Late Night Owls

The East Bay Owl Service is starting to come together:

Chronicle Article

Contra Costa has it's piece in place:
Oakland to Concord

AC Transit is still putting it's piece in place. Right now, they have a bus from Fremont to Hayward (99), and another from Hayward to Oakland (82). Often, it is the same physical bus, just the number changes.

On Dec 10, this bus (these buses) will become the 820, and there will be some minor route tweaks.
Also, on the 10th, the 800 starts service.

Wheels - the transit provider for Dublin/Pleasanton has finalized their Dublin to Bayfair shuttle. It starts December 17.

SF owl service is pretty good:
Muni Owls

Samtrans (San Mateo county) uses the 397. Samtrans uses a collection of late and early routes, particularly on mornings (Sat and Sun) when BART opens later.
Also, Samtrans routes start from the Transbay Terminal.

This service is a "soft start", with a big marketing blitz in January, once all the pieces are in place.

Thanks for posting this, modorney. I'm glad the late night workers will have some transit. As far as the nightclub audience is concerned, I don't know whether it will make a difference. As a Bay area musician, I've watched the live music scene gradually fall off the map. One reason given is that we don't have all-night transit here.

I'm not sure that buses will solve the problem. BART is generally considered to be relatively safe for traveling at night. I don't think buses will be seen as equally secure, especially not with transfers in downtown Oakland. So I would expect that the Owl services might have some riders, but not enough to sustain them. Hopefully I'm wrong about this. I'd love to see Bay area nightlife get a shot in the arm.

It is very frustrating to live in a major metropolitian area that can't support an all-night transit system. There are quite a few events that I would go see over in the city, if BART ran past midnight. I'm sorry to say that I personally would not be that inclined to change my mind about this with buses in place. Again, I hope that I'm a minority in feeling this way.

Yes, the owls make it easier for the late night workers. Most all-night workers are in hospitality (restaurants and hotels), travel (airport) and health care. They often have no car (or share one car with a spouse). They usually work at a place big enough to have transit (Section 132) benefits, and many buy a pass, etc.

As far as the nightclub scene goes, owls make it possible, tho it is a slow, gradual process. Musicians are able to travel without a car, and the audience is able to travel without worrying about a DUI. In general, live music runs on alcohol, and San Francisco's music scene has been hampered by the lack of owl service.

A few weeks ago, BART ran two sets of owl trains, and the ridership was good (about 8000). And (from personal observation) the types of riders were primarily those who were spending money - tourists, and locals going to night clubs. I rode from Hayward to Walnut Creek, and walked thru the train, observing (and talking to) the passengers. Plus, there was a good increase on the non-owl trains, people who went to a night club, knowing there was owl service, as an "insurance policy".

But, you are right, people have a perception about buses, and a perception about downtown Oakland. Right now, AC Transit runs nice buses on the 99 line, but I haven't ridden it to have a feel about the crowd. I observed one, in Hayward, on a Thursday night (actually Friday AM), and it had a couple of riders. I don't think your average couple would be bothered.

As far as downtown Oakland (Broadway and 14th), the area tends to be lively, well-lit, and, hopefully, well patrolled. I haven't been there in a couple of years (at 2 AM), but I don't think it's too bad. What's needed are a few 24 hour medium-cost restaurants, or even diner-type places. And good bathrooms. Nightclubs don't sell alcohol, they only "rent" alcohol.

Nightclubs depend on couples for success. Singles nightclubs have to steer a narrow path, "critical mass" sometimes means a small profit, but often means fights, more bouncers, police problems, and eventual shutdown or suspension. Couples spend more money, require less supervision, and also spread the word-of-mouth, necessary for marketing. And, couples come home sooner, but, for many, the owls are an insurance policy.

For the Berkeley residents (and commuters to Del Norte), there's no transfer, just stay on the 800 bus. This crowd may tend to be more singles? (Alloy may know more). The Walnut Creek/Dublin/Fremont crowd is primarily couples, and they would all transfer. The transfer is quick (all buses are timed), and the (hopeful) crowd factor may feel safe. But, if mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. If it doesn't feel safe, couples won't travel.

My son attends music school in SF, on Saturday, and sometimes his 90 minute composition class runs three hours over [hey, it's a music school, already! ]. So, sooner or later, I'll be on an owl bus, and I'll report first hand on the buses, and the downtown Oakland transfer.

modorney wrote:
A few weeks ago, BART ran two sets of owl trains, and the ridership was good (about 8000). And (from personal observation) the types of riders were primarily those who were spending money - tourists, and locals going to night clubs. I rode from Hayward to Walnut Creek, and walked thru the train, observing (and talking to) the passengers. Plus, there was a good increase on the non-owl trains, people who went to a night club, knowing there was owl service, as an "insurance policy".

I'm not going to argue here about whether BART is correct in saying that the numbers for late-night service aren't great enough. My gut feeling is that this wouldn't be the case, but I haven't seen their studies. The more problematic part of this is: how come other major metropolitan areas can do maintenance while running all-night services, and we can't? I've seen BART's explanation for this, but it's been many years ago.

For the Berkeley residents (and commuters to Del Norte), there's no transfer, just stay on the 800 bus. This crowd may tend to be more singles? (Alloy may know more). The Walnut Creek/Dublin/Fremont crowd is primarily couples, and they would all transfer. The transfer is quick (all buses are timed), and the (hopeful) crowd factor may feel safe. But, if mama ain't happy, nobody's happy. If it doesn't feel safe, couples won't travel.

The more I think about it, I'm doubting that couples from Walnut Creek or Fremont are going to want to take a bus, transfer or no transfer. I know many couples in Walnut Creek, since I do contracting out there, and they're used to two or three vehicles, mostly SUVs, and they use them constantly. They'll take BART under certain circumstances, but there's just no way that a bus is going to appeal to them. The student population in Berkeley would possibly go for it to a greater degree.

I'm also thinking of the psychological part of all this. Early in the evening, you're going out, and you're up for it. You've got energy, you're looking forward to an evening in San Francisco. At THAT point, maybe you wouldn't mind dealing with waiting on a street corner for the bus, and transferring, and riding in a more limited space for a longer amount of time.

But after you get out of a club at 1:30 in the morning, (and you're over 30!), you just want to walk a few blocks, get on a train, and go. When it comes to transist, people want comfortable routines, and they especially want them when they're tired and/or alcohol impaired. They don't need "adventures" at that point.

Downtown Oakland? As much as they've tried, they can't seem to get any nightlife going there. There is a new club opening not far from downtown, and one other small club has been there for awhile. But it's an uphill battle. The urban planners can't get that critical mass that would make the streets stay alive after say, 6pm. A medium-cost restaurant would be a very welcome addition to that area, for sure. I'd forgotten about the restroom issue, but that is critical, too.

I'm not sure how far along the Mayor's "10,000 new residents" program has come. I know that one parking garage just shut down, at 19th street, and new condos are going in there.

My son attends music school in SF, on Saturday, and sometimes his 90 minute composition class runs three hours over [hey, it's a music school, already! ]. So, sooner or later, I'll be on an owl bus, and I'll report first hand on the buses, and the downtown Oakland transfer.

Your son's music school has Saturday night classes that keep him (and you) out until after midnight? Ouch, that doesn't sound like fun.

Well, let the Owls begin their nightly journeys. Lots and lots of publicity is a big factor here--you've got to let every man, woman, and child in the Bay area know that the service exists. We'll see just how big the January marketing is.