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I have been taking the Zephyr from Cleveland to Emeryville. Now I need to get to Ross, CA which is in Marin County. I was looking at a route. It looks like getting off at Martinez and then taking a bus to Petaluma is the best route for me to take. It would take 30 minutes to get from Petaluma to Ross. Has anyone done this or does anyone have a different suggestion?
smitty195 Member # 5102
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I've never had any luck at finding the Amtrak Thruway bus schedules on Amtrak's website. I'm fairly certain they're there, but so far I can not locate them. If they ARE there and someone can give me a link (or directions), I'd be happy to help you more with your question. The reason I say this is because the Amtrak Thruway bus that you would take out of Martinez does indeed stop in Petaluma, but on the way there you are basically going to drive right by Ross! You'd have to figure out a way to backtrack to get to where you just came from. Amtrak's Thruway buses usually stop in several towns along the way, and I'm thinking there has to be something closer than the Petaluma stop (such as in San Rafael).
If you have time, you can call Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL and ask them what stops the bus makes BEFORE it reaches Petaluma. I live in the Bay Area and would be happy to tell you what city is closer to Ross if you're not sure.
George Harris Member # 2077
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You need to go to the Amtrak California web site. In the Capital Corridor timetable, it shows "Martinex Motorcoach Bus Connections" Route 7. At the bottom it says "Reservations are required for Routes 3 and & and are andled through Amtrak support desk at 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245). Additional stops for Route 7 not shown Visit www.amtrak.com for a complete schedule."
The stops that are shown are: Martinez-Amtrak Benicia-City Paark Discovery Kingdom-Main Gate Vallejo-Denny's Napa Vine Transit Center Napa-Wine Train Petaluma-City Library Rohnert Park-IHOP Santa Rosa-Mariott There are 5 a day. The last one leaves Martinez at 9:10 pm. Two of them contiue to Willits and Eureka.
chaslett Member # 1012
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I had found the bus route with the stops Mr. Harris listed. I couldn't find anything closer. I did know I would have to drive to Ross from Petaluma. Thanks so much for your help.
smitty195 Member # 5102
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Oh, okay....the Amtrak California website---THAT'S why I've never been able to find it! I should have known that. Thanks for the help!
And chaslett, yup, then Petaluma will be your closest stop of all of those stops listed in the schedule.
chaslett Member # 1012
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Smitty195. Thanks for your help. I think I might get to Ross quicker by going to SF Ferry Building and taking taxi to Ross. (Bet it will costly but I don't any other transportation to Ross.) I think it might be a 45 minute/hour ride from SF to Ross. The bus gets to Ross at 10:30 p.m. or so. If CZ is on time ( I ride it two/three times a year so know not likely it will on time), I would have 3 hour layover in Martinez. I could go to SF Ferry Building and drive in less than the 3 hour layover. Have I got the drive time about right?
yukon11 Member # 2997
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Another possibility:
You might consider getting off the CZ at Oakland and taking a cab to the airport. Then....
The Sonoma County Airport Express bus runs from the Oakland Airport to Marin and Sonoma counties. It travels to San Rafael (near Ross) and Petaluma, and winds up in my town, Santa Rosa.
The drive from Martinez to Ross is only about 45 minutes, depending on traffic (roughly 30 miles, give or take a mile).
The drive from downtown San Francisco to Ross is about a half hour (about 18 miles or so). The travel time also depends on traffic.
The Sonoma County Airport Express that yukon mentioned isn't a bad idea. If you do that, then you would only need a ride from San Rafael to Ross (less than 3 miles).
When are you arriving on #5? If you want to chip in a little to help with gas and the $4 bridge toll, I could pick you up at Emeryville and drive you to Ross myself. I have a nice car (SUV) and I'm a good guy----several people on this forum know me. Just a thought...if that's something you'd be interested in, let me know. Here is my email address:
asmith195@comcast.net
Andy
chaslett Member # 1012
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Smitty 195-Thanks for the offer of the ride. I will print off the reply. Yukon, thanks for the airport transportation. I knew I could count on "train" people to help me out.
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