1K-SFO

I'm a San Franciscan, but I'm always headed into SF from SFO.

On Monday, I have a colleague coming into SFO. We're headed to a meeting in Palo Alto. If his flight is on time, I'll pick him up and drive us to Palo Alto.

However, if he's late, I'll go on ahead and he'll need to take a taxi.

Taking a city cab will be exorbitant.

At ORD, there are suburban taxi companies that you can call from the terminal to go to non-downtown destinations.

Anyone know of any such Bay Area taxi services that one can call on an ad-hoc, non-reservations basis at SFO? SFO's web site only shows city cabs under the Taxi page.

Ideas gratefully accepted! Thanks!

nixande

I know this is horrorfull to most Americans but as I am going over there end of the month, I have researched and found, that there is a train going directly to Palo Alto which should not take much time.

There is a free shuttle to Milbrae station and from Palo Alto, he could take a taxi again. It is a bit inconvinient, but not that much and as far as I remember the train schedules, it is not much later than that.

Besides that, he could try and take some of the shuttle services and ask Supershuttle and co if they will drive to a big hotel - and frm there he could take a taxi again. Not that cheap, and not sure when they will come.

hth
Nicole

rjque

There is no longer any shuttle from SFO to Milbrae. You now need to buy a Bart ticket and take Bart to the Caltrain station at Milbrae. You then transfer to Caltrain. Some here have reported that the connection is not timed well when compared to the prior shuttle service.

Caltrain is alright but it takes FOREVER to get to Palo Alto unless you manage to get a Baby Bullet (rush hour only, not sure if they stop at Milbrae). What would normally be a 20 minute drive with no traffic could take well over an hour or more on Bart/Caltrain/Taxi, depending on the connection times and where you need to go in Palo Alto.

nixande

And what does it take with Traffic?

Everything is relevant. Supershuttle and co exist, but you can either have it cheap, or comfortable. )

estnet

Taxi's cost a fortune from sfo (and I think they add an extra 50% plus some other fee) - if you called for a taxi I'm not sure how long you would have to wait and if they would still charge the surcharges.

Supershuttle or south and east bay have unreserved service that (usually) leaves at the most 20 minutes from when you board and will take you directly to the address you want.
Your friend can just walk out the upper level and there are signs to the shuttle stops - all the others go to SF and don't go south so don't bother with them.

Northern_Autumn

I live in Menlo Park (the stop north of Palo Alto). I have taken Caltrain to and from SFO airport and I have taken taxis.

1. If you arrive at the airport, walk outside and take a taxi from the taxi stand to Palo Alto you will have to pay ~80 to 100$. This is because there is a 15 mile limit on travel from the airport. After you pass this 15 mile limit, the fare = what shows on the meter + 50%. When you head south from the airport towards PA, the 15 mile limit is passed somewhere in Redwood City. I have paid 85$ (with tip) for trips from SFO to MP.

2. If you pre-arrange for a taxi to be waiting for you when you arrive, the trip from SFO to PA will be significantly cheaper. Taxis with whom you make a reservation do not charge the +50% fare top off. I've never actually booked a taxi to come to the airport and meet me, but the phone book lists the following:
International cab 650-365-2004/800-507-7210
Yellow Cab 866-663-8880
VIP taxi 800-737-4VIP

3. Caltrain. When you arrive at the domestic terminal you need to either walk to the international terminal or take a free 'train' to the international terminal. At the international terminal you catch the BART (you have to buy a BART ticket) to Milbrae (about a 5 minute) ride. At Milbrae you get off the BART train, negotiate some escalators/elevators/stairs and buy a ticket for Caltrain. You wait on the Caltrain platform for the next train. The BART ticket will probably cost 1.50 to 3$. The Caltrain ticket will cost $3 to 7$.

The # of stops that the Caltrain makes depends on what train it is. Baby Bullet trains do stop at Milbrae, but not all stop at PA. Non-Baby Bullet Trains sometimes don't stop at Milbrae, some do...it's all complicated.

You can find lots of info at either
www.caltrain.org
OR
www.511.org (an interactive trip planner that will tell you all about the public transportation options).

Hope that helps

RichardInSF

You can also take the Samtrans bus to Palo Alto, it's cheaper still. Some of them have restrictions on baggage, but not southbound, I believe.

Finally, you can usually get a rental car from SFO for a day for about $60 (sometimes less), if it is Hertz, Avis, Budget, or National, it can be returned in Palo Alto to offices located near Arastradero Road and El Camino. Or he can keep it and return it to SFO.

dhuey

I live at the very north edge of Berkeley, so I just barely avoid that 50% surcharge. Thus, I can take a taxi from SFO for a mere $80 with tip.