SFO-SJC-SFO Bus "Flights"
 

I'm planning a trip to SJC from FRA in August, and thence to SEA. Of course, United doesn't fly from FRA to SJC, it flies to SFO.

Questions:

1. Does United still have the bus "flights" betweeen SFO and SJC (I think they were 85xx designated)?

2. If so, how does one go about booking them? Website seems non-responsive (I get "no flight" response).

3. What's the cost for a RT? I would have thought the easiest way would be to add it on (e.g., FRA-SFO-SJC-SFO-SEA and on with the trip) but I can 't get the site to do that either. They want to route me through LAX (at higher cost than FRA-SFO).

Any ideas or suggestions?

After having experienced hell on that bus-ride, my advice for you would be to go to SFO. Forget about the bus. The bus ride is contracted out to a local operator who couldn't care less about the passengers or schedules. After waiting for over an hour in the open, breathing in the belching fumes from passing vehicles, standing on the bus all the way to SFO is not a pleasant start to a long journey. Save yourself the stress, please.

All United bus service was eliminated June 10.

The bus service is discontinued.

abigail, I have to get to San Jose anyway, so it's either bus, taxi, or rental car, and "bus" seems to make the most sense in my circumstances (no need for local transportation once I arrive). Thought either flying in to SJC or getting United credit for riding the bus from SFO would make "mileage" sense. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

worldtrav - That might explain why the "flights" won't come up for booking on ual.com, but I just tried the "flight status" engine and put in "8516" "06/26/2002" and the machine gave me estimated departure and arrival times, noting that the "flight" was operated by South Bay Flyer, so the machine apparently still thinks these bus "flights" are still going. Curiouser and curiouser. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/confused.gif

Counsellor: The reason for the flight status still showing up is because there are passengers holding tickets on the bus that had their tickets prior to June 10 and the bus companies are honoring them. This allows already ticketed passengers to check the status. Hope that answers your question.

So while you can no longer connect a bus flight to your UAL ticket, the bus service was a third party and continues to run. You can see the schedule and pricing at the website:

http://www.landyacht.com/html/airport.html

Thanks, folks, for some great information (and the link). And so fast, too.

FlyerTalkers are the greatest!

If you have any interest in reading the original thread earlier this month that discussed UA's decision to terminate Groundlink, here it is.

Another transportation option would be to take the shuttle bus from SFO to the Caltrain station in Millbrae and take the train to San Jose.

...which will only work on a weekday, since weekend Caltrain service is being eliminated effective July 6, and the replacement RRX bus will serve neither SFO nor SJC. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/mad.gif