Full Time MBA Program ServicesUniversity of California Berkeley Haas School of Business
Essentials Academics Career Development Student Organizations Events Life in Berkeley
 
  Key Resources  
  Housing  
  Moving  
  Settling In  
  Transportation  
  Activities  
  Hotels & Motels  
  International Student Advice  
   
  Transportation  
  Public Transportation
Car and Driving
Bicycles

Please refer to the Haas Student Survey to see how many students own cars and how they get to campus each day. You can also refer to the Cal Parents Guide for information on Transportation to UC Berkeley at http://calparents.berkeley.edu/guide/students/transport.html.

 
  Public Transportation

 
 

Class Pass
Registered students may obtain a Class Pass sticker for their Student ID Cards which entitles them to ride free on AC Transit including the Transbay lines to San Francisco and U-Line from Fremont BART to Stanford. Students must pick up their own Class Pass at the Cal 1 Card office in Lower Sproul Plaza (bring Student ID Card.) Disabled students or those studying primarily off the Berkeley campus can submit their request for a mail service exception by emailing calpass@berkeley.edu. More information can be obtained from the Class Pass website at http://pt.berkeley.edu/pay/transit/classpass.

Bay Area Transit
An online resource for using public transportation in the Bay Area is http://511.org/. Included on the website is a Trip Planner which gives route, fee, and travel time information between two locations.

The most popular forms of public transportation in the Bay Area are:

•BART
•AC Transit
•MUNI

You can get almost everywhere within the Bay Area on public transportation, but there are some limitations. For example:

•The last BART back to the East Bay from San Francisco leaves downtown around 12:30 am.
•In some areas (Kensington or the Berkeley Hills, for example) weekday bus service ends at 7:00 p.m. and weekend service, if any, is limited.
•Some public transit stations are not ideal places to be at night. If you take BART home, you could have to wait 20 minutes for your train.

A taxi from the city to the East Bay will cost, on average, about $45. If you want to go further and explore all that California has to offer, you will likely want a car.


 
  Cars and Driving

 
Car Registration & Drivers License
Students moving to California for residency should change to California state driver's licenses within 10 days and register their vehicles within 20 days of entry into the state. This is done at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) which has locations in each city. It is advisable to make an appointment before going to the DMV. Appointments can be made online at http://dmv.ca.gov/foa/welcome.do or via phone at 1-800-921-1117 or 1-800-777-0133. More information can be obtained from the DMV at http://www.dmv.ca.gov/.
 Sample Commute Times

  BART Amtrak CalTrain Bus Car
Berkeley–
San Francisco
25 minutes N/A N/A 25 minutes 25 minutes
Berkeley–
Oakland
15 minutes 15 minutes N/A 25 minutes 15 minutes
Berkeley–
Hayward
25 minutes 25 minutes N/A 50 minutes 25 minutes
Berkeley–
San Jose
N/A 1 hr, 30 minutes N/A 1 hr, 45 minutes 1 hr, 10 minutes
San Francisco–
San Jose
N/A N/A 1 hr, 20 minutes 2 hrs 45 minutes
* These are average times, not accounting for heavy traffic periods (7:00–9:30 am and 3:30–7:00 pm). During traffic times, you can expect average commute times to be doubled.
 
Top


Car Insurance
Car insurance is required if you plan on driving in California. Shop around before you decide which car insurance to choose. A difference of 50% among offers for the same service is not unusual.

Some Options
Allstate
Century21st
Geico
Progressive
State Farm
• For a yearly fee and a small enrollment fee American Automobile Association (AAA)-You can become an AAA member. AAA offers emergency road service, auto diagnostic services, free travel services, car and homeowner insurance, motel and rental car discounts, and other benefits. Location: 1775 University Ave., (510) 845.8890.

Note: If you don’t have a California driver’s license, your insurance costs may be substantially higher and not all companies will be willing to insure you without a California driver’s license.

Parking
• UC Berkeley Parking Permit - Registered students living more than 2 miles from the UC Berkeley campus may obtain student parking permits from the UC Berkeley Parking and Transportation office (see http://pt.berkeley.edu/pay/permit/student for boundaries). Various parking options exist including daily and carpool passes. Information can be found on their website at http://pt.berkeley.edu/parking/index.html. The parking map can be found at http://pt.berkeley.edu/maps. Permits can be obtained online or in person at the Parking and Transportation office at 2150 Kittredge, Berkeley.

• City Parking Permit - Extended parking on streets in Berkeley and Oakland will often require a city parking permit. Information on how to get city parking permits can be obtained from the following websites. Note that vehicle registration and proof of residence is often required. Temporary parking permits for visitors are also available. For more information see:
Berkeley: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=6272
Oakland: http://www.oaklandpw.com/transportation/residential_permit_parking.htm

Car Sharing
Car sharing is a great option for students who do not have a car, but occasionally need access to one. There are a number of companies that have cars available on a short-term basis to UC Berkeley students.

General information on Car Sharing
City CarShare special rates for UC Berkeley Students
Zimride at UC Berkeley
Zipcar special rates for UC Berkeley Students


 
  Bicycles

 
  California state law requires the licensing of all bicycles. The UC Berkeley Police and Parking & Transportation departments offer bicycle licensing. See their website for information on location and fees at http://pt.berkeley.edu/around/bike/info.


 
 
 
 

 
     
The Berkeley MBA Logo
Copyright © 1996-2011 University of California, Berkeley | Haas School of Business