how is the traffic?

Question

I have to get to the caltrain station, 4th street, in the weekday mornig by bus.
How is the traffic from the union square area to the station?

Is there any subway or cablecar to the station from the union square area?

Answer 1

It's actually not difficult at all from Union Square.

Just walk a few blocks south on Powell Street, to the underground Muni station at the corner of Powell and Market. There are two different train systems running here, so be careful. When you go underground, go to the Muni side of the terminal, NOT into BART. Entrance to Muni costs $1.50.

Go to the inbound side of the platform, where the trains are headed east toward Embarcadero station. Get on the N Judah train headed inbound, and it goes directly to the Cal Train station. Just be careful to get on the right train, because the N is the only Muni train that goes all the way down to Cal Train. Muni never runs on schedule, you have to just ignore the posted schedules and listen for the announcements and watch the signs on the trains very carefully.

If you don't mind walking a little farther, you can also go down to the Ferry Building and take the F line on the street car. That also stops right at the Cal Train station. Or, if all this sounds too complicated, just jump in a taxi. From Union Square to Cal Train, taxi fare is probably about $10 or less.

Either way, on a weekday morning when you are dealing with commuter traffic and cars may be full, best to give yourself at least an hour to get there.

Answer 2

The best option is to take the N train from the Powell Street station (3 blocks south of Union Square) as explained above by fogjazz49. However, there was one error. You will take the INBOUND train not the outbound (outbound trains go west toward the Ocean Beach). So be careful. Heading inland, the Caltrain is at the end of the line.

The first train is at 5:45 am. They run about every 15 minutes until 7:00 am when the frequency is every 7 minutes until 9 am. From 9 am to 4 pm, there a train every 10 minutes.

The link is to a clear diagram of Muni Metro System.

Answer 3

traffic in san fran is pretty bad all the time. if you go by bus take bus num. 45 and leave early so you make sure that you have enough time to reach the station in time. union square is pretty crazy in the mornings so be careful. i don't think that the cable car runs right through the square but i think it runs on the east and west sides of the square so that might be faster. go online and search for bay area public transportation info to make sure. the subway or " N-Line " is usually more comfortable though.

Answer 4

It should be fine.

You can take the bus (# 45) from Union Square itself or the subway (N-Line) from nearby Powell Street station. The subway is always more comfortable than the bus.

Answer 5

The absolute best resource for public transportation in the Bay Area is www.511.org. If you enter your origin and destination into the trip planner, it will tell you the fastest (or shortest, or cheapest) was to get there using public transportation. Their timetables are accurate.