Arriving Oakland airport at 9pm and needs to get to Berkely campus

I don’t particularly like to be on BART by myself at night. If she feels she wants to take BART, encourage her to board the same car as other folks from the airport so she is near like-minded travelers. Two years ago I was on BART midday on a Sunday coming home from the airport and in my BART car, a guy was masturbating, another tipped over from his seat and dropped a hypodermic needle on the ground, and a small group of people were snorting something. I changed cars at the first stop. Unbelievable!

It may be after 10PM by the time she exits BART in Berkeley. I’d suggest she call Lyft or Uber to get to the apartments…unless whomever she’s visiting can meet her at BART so your daughter isn’t walking alone in an unfamiliar area. If she were my daughter I’d encourage her to Uber or Lyft from the airport. And this is coming from a UCB grad who loves Berkeley but it can feel a bit sketchy by yourself at night by the BART stations.

I'm in the absolutely not camp. A 20 minute walk from downtown to the apartments? No. School is out. I'd encourage her to uber/lyft from the airport. The time to become familiar with the area is not at that time of night, a solo female.

A third no. Uber. I took BART to Oakland once too and I was surprised that I was basically alone in the car as I got to the airport. As a single female traveler, I’m hoping for other folks around. It’s late at night in Oakland and there’s a 20 minute walk involved at the end anyways…all pointing to just using Uber. My Uber app says $35, just to get an idea.

Thank you, Helen, KD and Valerie. I hesitated to get involved because she had it all figured out, but she lives in Honolulu, went to college in a small town, and grew up in a suburb of St. Paul. She's not a big city person, and has no idea.

I told her at the very least she needed to contact me when she landed. I'm going to tell her Lyft or Uber! I also looked at my Lyft app, and its not expensive. I'm also guessing BART tickets could be at least $10, so its not much more to take a Lyft (or Uber).

Thank you all for the sanity check.

hey hey jules m
i'm with the others that recommend uber/lyft, especially at that hour. i quit riding BART with some of the "sketchy charactures" i've seen on board plus some using it as a "mobile motel/hotel!" my own opinion. good luck with a safe ride to berkeley apartment.
aloha

My son lives in Emeryville, just across the border from Berkeley. I have taken the BART many times, but only during daylight hours when many “regular” people are riding. Even then, I’ve witnessed some unpleasantness. At night I would definitely take Uber/Lyft. As you discovered, it’s not all that expensive. It would be much safer (and likely faster as well).

While we do take BART (back to the Oakland station where we park our car) after attending evening events in San Francisco, I don’t recommend it to a single woman, especially one unfamiliar with the area. I agree with the uber/lyft recommendation.

Always grateful for forum advice! I'm especially grateful for the prompt and helpful advice on this. She took a Lyft from the airport and is attending a conference at Berkeley. Her plans just did not seem wise to me, and I'm glad I posted.

I'm so glad she made it safely to the apartment last night. Thanks for letting us know!

hey hey jules m
happy all worked out for your daughter
aloha

Glad to hear this. Thanks for the update.

Yes, Jules, thanks for the update. Glad you posted and glad your daughter listened.