Major public transit agencies across the Bay Area released their schedules this week ahead of the holiday travel season as millions of people are expected to take to the road to visit loved ones across the country.
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District, BART, and Muni are just some of the public transit agencies pushing for travelers to prepare their local holiday journeys well in advance.
The annual holiday travel forecast from AAA estimates over 81.8 million people will be traveling between Nov. 1 and Dec. 1, an increase of 1.5 million from the previous year.
In partnership with INRIX, a transportation data company, AAA predicts the most congested stretch of highway in the Bay Area will be on U.S. Highway 101 between San Francisco and Santa Rosa. Travel time on Nov. 25 is expected to reach over 2.5 hours, more than double what a typical journey would be.
Holiday travelers who drive between Northern and Southern California may face heavy traffic along the I-5 corridor. AAA predicts it may take up to 4 hours on Wednesday between Bakersfield and Los Angeles alone, more than double the typical travel time.
Drivers are recommended to hit the road in the morning to avoid the worst backups, but keep in mind delays from construction, crashes, or severe weather could impact travel times.
Besides long-distancing driving, transit agencies want people to be informed of their options in case they don’t use a private vehicle.
Caltrain and Muni will be having weekend schedules on Thanksgiving Day and slightly modified service on the Friday immediately after.
The San Francisco Bay Ferry and Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit will not have service on Thursday but will have weekend service from Friday until Sunday.
AC Transit, SamTrans, and VTA will be running weekend service only on Thanksgiving Day while returning to their regularly scheduled programming afterwards.
Golden Gate Transit buses will not operate on Thanksgiving Day, but the ferry will be operating.
Travelers who opt out of flying in favor of train service will find Amtrak will be operating with slightly modified service from the Bay Area to Sacramento, Central Valley, and beyond.
County Connection does not run on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day.