Its a bart station so you really can't expect too much, especially for one being so centralized with heavy foot traffic. Yeah it smells like piss on the stairwells. Yes there are homeless people sleeping in the corners (but its been a much better recently). But the station is located very conveniently in the heart of downtown berkeley with 4 exits to get you closer to where you need to be. I've been taking this stop for 8 years now and while it can be kind of an eyesore, I've seen worse stations. I love the fact that its underground so its temperature is controlled and never gets too hot or cold. Don't expect to get a seat if you're going the Richmond route during commuting hours 5-6pm read more

As a Berkeley student, I take the BART fairly regularly to get around to interesting places to eat (Oakland, San Francisco, El Cerrito, etc) or to get to and from airports (SFO and Oakland International). For what you pay, it's actually extremely convenient. During the the mornings and evenings, the trains are pretty good about being on schedule but typically only come every 20 min or so. During the day, the trains come about every 7 minutes so you never really have to wait that long. However, the trains get delayed all the time so sometimes, you'll see the next trains coming sequentially at like 11 and 13 minutes, which isn't particularly helpful. Overall: Pros: Easily accessible and gets you where you need Cons: The place is kind of sketch so be careful, especially at night read more

I went back to visit my beloved (that's right, it's ALL MINE) college town of years past, and hippie-blonde-guitar-lady-at-the-foot-of-the-escalators was still there! Ahh, the flood of nostalgia came rushing back into my Berkeley-deprived soul. To those who are bugged by the charming characters who perpetually station themselves in the same spot day after day and year after year, I can see why you'd give this urine-covered subterranean slab of inner city concrete one star. But for me, the idiosyncrasies of the Berkeley BART station always bring back fond memories of college, INCLUDING that time my friends and I caught the absolute last Richmond train from SF after a really awesome night of shenanigans which I shall not clarify in this digital public sphere we all call the internet. I miss hippie-blonde-guitar-lady-at-the-foot-of-the-escalators...and man-with-the-black-leather-coat-and-sunglasses-stationed-in-the-corner too! Please, be there the next time I visit for the sake of reaffirming my fond memories of Berkeleydom from eons past. read more

Jupiter is right across the street... Yay! Escalator brokenness, urine smell, cranky employees all fall well within BART parameters read more

Yes, what is the point of writing a review of a transit station? I like this station because it means I can take awesome public transit to work. Since they changed the schedule on January 1, 2008, I can go direct from Millbrae to Berkeley in 57 minutes with no transfers! Also, BART stations are better than they were when BART opened in the early 1970's because the signs tell you when the next train is coming, and there are these great synchronized transfer stops at McArthur. I'm easily pleased. read more

I commute to SF via this station every day. It's dirty and there are panhandlers. I saw a rat on the tracks once. But it's still not nearly as bad as the station I have to go through in SF, which mainly means that the elevators (mostly) work and it doesn't (usually) smell of pee. It's inconvenient that there are no restrooms, although I can see why they wouldn't want to have any available to the public. Also no bike racks that I can see, but I don't bike (mostly because of this). read more

Nancy at the information desk is wonderful! Very professional and does her job well! read more

BART - Downtown Berkeley Station - Information desk - Train Stations Near Me - Berkeley, California

Although this place may be kind of creepy at night, especially because of all of the homeless people that are there when you get out, but it is very convenient. I take the BART everywhere. read more

oh yes Downtown Berkeley BART! This station is all right on the weekends because it is not so crowded. On any UCB school day it can get crowded. If you come here at night it can be scary so protect yourself. From a transit worker POV it is a great connection to UC Berkeley when I want to visit my friends during the day or to take a work break. I would appreciate it if the management can clean up the joint a little. Still like the direct connection to SF and Daly City + Fremont and SJSU/VTA 181. other than that it is an okay station. read more

This has nothing to do with BART but this lovely San Franciscan was riding back home to Powell Street (same stop as I was) from the Downtown Berkley bart. I had no idea how to use the bart ticketing machine but she stepped in and helped me out. I never would have made it home without her help!!!! read more

This station needs a TransLink add value machine, make that 3! I mean, this IS the station for Cal students so commutes will be busy busy. It's kind of hard to use the card when there aren't machines to add money to it. There is basically no cell phone signal either. One would expect to have this basic service available in such a technologically advanced market by now. The station isn't filthy but some entrances/stairs need work, if not ALL. The station is bright unlike Ashby and quite lengthy which is good. read more

It's a BART station. By default it will be a bit shady, kind of smelly, and with some, uh...interesting people. I have been here far, far too many times as I commuted back and forth to my internship in Pleasanton daily and made multiple trips to San Francisco, and I will continue to do so. The BART strike last month nearly killed me, so I'm hoping with every fiber of my being that it doesn't happen again. A few weeks ago, I get off the station and see six cop cars lined up on Shattuck & Cedar. A hobo had been handcuffed. Why, you may ask? Because the hobo stole a freaking baby. And its stroller. The baby appeared to still be sleeping? It's a bit whack, yeah, but at least it's located in a few blocks radius of a lot of gems in Berkeley - restaurants, boutiques, ice cream/gelato shops, movie theaters. No, there isn't a bathroom in the station. But why on earth would you ever go to a bathroom in a BART station, I don't even know... read more

Berkeley BART, you get a slap on the hand for still having non-functional bathrooms. You also smell. Hippie blond guitar lady and the panhandlers are fine; this seems like a good place for them. They fit into the landscape, so to speak. The FREE-STRESS-TEST proselytizers, though--well, I wish you'd make them leave. Sometimes the BART staff people are nice, but sometimes they hate you. I've also seen them watch people jump the gates without paying and just sigh and not do anything, which earns negative respect from me. Blah. Well, it's not like I won't keep coming back. read more

Maybe it's the LA still in me, I'm used to the panhandlers asking for the change or trying to smell me some sort of newspaper or Learning Annex pamphlet. I'm used to the urine smell. (There was blocks in LA that smelled like ass.) I just walk past it all... This BART location is very good for anyone wanting to explore Berkeley. Parking in Berkeley isn't very fun, so I take the BART from Ashby and walk around. Drops you off at a nice Tully's coffee and bank. My gym is right off the BART and the Berkeley library is there too. not fun on Cal game days though read more

reaks of urine, and piss. Bums, illegals, drug dealers, students, hot and hot. bike parking inside, pretty secure. cheap news papers, old worn out hippies, vets that dont understand the veitkong died 30 years ago. much pity and lazy librials. with illegal binge drinking. but beautful station. and nice folks diffrent strokes my favorite bart station read more

located in the heart of downtown berkeley, it shows all the signs of a highly used subway transit system. an unresponsive transit provider showing signs of insufficient amount of trash cans and hard to find restrooms will have any station in peril. this station does need some work. i'm my opinion, it's not a pit but it's not rosy either. it definitely could look and feel better. definitely seen worse in other places (nyc). i was given a voucher from the fremont attendant and i must surrender it to this attendant so i can get to my destination. and she was busy too, fielding many questions from curious tourists. it was finally my turn and i said nothing to her other than "hello" then handed her my voucher. she said "hello, thank you, from fremont to downtown berkeley, ok, you may exit here" with a smile and she opened the gate for me. i think i will make more "mistakes" at the fremont bart station just so i can interact with humans instead of ... machines. read more

Wow, this place is a dump! Looks like it hasn't been remodeled in 20 years and hasn't been cleaned in a decade!

Underground, so the elements aren't much of a factor. But can be a tad humid at times. In a busy area, not many pan handlers inside, so moving around the station is pretty easy. Not as terrible an odor as some subways, but I get an occasional eye opener. Never had to ask for help, so in essence that speaks to the usability of the station. I don't believe they have bathrooms, but I'm not sure. But as the ad goes, "BART and you're there." read more

one star for being close to uc berkeley and shops around the berkeley area... other than that, the station is nasty... every entrance/exit stinks of urine and the surrounding area is just full of stinky people... it's the worst during the summer... read more

I don't advise people to go to this station late at night. Have seen quite a few fights whilst waiting for the bus.

Not too bad as far as BART stations go. Easy to get to, and there are usually some kind of musician playing inside for your enjoyment, or amusement ;) read more

Each time I go back to this station, it smells a little less like urine, and there are few more amenities to appreciate (Peet's!). Always a nice little show at the bottom of the escalators from local troubadours but fewer hecklers outside the station these days. Easy access to Jupiter and Triple Rock with great connections to AC Transit buses for getting to other parts of Berkeley. read more

I'm not really sure what the point of writing a review for a BART station is, but...I hate this BART station. There are just way more people getting off during rush hours than the elevators and stairs were designed for. Everyone has to form a line to get up the elevator and stairs. Outmoded. read more

Years ago during my school days I would commute here almost daily from Richmond, and this place seems to have gotten grungier (for lack of a better term) over the years. For one thing, the design makes it hard and time-consuming to go upstairs from the platform to the exit gates due to crowds getting off trains. Also, it feels less clean around the ticket and fare gate than any of the underground downtown SF stations. Even the Richmond station, which takes a lot of public beating because ot the location's reputation, is cleaner at the ticketing and fare gate area than here. I think this is why years ago in a Chronicle story this station got ranked as the worst station in the whole BART system. However, at least I wouldn't go that far and say that; my opinion for that designation would be the 16th Street and Mission station because of the immediate plaza area. read more

Nice, convenient transportation. Long lines to add fare or wait for train after large events. However, I was quite impressed with the pleasant riders and entertainers who perform by dancing or singing, that's a nice treat during a long ride around town! read more

It's spacious and quaint. I come here when I'm in Berkeley near the UC area to take bart back to Oakland. I've seen rats in here before. They're cute. c: read more

It's A-OK. It's nothing great, yet it's nothing bad. It's incredibly convenient if you want to get to UC Berkeley or anywhere in downtown Berkeley. It's true the station is dark, a little dirty, and with tons of panhandling hippies, but that's Berkeley. I've never encountered any hoodlums nor any rude BART employees, as some of my fellow Yelpers have described. If you'd like to get to downtown Berkeley and leave the car at home, this station is just fine. read more

On any given day, you will be attacked by the strong odor of piss in a section of the station that you would not expect. Now every time I walk into this station, I stay tense out of anticipation. Bart honestly just sucks, and I don't think there's a single station worth more than 2 stars. read more

This is the BART Station to get to Cal. We were visiting and wanted to see the campus. This station is located in the small downtown area. Easy to find and pretty much the same size as most BART stations. The signage here is confusing for non-natives as a few people asked us questions about which direction they need to go in. Most were trying to get back to SF and didn't know what side to stand on. There are multiple levels to this station as well which can cause confusion. read more

Pretty much just a garden variety BART station. The turnstile layout is a bit constrained on the Alston Way side, but not too irksome. Station is above average for cleanliness & fewer pan handlers than one would expect for downtown Berkeley. read more

Shape up Berkeley BART! I am not very conflicted about giving this station a bad score. I am giving it one star simply because it does provide a convenient way to get to and from Btown. minus two stars because of the bathroom situation; or more specifically, the lack of bathrooms. The faciilities were closed shortly after 911-2001. I am not sure if this was related to terrorism, but that is when it happened. Someone suggested the closures happened because of junkies using the lavatories to get loaded ( Drug activity was definitley why the upstairs payphones were removed). Though I am not certain, this does sound like a much more plausible reason to close bathrooms than the Home Land Security angle. Now nine years later there are still no public restrooms at this station! that's pretty sad especially considering that Richmond BART has bathrooms, and Richmond BART junkies make the Berkeley BART dopers look like f@#$ing boyscouts. in 2001-2 the way around this was simply to use the bathrooms anyway. they are still there to the right of the information kiosk just past the ticket entrances. You'll see them: two doors with blue signs nailed to them that apologize for the inconvenience of the bathroom closures. Presumably the employees still use these restrooms so they are in working order. It was a lot of fun to enrage the BART workers by using "their" bathrooms. I took care to pee just about everywhere but the toilet. However, the last time I tried this they had locked the doors...too bad. plus one star because even though it is an indoor station nobody has ever prevented me from smoking while I wait for the train downstairs, which is huge especially since the p!@@$#% at the Walnut Creek station lose it every time I even approach the ticket entrance with a lit stoge. Minus one star due to the minimum fair being raised to $1.75. This brings me back to the bathroom thing. If I really need to go I will piss off of the platform and hope to hell I don't hit the (electric) third rail. However, if I am paying nearly two dollars I'd really like the option of not having to expose myself in public... just the option is all I'm asking for here. read more

Ugly! Did anyone approve the design for ice castle entrances for the BART station?I'd never take an out of town visitor to downtown Berkeley--and I try to avoid going there myself. read more

Great memories of this BART station as a kid. It was a hub in my teenage years.

One of my favorite stations, and not just 'cause I'm going to be living right next to it. Always looked forward to it as it was always fresh and unexpected. You never knew for example what would be going on topside but it was sure to be interesting, from a march to simply grabbing a coffee, sitting back, and watching the street scene. The crowd is always interesting, diverse, and lively. The station is well situated in downtown on Shattuck between University and Durant and is located near tons of shops, theatres, jobs, and of course the campus. There's a flower shop inside the station next to the escalators and also a bike cage for those of you coming on two wheels but can't take your bike any further. read more

This is a great BART station because they have a place for people to stop and pick you up and because they have lots of buses that stop here. I also like it because its very accessible from the neighboring areas and I'm sure many Berkeley students feel the same way. read more

I commuted from San Jose everyday during my last semester at Cal and boy was it a daily adventure. Because of my major, I had super early classes as well as late classes (I'm talking 7-9pm late) so mornings were rushed and evenings were slow. I'm glad I had the chance see all the different kinds of people who take BART at Berkeley at different times of the day but it's pretty scary at night. Even though it's semi-conveniently close to campus (after a 51B or 1R bus ride), night time's when all the students run home to study and the creepers come out to play. Shady characters run amok but thankfully, nothing's ever happen to this short little Asian girl. Be safe! It's generally safe after you've gone past the turnstiles. I'm smelled my fair share of pee-ridden Berkeley BART entrances and enough to possibly earn some kind of badge. I've always thought the architecture of the downstairs platform was classic and elegant despite its continual age. It just really FEELS like a subway station compared to the other stations. read more

I like this station. 'specially on weekends. Its not too crowded then. But the North Berkeley BART has parking and things. :)

It's the BART, expect it to look like all the other underground BART stations; though that place on Shattock is not the best.

I don't know what some people expect from this BART station, it's certainly not the nicest of places to be but it's not like you're sitting here for hours. Granted the place always smells of urine and could use a facelift on the inside, but other than that Berkeley BART has been consistent when I needed it. I go through this station a number of times throughout the semester to/from the airports and I've never had a delayed train. The station is close to a number of restaurants and easily accessible by bus. Simply put, it serves its purpose getting me from one place to the next. read more

Nice station, well located and the staff here was really helpful the first time we took it.