Salesforce Transit Center opens

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ParanoidAndroid

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The new Transbay Terminal just opened yesterday. Multiple local bus operators are already using the place. Online diagrams show Amtrak/Greyhound operating out of their own bus bays on the 3rd floor. On a nearby small space on the 2nd floor, there was a Greyhound waiting room (not open yet) and some adjacent spaces under construction, some probably for Amtrak. Curiously, buses accessing the 3rd floor have direct access on their own elevated road south to freeways and the Bay Bridge. I'm thinking Amtrak buses going to/from the terminal will have to go on an arduous loop around town to get to the other local stops in San Francisco (sff, sfw, sfs).

The new terminal was massive (4 stories) and beautiful, with the top being an open air park. The 3rd floor has a whopping 37 bus bays, mostly used by AC Transit, and it took a good few minutes to walk down. Best of all, there were lots of people enjoying the place and riding the buses. I hope Amtrak starts operating here soon. I haven't found any info online as to when it'll happen, but Amtrak/Greyhound are already on some of the signage there.

Years ahead, there are plans for an underground Caltrain extension to here. It sounds a bit far fetched, but if it happens, San Francisco will have a transit hub worthy of Japan or Europe. Too bad that BART is still 3 blocks away.
 
It's too bad that Amtrak is not operating out of the new Transbay Transit Center yet. They were the only tenant at the Temporary Transbay Terminal after everyone else moved last time, too. As I recall, even Greyhound left. Amtrak in the interim was going to operate from a MUNI platform on Main Street, but later worked it out so that they could continue operating out of the temporary shack. This was the platform Amtrak had announced they would use prior to retracting:
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Capitol Corridor has been the most communicative about the move, although they still haven't said much.
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https://twitter.com/CapitolCorridor/status/1159610843979341824?s=20

I wish Amtrak would be a bit more forthcoming about why they haven't moved (be it waiting on construction, difficulty of integration into the bus route, contracts being ironed out with the Transbay Joint Powers, etc). Odd that they would consider using a MUNI platform in the street that provides no shelter or seating before moving over to the Transbay Transit Center. There's already Amtrak signage at the new Transbay Transit Center that was even there when it first opened last year.

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The TB terminal and Amtrak saved my rear about 40 years ago. We were in SF overnight, and planning to take BART and a cab back to the Oakland station (another story) on a Sunday morning. Nobody told us BART didn't run on Sundays back then. We asked a local for advice and they sent us to the TBT to catch an AC transit. First thing we saw when we walked in was an Amtrak ticket office, who told us to just walk upstairs and wait for a dedicated Amtrak bus. Problem solved!

p.s. "Salesforce" Transit Center? Pshaw...
 
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