building a better bay area

Is the Bay Area commute really that bad? We did an experiment

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We tried to commute in the Bay Area -- here's how it went

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Everyone knows the Bay Area commute is rough -- OK, really rough. A new report actually says it's the second worst in the country.




TAKE ACTION: Resources for Bay Area commuters

So what's the fastest way to get where you want to go in the bay?

To help answer that question, we put four different modes of transportation to the test.

We sent four ABC7 staff members from our station in San Francisco to the Downtown Berkeley BART Station, which is about a 12-mile journey. One person took AC Transit, another BART, a third tried hopping in a Casual Carpool and ABC7 News reporter Lyanne Melendez drove.

Here's how it went down:

Justin, Tom, Leonard and Lyanne started at our station, located along the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

They then all took off at once, heading off on their own in the hope of getting to Berkeley first.



As expected by many ABC7 viewers, Justin took a quick lead, walking to BART.



Followed by Leonard, who luckily hopped on the right AC Transit bus...



And Tom had so much hope that he'd scoop up a Casual Carpool ride quickly.



You'd think driving would get you there quickly. But this is Bay Area traffic, after all, and one accident can ruin your commute. Poor Lyanne...



There was a lot of waiting...



And we mean LOTS of waiting...



Some toasty temperatures...



And then finally, they were getting somewhere.



And, as predicted, Justin came out victorious thanks to a speedy BART train. BART for the win!



So while he was busy celebrating with cake (yes, Justin was so far ahead of everyone that he had time to buy this delicious cake)



Poor Tom was .... STILL WAITING FOR A RIDE. Womp, Womp.



Leonard and Lyanne finally caught up.





And the challenge was completed.

But wait... what about Tom? He actually never caught a ride from Casual Carpool. Neither did anyone else waiting for a ride to Berkeley. Because no one ever showed up. But at least he made a friend.



To hear how their journeys went in their own words, watch this Facebook Live below:



So Bay Area... what route should we test next time? Share with us using #BetterBayArea.

Before you head out to your car, be sure to check out the ABC7 traffic maps for real-time information to help you navigate through traffic jams.
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