BART San Francisco Map

Unique in and of itself, San Francisco’s subway system isn’t your average transportation. San Francisco is a peninsula surrounded by water on three sides, thus creating a challenging engineering feat to connect the cities across the Bay. Because the MUNI bus system in San Francisco is very well organized, and digging subway tunnels under the city is not always an option, BART is geared toward local commuters first, tourists second. That doesn’t mean you can’t download a BART San Francisco map and hit the sights, just be prepared to use a combo of above ground MUNI busses and underground BART trains to get where you need to go.

Locals have a love-hate relationship with BART, which has found its way to the blogosphere among San Francisco intellectuals. Standing for “Bay Area Rapid Transit”, BART offers 104 miles of track, 43 stations serving upwards of 330,000 people a day. And despite paling in comparison to other subway systems in terms of size and usage, BART holds its own with five lines that delve deep into the greater Bay Area cities. Tourists benefit from this simplistic setup in that day trips to UC Berkeley, downtown San Francisco, and both Oakland and San Francisco International airports is possible. Plans are in the works to take BART deep into Silicon Valley connecting San Jose as well.

Those planning a trip to San Francisco can get the most out of a BART San Francisco map. This allows visitors to effectively plan a Raiders game in Oakland, a tour of Scharffen Berger Chocolate in Berkeley then end up having sushi in Union Square all in one day. BART subway tickets are can be loaded up with money similar to a debit card. Keep in mind that the tickets you purchase for BART are only good on BART trains, unless you purchase a BART Plus ticket, which can be used as local fare on multiple Bay Area bus lines in half month increments. This is the best option for tourists. Snag a BART plus ticket, download a BART San Francisco map and you’re good to go.

By ROBIN AGUILAR, AOL