San Francisco to EMY Shuttle

[Steve]

Hello everyone,

I've been doing a lot of research for my first overnight train ride and this website has been very helpful. I have to say, I'm already very excited about the trip! My wife, In-laws, and myself will be taking the CZ from San Francisco to Denver in September. Originally, we booked the EMY to CHI route but changed it later to DEN to give us a little more time for other sightseeing. I read in another thread that we might be approaching the Rockies close to darkness which is good to know, but hopefully the train won't be too late. Also, it looks like the detour won't affect us on our travel dates, once again great info here.

Anyway, on to my question. We will be staying at Fisherman's Wharf for 2 nights prior to our CZ adventure, and I'm trying to get the shuttle bus information. I'm already having nightmares about getting on the wrong bus at the wrong time and missing the train! What is the closest location from Fisherman's Wharf that I can get on the shuttle to EMY? Would the Amtrak Fisherman's Wharf stop work?

I'm also excited about taking the Roaring Camp steam train near Santa Cruz as a teaser before the main ride! I rode it several years ago and it was awesome, I'm very excited about going there again and I'm sure my In-laws will love it. Thanks in advance!

Steve

 

[printman2000]

I will be catching the bus at Fisherman's Wharf on July 4th. I will let you know how it goes.

But yes, that is the closest.

 

[Trogdor]

With (I think) one exception, for the Coast Starlight, all of the Amtrak California buses from San Francisco go to the Emeryville Station. The buses also have a sign in front indicating where they are going. If in doubt, just ask the driver.

 

[AKA]

Go back a page or two to the topic --- San Francisco bus --- You should get all the information you need. Stop worring and have a great trip.

 

[Steve]

OK great, thanks everyone. Being just a couple of blocks from our hotel, that stop should be perfect for us with all our luggage.

I will try to sneak in a little recon while in SF just to be sure we catch an early enough bus for that 7:10 AM departure.

I've already perused the sample menus several times and I still can't decide what I want with all the mouth-watering choices! Having 2 dinners will help, and my mother-in-law is a light eater so hopefully I can sample most of the lunch and dinner items! Dining aboard a moving train is quite an experience, I've only done it once before on the Napa Valley wine train so I'm really looking forward to this.

 

[PRR 60]

The Thruway bus connection for the early-schedule Zephyr at the Pier 39 Wharf stop is Bus #5006 at 5:55am. Note that this is the same time as the earliest weekday bus connection for the Capitol Corridor service, #6622. However, the Zephyr uses a separate bus from the Capitol Corridor bus, with a different route and arriving EMY at a different (earlier) time than the Capitol Corridor bus. The Zephyr bus is a white charter bus (at least as of a few months ago) with some marking of some sort (sign board on the front, paper sign on the windshield, etc.) that this is the bus for the Zephyr. The Capitol Corridor bus is a distinctive purple and orange bus and is clearly marked "Amtrak California".

It is important to use the correct bus from Pier 39. First, the Capitol Corridor (Amtrak California) bus may not and probably will not honor your Zephyr bus connection ticket. Second, and most importantly, the Zephyr bus is a guaranteed connection to the train. The train will not leave until the Zephyr bus arrives from San Francisco. However, if you are on the Capitol Corridor bus and the bus hits traffic, breaks down, or whatever, your connection to the Zephyr is not guaranteed.

So go to Pier 39, get on the bus for the Zephyr at 5:55am, and enjoy your trip.

 

[jccollins]

However, the Zephyr uses a separate bus from the Capitol Corridor bus, with a different route and arriving EMY at a different (earlier) time than the Capitol Corridor bus. The Zephyr bus is a white charter bus (at least as of a few months ago) with some marking of some sort (sign board on the front, paper sign on the windshield, etc.) that this is the bus for the Zephyr. The Capitol Corridor bus is a distinctive purple and orange bus and is clearly marked "Amtrak California".

They may have been short on regular motorcoaches that day... thus the use of a standard white coach. Usually all Amtrak/Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoach service operated between Emeryville/Oakland-Jack London and San Francisco stations uses the standard Amtrak California dark blue/orange/yellow thruway motorcoaches for uniformity purposes. These are nearly identical-appearing rubber-tired versions of the Amtrak California state-supported intercity trains if you have ever seen one of those. Depending on projected load counts for the day, they MAY run a single coach departing from the Pier 39 Fisherman's Wharf Station to connect with the train(s) in Emeryville. Usually there are two, but they can and have combined the runs in the past. I recommend arriving at the Pier 39 Fisherman's Wharf station stop (directly under the Amtrak California Bus Stop sign) by 5:40am so that you will have plenty of time to make sure you catch the correct departure. The thruway coach conductors/drivers will be happy to direct you as necessary.

 

[Steve]

The Thruway bus connection for the early-schedule Zephyr at the Pier 39 Wharf stop is Bus #5006 at 5:55am. Note that this is the same time as the earliest weekday bus connection for the Capitol Corridor service, #6622. However, the Zephyr uses a separate bus from the Capitol Corridor bus, with a different route and arriving EMY at a different (earlier) time than the Capitol Corridor bus. The Zephyr bus is a white charter bus (at least as of a few months ago) with some marking of some sort (sign board on the front, paper sign on the windshield, etc.) that this is the bus for the Zephyr. The Capitol Corridor bus is a distinctive purple and orange bus and is clearly marked "Amtrak California".
It is important to use the correct bus from Pier 39. First, the Capitol Corridor (Amtrak California) bus may not and probably will not honor your Zephyr bus connection ticket. Second, and most importantly, the Zephyr bus is a guaranteed connection to the train. The train will not leave until the Zephyr bus arrives from San Francisco. However, if you are on the Capitol Corridor bus and the bus hits traffic, breaks down, or whatever, your connection to the Zephyr is not guaranteed.

So go to Pier 39, get on the bus for the Zephyr at 5:55am, and enjoy your trip.

PRR 60,

Thanks for the very detailed information, that will help me out a lot. The two different buses with different routes and arrival times at EMY is exactly the scenario I was worried about! Knowing how I am sometimes, I would've probably got on the Capitol Corridor bus. :lol:

 

[Steve]

They may have been short on regular motorcoaches that day... thus the use of a standard white coach. Usually all Amtrak/Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoach service operated between Emeryville/Oakland-Jack London and San Francisco stations uses the standard Amtrak California dark blue/orange/yellow thruway motorcoaches for uniformity purposes. These are nearly identical-appearing rubber-tired versions of the Amtrak California state-supported intercity trains if you have ever seen one of those. Depending on projected load counts for the day, they MAY run a single coach departing from the Pier 39 Fisherman's Wharf Station to connect with the train(s) in Emeryville. Usually there are two, but they can and have combined the runs in the past. I recommend arriving at the Pier 39 Fisherman's Wharf station stop (directly under the Amtrak California Bus Stop sign) by 5:40am so that you will have plenty of time to make sure you catch the correct departure. The thruway coach conductors/drivers will be happy to direct you as necessary.

jccollins,

Thank you, I'll keep in mind that they might combine the 2 runs. Now that I know what to expect, I can relax with this detail taken care of. I'm sure it's going to be really fun getting up at 4:30 AM!

 

[rtabern]

It sounds like you might be getting off at Pier 39.

I went from EMY-SFW on the bus late last month... it's pretty clear where the bus is going to be. It's usually right in front of the EMY station when the train gets there.

Just a warning about Pier 39's stop through... the bus is really supposed to pull in the little drop-off lane there... but when the bus came to pick us up to go back to EMY, there was some other tour bus parked in its spot so the bus just pulled over on the street to pick people up... off the Embaradero I believe. SO keep your eyes open for that too... but generally you'll be OKAY.

I've done the EMY-SFW bus 4 or 5 times and it's been pretty clear where the bus is.

 

[jccollins]

Just a warning about Pier 39's stop through... the bus is really supposed to pull in the little drop-off lane there... but when the bus came to pick us up to go back to EMY, there was some other tour bus parked in its spot so the bus just pulled over on the street to pick people up... off the Embaradero I believe. SO keep your eyes open for that too... but generally you'll be OKAY.

This isn't something he'll have to worry about at 6am. There aren't too many motorcoaches anywhere around the area at that time. Later in the afternoon, especially on weekends, the area becomes heavily congested and you sometimes need to keep your eyes open.