Exploring SF Bay Area Public Transit: A 1990 Journey

By Lee Trampleasure

In the winter quarter of 1990, I took an environmental studies field class at CSU Hayward (now CSU East Bay). Dr. David Larson led about 25 students on various trips around the greater SF Bay Area; most days were on a charter bus. Now, 35 years later, a few of us are planning a reunion.

The last trip of the course was scheduled to be via public transit to downtown San Francisco, largely to experience a few public transit options (BART and SF MUNI). Being the inquisitive student that I was, a few weeks before the transit trip I suggested ‘how about we go around the bay on public transit?’ Being a creative professor that he was, Dr. Larson said ‘that sounds like a good idea, why don’t you create an itinerary for us?’ (I’ve used that ‘get the student to follow up on their suggestion several times in my teaching career.)

And thus was born our ’round the (south) bay trip.

  • photos showing a group of people waiting at the platform of an above-ground commuter train station; train is approaching from the background
    Waiting at Hayward BART station
  • Photo of two men looking at each other with a blurry background
    Dr. Larson and a couple of students
  • photo showing a group of people boarding a bus
    Boarding the VTA bus
  • photo showing people sitting on a bus
    Sitting on the bus
  • photo showing a group of people waiting at a train stop platform
    Waiting for CalTrain
  • photo of a guy smiling
    Wow, I was young back then…
  • photo showing a group of people boarding a commuter train
    Boarding CalTrain
  • photo showing the upper level of a CalTrain commuter train with luggage rack in the middle and a row of people on the side.
    CalTrain upper level; these cars are no longer in use.
  • photo showing an electric bus with the driver realigning the bars and the overhead wires.
    MUNI bus
  • photo showing people on a ferry with the SF side of the Oakland-SF Bay bridge in the background.
    Sailing under the SF Bay Bridge
  • photo showing people on a ferry with the old Oakland-SF Bay bridge in the background.
    Note the old west side of the Bay Bridge
  • photo showing a group of people on a ferry with a large ship with "Wallenuis Lines" sailing in front
    Lots of ship traffic on the bay.
  • photos looking behind a ferry with a few people standing at the rail and a bridge in the background
    Looking back at San Francisco
  • photo showing military helicopters on a tarmac
    Military helicopters on the old air force base.
  • photo showing cargo container ships and loading cranes
    Cargon containers in Port of Oakland
  • photo showing three transit passes, one dated March 8
    My tickets and passes
  • photo of a journal
    Notes from my journal

In my process of filtering old boxes this spring, I came across photos from our trips, and realized it’s been 35 years since we took this trip. Well, fives are big years, so I contacted Dr. Larson and Sven Eberlein (a fellow student I’ve kept in touch with), and we’re planning a reunion trip for sometime this spring/summer. A draft itinerary can be found here.

If you were in the class and would like to join us, please let me know!

Since this trip, I’ve continued my use of public transit as a predominant means of getting around the bay. Back in 2011, I ran my own multi-modal trip around the south bay, combining trains, buses, and my bicycle.

Other destinations from the course

Other destinations from our ten week class are listed below. These are just from my photos, so I’m missing a many details about each. I’ve added links to many of the locations.

photo of a group of people in a warehouse wearing hair nets.
Group photo at the Safeway milk plant.