight transit service within San Francisco, to Santa Rosa, to the San Francisco International Airport, to Oakland, within the East Bay, and within the South Bay predated the All Nighter initiative. Overnight service outside San Francisco has been volatile, rising and falling with the financial fortunes of the various transit agencies. AC Transit's long-standing overnight service was completely withdrawn in 1996 [http://www.actransit.org/pdf/planning_focus/planning_focus_122.pdf] and then restored and expanded in later years. SamTrans introduced overnight service to SFO in 2001 [ [http://www.flysfo.com/about/press/releases/SF-01-01.pdf SFO - San Francisco International Airport ] ] and maintained it with a subsidy from the airport starting in 2003. VTA introduced overnight service on Route 22 [http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_22.html Route 22 Website] ] and the
light rail network, but later withdrew overnight light rail service due to financial difficulties.Golden Gate Transit , which had long offered an essentially 24-hour service on Route 80 to Santa Rosa, reduced the span of service in 2003. 24-hour service was one of the issues considered in the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's LifeLine study, about the transportation needs of economically-disadvantaged individuals. [ [http://www.mtc.ca.gov/library/2001_rtp/downloads/lifeline/Lifeline_Network.pdf Lifeline Transit_cover.qx ] ]ervice
The service to Contra Costa and Alameda Counties (including Alameda, Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro) is mainly provided by
AC Transit ; this includes Transbay service to and from San Francisco over theSan Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge .County Connection serves Oakland, Concord, Pleasant Hill, and Walnut Creek. WHEELS serves Hayward, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore.For the Peninsula and South Bay, service is provided by the
San Francisco Municipal Railway in San Francisco,SamTrans inSan Mateo County , and VTA inSanta Clara County . SamTrans provides service along theCaltrain rail corridor between San Francisco and Palo Alto. VTA provides service along the Caltrain rail corridor between Palo Alto, connecting with SamTrans, and San Jose.Service to/from San Francisco across the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge runs hourly Tuesday through Friday early in the morning (Monday through Thursday nights) approximately from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. Service on Saturday through Monday early mornings (Friday through Sunday nights) runs every half hour between midnight and 7 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday. Because each bus line is coordinated by its own transit provider and [http://www.511.org 511.org] 's trip planner does not work for trips beginning and ending around 4 a.m., it is advisable to plan trips using All Nighter routes by hand.
Transfer points
So-called "pulse transfer points" are points where schedules are coordinated to facilitate transfer between All Nighter bus lines. The primary transfer point is in downtown Oakland, where the Transbay AC Transit Route 800 service connects with County Connection service along the
BART line toPittsburg/Bay Point , as well as AC Transit service shadowing the BART line to Fremont station. Another transfer point is located at Bay Fair BART Station, where the AC Transit service between Oakland and Fremont connects to WHEELS service along the BART line toDublin/Pleasanton and along I-580 to Livermore. The main pulse point in San Francisco, operating on the hour on weekdays and the hour and half-hour on Friday and Saturday nights, is at Van Ness Avenue and Market Street, where the Muni L and 90 owl lines connect with AC Transit Route 800. (Muni's N owl line operates at :15 and :45 after the hour.) A secondary pulse at theTransbay Terminal allows for transfer between Muni, SamTrans and AC Transit. The Muni Market Street late night map can be viewed on the [http://transit.511.org/static/providers/maps/SF_613200665150.gif511 Website] .Downtown Oakland Pulse Transfer Point
*800
*801
*802
*805
*820
*840
*851All Nighter and other "owl" routes
=L-Taraval Owl (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=L-OWL L-Taraval Owl Website] ] =The
L Taraval Muni Metro line provides 24-hour service between the Embarcadero andSan Francisco Zoo . From 1 to 5 a.m., bus service replaces the light rail service, traveling over Twin Peaks and on Market Street rather than through theTwin Peaks Tunnel and Market Street Subway. Currently (2008), weekday bus service temporarily begins at 9 p.m. due to trackbed repairs inside the Twin Peaks Tunnel.
=N-Judah Owl (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=N-OWL N-Judah Owl Website] ] =The
N Judah Muni Metro line, the busiest in the system, provides 24-hour service between theCaltrain terminal at Fourth and King Streets andOcean Beach via the Sunset District, including service to theUniversity of California, San Francisco and the Embarcadero. From 1 to 5 a.m., bus service replaces the light rail service, traveling along Haight and Market Streets rather than through theSunset Tunnel and Market Street Subway.
=5-Fulton (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=5 5-Fulton Website] ] =The 5-Fulton provides 24-hour service between the
Transbay Terminal and Ocean Beach via the Richmond District. From 1 to 5 a.m., the bus turns around at Market Street instead of continuing to the Transbay Terminal.
=14-Mission (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=14 14-Mission Website] ] =The 14-Mission provides 24-hour service along the entire length of
Mission Street in San Francisco from the Embarcadero to San Jose Avenue in Daly City.
=22-Fillmore (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=22 22-Fillmore Website] ] =The 22-Fillmore provides 24-hour service to the
Potrero Hill , Mission District, Western Addition, Pacific Heights and Marina neighborhoods.VTA's 22 service links San Jose with Palo Alto, where it connects to
SamTrans Routes 297 and 397.
=24-Divisadero (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=24 24-Divisadero Website] ] =The 24-Divisidero serves the Bayview, Bernal Heights, Glen Park, Noe Valley, Castro and Pacific Heights neighborhoods. From 1 to 5 a.m., the route does not serve the Bayview and Pacific Heights neighborhoods.
=38-Geary (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=38 38-Geary Website] ] =The 38-Geary, the busiest bus line on the west coast, provides 24-hour service between the Richmond District and the Transbay Terminal. The line has three different terminals in the Richmond District, including Fort Miley, 48th Avenue, and Ocean Beach. From 1 to 5 a.m., the line only serves the Ocean Beach terminal, turning off Geary at 33rd Avenue to serve Balboa Street.
=90 Owl (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=90 90 Owl Website] ] =A combination of the 9-San Bruno and 47-Van Ness daytime bus lines, Route 90 serves San Bruno, Potrero, and Van Ness Avenues from Bayshore Boulevard in Visitacion Valley to North Point Street next to
Fort Mason .
=91 Owl (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=91 91 Owl Website] ] =A loop around San Francisco running every 30 minutes, Route 91 serves portions of the 28-19th Avenue, 30-Stockton, and 9X-Bayshore Express daytime bus lines, as well as parts of the K-Ingleside, and T-Third Street streetcar lines. Starting in
West Portal , it takes Ocean and Geneva Avenues to Visitacion Valley, Third Street to downtown, Stockton and Columbus Avenues toFisherman's Wharf , Lombard Street and Doyle Drive to the Richmond District, and Park Presidio Boulevard and 19th Avenue to the Sunset District andSan Francisco State University . At one point on the loop, the West Portal portion of Route 91 operates just one block (less than a quarter mile) east of the Sunset District portion of the line.
=108-Treasure Island (SF Muni) [ [http://www.sfmuni.com/php/routedesc.php?rted=108 108-Treasure Island Website] ] =The 108-Treasure Island provides 24-hour service to Treasure Island from the Transbay Terminal. Buses stop in front of the terminal when the building is closed.
376 North Richmond Night (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/376.html Route 376 Website] ]
Route 376 is a figure 8 two-way loop service in Richmond that runs between El Cerrito del Norte BART, Richmond BART,
Contra Costa College ,Hilltop Mall , Pinole Vista, and North Richmond.397/297 (SamTrans) [ [http://www.samtrans.org/schedules.html Routes 397/297 Website] ]
SamTrans' 397 service links the Transbay Terminal and
San Francisco International Airport with Redwood City and Palo Alto, where it connects to VTA's Route 22. Route 297 is an abbreviated version of Route 397 operating only between Redwood City and Palo Alto.800 Transbay (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/800.html Route 800 Website] ]
The 800 operates between downtown San Francisco and Richmond BART and Amtrak Station via Oakland and Berkeley. It connects to Routes 801, 802, 805, 820, 840, and 851 at the downtown Oakland pulse transfer point.
801 International-Mission (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/801.html Route 801 Website] ]
Route 801 operates between downtown Oakland and Fremont BART via Bay Fair BART.
802 San Pablo Ave (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/802.html Route 802 Website] ]
Route 801 operates between downtown Oakland and Berkeley Amtrak Station.
805 MacArthur-Airport (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/805.html Route 805 Website] ]
Route 805 operates between downtown Oakland and
Oakland International Airport .810 East Avenue (WHEELS) [ [http://www.lavta.org/schedules/route810.html Route 810 Website] ]
Route 810 operates between Bay Fair BART and Livermore via Dublin/Pleasanton BART.
820 (County Connection) [ [http://www.cccta.org/routes/820.htm Route 820 Website] ]
Route 820 operates between downtown Oakland and Concord BART.
840 Foothill (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/840.html Route 840 Website] ]
Route 840 operates between downtown Oakland and Eastmont.
851 Broadway (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/851.html Route 851 Website] ]
Route 851 operates between Alameda and downtown Berkeley via downtown Oakland. The line follows most of daytime route 51 but ends at (Berkeley BART) instead of continuing to Berkeley Amtrak Station. Service to the Berkeley Amtrak Station is provided by the 802.
880 Castro Valley (AC Transit) [ [http://www.actransit.org/riderinfo/schedules/880.html Route 880 Website] ]
Route 880 shuttles between the Bay Fair BART and Castro Valley BART stations.
Lack of service
There is no overnight service to
Marin County byGolden Gate Transit , to northwesternContra Costa County in theWestCAT service area, to eastern Contra Costa County in theTri-Delta Transit service area, to Solano County in theVallejo Transit service area, and along I-680 between Walnut Creek and Dublin. There is no overnight bus service between Fremont BART and San Jose, preventing the circumnavigation of San Francisco Bay. Similarly, there is no overnight service along bridges other than the Bay Bridge.References
External links
* [http://transit.511.org/providers/night.asp All-Nighter Network page]
* [http://transit.511.org/ 511 general regional transit information]
* [http://www.actransit.org/news/articledetail.wu?articleid=e21bb1a6 "'All Nighter' Closes the Late-Night Gap in Regional Transit Service" AC Transit News Article]
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