San Francisco Bay Area: I-580 vs. I-680

Summary

Pros

• Shorter commute time
• Gentler (less?) gradient

Cons

• Longer commute distance

San Francisco: Disneyland for adults! Note: lines have moved from the sidewalks to the highways...

Introduction

Traveling from San Francisco, Marin, or the Richmond/Berkeley Area to San Ramon or Dublin/Pleasanton? This guy does, and the traffic can get absolutely nuts, especially around I-680.

From personal experience, I'll agree SF Bay Area traffic isn't as bad as Los Angeles's. Still isn't fun though.

Discussion

So, what are the options? To quote Sherlock Holmes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbably, must be the truth." Applying that logic to the simply task of getting from point A to point B, there are a couple options. First, to take the shortest distance possible between the points. Second, to take the path that takes the least amount of time (not necessarily the same as the first option). Third, to leave the driving to someone else so as to work during the travel time (carpool, public transportation).

Now, I would say that most people would go for the first option, and this was what I initially did. In this case, that would mean going through the Caldecott Tunnel and I-680. Unfortunately, these two can quickly turn into bottlenecks, and increase your travel time by 25%-50%. I've found by avoiding the Caldecott Tunnel and traveling south via I-580 will add five miles to the journey, but cut the travel time by up to 30 minutes. I consider travel by I-580 to be the my second option listed in the paragraph above, and is now my primary way of driving from San Francisco to San Ramon.

Finally, I have taken public transportation options, such as BART, more recently, direct buses from San Francisco to San Ramon. It's not a bad way to go, but as there may be a BART strike soon, I'm making sure to drive at least once a week to brush up on my driving skills.

For all it's flaws and dramas, I still use it.

Conclusion

There are a lot of ways to get to the deeper East Bay. I actually prefer public transit now, since I can get a lot of work done, but when I drive, I absolutely take the I-580 over the I-680. It's much quicker; for a 13% increase in travel distance, I'm gaining 25% in decreased travel time.

There are six toll bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area. In other words, there's a cover charge just to get in your car and drive most places (but this is a whole other topic I will cover in an upcoming post).