How Safe is Bart: OAK-SFO?
 

I have a flight arriving into OAK, a five hour layover in between, and then a flight departing out of SFO. I know BART would be the cheapest way to commute between the two airports. But knowing that the train routing will via certain parts of Oakland Dowtown and other sections of Oakland, I am a little worried. Worried because I have heard that Oakland is one of the highest crime rate in the Bay Area. So my question is would it generally be safe to commute on BART between OAK & SFO while the train passes by the various sections of Oakland especially during the night?

You'll be fine. There is a bus/shuttle you need to pick up outside the terminal, it drops you at the Bart station. Buy your ticket, go upstairs, get on train and *poof* you're in SF instead.

You don't say what time you're transiting, I wouldn't do this at 10 at night but would have no problems earlier. With a 5 hour cxn, I'm assuming its daytime.

The BART system has its own police force and is generally very safe. I've never worried about taking the BART from SFO to Berkeley (which also goes through west and downtown Oakland), even late at night. Also, the violent crime rate in Oakland is mostly driven by gang/drug turf wars. If you stay out of that business, you'll probably be fine.

And those turf wars are actually quite close to the OAK airport/Coliseum BART station. Still, a couple of blocks makes a big difference. Even in the roughest neighborhoods, being on BART or in its stations is very safe. There's crime within the system here and there, but it's rare when you consider how many people use BART.

BART is very safe, I use it plenty. Never had issues.
I'd know about "turf wars" . . . but I don't recall any gangland style shoot outs ON BART. . .

Maybe, just don't get out in Oakland . .. :D

BART is very safe, but damn slow.
Make sure the BART is running during your flight times. Early mornings on weekends are problems.

Allow 2-2.5 hrs between OAK & SFO with all the connections.

OAK AirBART $2 (comes every 10-20 min)
BART Coliseum to SFO $5.80 (50-55 min, comes every 20 min)
SFO AirBART Free

http://www.bart.gov/

At night, just make sure you take the AirBart transfer bus in OAK, not the AC Transit bus option, if someone suggests it. Most BART crime seems to be auto-related, in the parking lots. On the train, crime is usually limited to the occasional vagrant shouting oddities, or even more rarely, someone asking for money. Due to the infrequency of off-peak train service, they tend to be more crowded - if you feel insecure for any reason in your particular car, you can walk between them while the train is operating.

I'd also check the Oakland A's schedule. Their stadium is next to the Coliseum station. If they have a game, there is more folks around and added security as well.

I'd also make it obvious no visible electronics or expensive items in plain sight.

With football season starting up, the latter is even a more important fact with the "Raiders Nation" around. :p

I'd also check the Raiders schedule as well.

oh please,
BART (on the train) is totally safe, and if there is an event it is even safer. As someone said earlier the parking lots are trouble. My younger brother flys out of Oakland almost weekly and takes BART all of the time.

I actually live in Oakland and crime is a problem in certain areas, but the vast majority of Oakland is very very safe.

The biggest problem with the oakland airport is a lack of elite security lines. Other than that, it is not really that bad.

Yea, it's a shame they couldn't build express trains into the system. Every train is a "local".

Generally BART doesn't lose more than a handful of its passengers due to gunfire each day, so your chances are pretty good. Most people get through. It would be hard to build ridership if you had to start over again each day with new passengers.

Oakland as a city has substantial variety of neighborhoods. Many people who live in Oakland do not even notice the homicides that occur in a handful of neighborhoods that have active drug wars. Most of the time the gangs are shooting each other. Generally, this tends not to spillover much into the downtown area or most neighborhoods.

And be sure you aren't wearing 49'er colors if your trip happens at the same time as a Raiders game. ;)

Seriously, though, Bart is fine between OAK and SFO.

Very safe.