Casual Carpool's a great option for me and my commute. Might not be for all folks, and it's definitely worth understanding the tradeoffs.
The basics for casual carpool are described here well: http://www.ridenow.org/carpool/
Pickup runs from ~ 6am (cars are sparse) until 10am. There's generally a line of folks between 8:20 and 9:20, and/or a line of cars.
I've taken the line that drops off at Fremont and Mission for a few months now. I generally prefer it to riding BART, here are a couple tradeoffs and notes:
- Carpool is cheaper. I rely on the driver to ask for donations, and that happens about once every two weeks.
- The quality of the ride is comparable. I'm always guaranteed a seat. Granted, some cars are super-small, sometimes a seat will be covered in dog hair, etc.. On average, my ride in is as about as comfortable as a seated BART trip. I was once in a car that had mechanical issues on the highway, but that's better than my average with BART
- The drop-off is a longer walk to work for me than the BART station. On rainy days I usually pop into BART
- Total commute time for me is a bit faster with carpool (by a couple minutes, it's not vastly quicker)
- Riders and other passengers are polite for the most part. The worst thing I've seen in the past few months was a driver trying to flirt with a passenger, but that ended pretty quickly
- The drive is nicer than the BART trip. The jaunt along 80 is on the water, and the bridge trip always gives great views, even when it's super-foggy. The route is also mobile connectivity-friendly (whereas on BART I only get connectivity in the SF stations)
- The casual carpool lines may seem long, but I don't think I've ever waited more than ten minutes
- BART's definitely less intimate. If there's a character in your BART car, it's usually not a problem for me. If your carpool driver is a character, you just have to smile and nod politely for 20 minutes. The plus is I will get in a car with someone I know every now and then, and that's always pleasant
So, choose your poison. Casual Carpool gets four stars for me. It's commuting, so I'm never going to love it, but this is a favorable alternative for me. read more