All of the Bay Area news outlets are reporting on alternatives for travel between the East Bay and San Francisco after the Oakland Bay Bridge closes tonight at 8 PM. They’re all talking about BART, the ferries, and AC Transit transbay service, but I haven’t seen any mention of the special bike shuttle that will operate through the entire closure, though!
Caltrans operates a bike shuttle service, and they’ll continue to run this shuttle on a special schedule during the bridge closure. You pile your bike on the Caltrans trailer, pay your one dollar and hop into the Caltrans van. Because these are Caltrans workers in a Caltrans work vehicle, you’ll have your own private tour of the east span demolition work through the construction zone.
Nine round trips are scheduled for each day Thursday through Monday, and I think the trailer can fit something like a dozen bikes. Even on normal days this bike shuttle fills up, and with two hour headways and service only from 6 AM to 5 PM I can’t recommend counting on it, especially on Thursday and Friday, but it’s an alternative to think about. Show up early, cash only, bring exact change, expect to be treated like a piece of construction equipment and you’ll probably be fine.
East Bay pickup point is at MacArthur BART Station. Look for the beat up “Bicycle Shuttle Loading Area” sign. San Francisco pickup is at the Transbay Terminal, Main & Folsom.
For details, visit Caltrans District 4 bike shuttle info page.