Is it better to make Super Shuttle advance reservations in San Francisco?
 

My mother and I are meeting in San Francisco. She's flying into SFO and I'm flying into Oakland and going to meet downtown at our hotel. Should we make reservations and prepay Super Shuttle in advance or is it better to just show up and catch a shuttle?

Thanks!

Hi luvtravl, my experience with Super Shuttle is this. When I fly out of Sacramento or SFO they take reservations to pick you up at your residence to take you to the airport.

When arriving at the airport, to be taken home you cannot make reservations. You have to go to the Super Shuttle desk and buy your ticket and than take the next Super Shuttle van which could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 90 minutes later.

If anyone else has had a different experience I personally would be interested.

Also luvtravl, BART can be used to get from SFO and the Oakland Airport into SF. Would this work for you two?

SFO may work differently - but my experience is similar to LoveItaly's. Super Shuttle will try to not leave an airport with only one or two passengers, so they wait until a set time or the van is full. So you cannot book a van to leave shortly after you land.

BART is easy from SFO, and from OAK you take a shuttle bus to the BART station. That would be my choice over Super Shuttle most times. Usually it would be faster than a cab or a van since you won't get stuck in traffic on the bridge

I was all ready to reserved a shuttle last year for my trip to SFO, until I read suggestions from other travellers. Shuttles do not travel for only two people so you will need to wait for the shuttle to fill up. Also, you will travel around the city unloading people at their own hotels until you finally arrive at yours. You're going for a nice trip so just plan to put out a few extra $ for a taxi.

The Supershuttles at SFO are particularly bad! I've spent more time trying to get out of the airport than I have in the air. I agree with those who say to take BART, or a Taxi. There also used to be Airporter busses that would stop at hotels and were on a schedule, but I'm not sure if those are around anymore.

Hi, when I was at SFO a few weeks ago I am almost certain I saw a sign (where various shuttle buses were listed) that indicated the SF Airporter Bus service had been discountinued.

The website for SFO is www.flysfo.com and give all public transportation options.

Although, I will on occasion take SuperShuttle to SFO, I never take it back for the reasons stated above. The last time I took one, the attendant insisted I take the one going to the Richmond district, although it is not where I live. Needless to say I was the last person off after four stops. After waiting 20 minutes and the 4 stops, it took almost an hour and a half to get home--usually a 20 minute cab ride. If you are going to a downtown hotel, there seem to be more shuttles for that purpose. Unless you mother has a great deal of luggage, have her take BART.

I used to take Super Shuttle and was ecstatic when BART came out to the airport because it is quick, easily accessible and cheap. The schedule and rates are available at http://www.bart.gov/index.asp
You might find taxis to be expensive. I have never taken one from OAK into San Fran, but I would guess it would cost around $100. Super Shuttle does not take reservations for airport pick-up. They try to fill each van with folks going to the same area of the city and you can be lucky and catch an almost full one going to your area of the city or you might be stuck waiting awhile. If you want them to pick you up from your hotel it is good to make your reservations in advance.

After reading this thread and others from Trip Advisor I would like to take the BART from SFO to the hotel. I do not live in the city and have not taken a city train since college. It excites me to use the BART while we are in SF. My concern was luggage!

For those that have used BART please give your advice.

Hi JazzSilver, how much luggage will each of you have and about what time of the day would you be taking BART from SFO to SF?

The issue with luggage and BART is a standard issue with luggage anywhere--the difficulty of handling large or numerous pieces of luggage up and down esclators and in and out of doorways. BTW BART will take you to and from the airport and to places on the Pennisula and East Bay, but it is not a major method of public transportation for getting around IN SF.

LoveItaly:

I am hoping to have one suitcase each. Over the years I have learned to pack light and to wear items several times. The only problem with SF is that you have to bring a piece of clothing for each of the different types of climate that is traditional of SF!

Thanks for all the great feedback. Due to luggage and my mother's difficulty in walking any distance, I think we'll have to skip BART this time. Also - for anyone considering BART in the next few weeks - their website is announcing that the current contract is up at the end of June and there are possibilities (if they don't reach agreement) of service disruptions as early as July 1. BART may not even be a choice over the 4th.