Getting Around Oakland from Atlas

Downtown Oakland is becoming a more popular place to live as residents uncover the advantages of living in a spot that can easily access most of the Bay Area from South San Francisco to Richmond. Oakland (in cooperation with other cities) has greatly invested in public transport, envisioning a future of multimodal traveling and commuting.

We call ourselves Atlas partially because so many of our residents use our building as their launch pad for exploring the world. We are ideally located to use the breadth of transportation options in Oakland, whether you want to get down the street, to San Francisco, or all the way up the West Coast. The Bay Area is your oyster when you live at Atlas.

City Center Station on 12th Street

The City Center Station is just one block from Atlas. This hub connects you to the entire Bay Area via three different transit options — BART, AC Transit, and “The Free Bee”.

BART

Lucky for you, our apartments are near BART, the most popular public transit option in Downtown Oakland. City Center Station gets you access to three out of the four BART lines.

• Yellow — BART gets you to San Francisco, South San Francisco, and all the way to the SF Airport in under an hour.
• Orange — BART takes you to Downtown San Francisco in just 20 minutes, where you can go shopping, eat and drink, or check out a bevy of art museums. You can also reach Berkeley and Fremont.
• Red — BART reaches the Embarcadero in just 23 minutes. You can access Chase Center in just 30 minutes to catch the Golden State Warriors.

AC Transit

The bus goes from City Center Station to absolutely everywhere, and it’s a great tool for puttering around Downtown Oakland for your grocery shopping or to see the sights in the neighborhood around Atlas. You can also use it to get to other parts of the Bay Area if you don’t feel like taking BART.

The Broadway Shuttle — the “Free Bee”

This free-to-ride shuttle is temporarily suspended due to COVID-19, but once it’s back up and running, it will deliver you to or from the Amtrak or the San Francisco Bay Ferry.

San Francisco Bay Ferry

This famous trek across the Bay itself is a common choice for commuters who would prefer to watch the ocean instead of the road on their way to work. You can get there from Atlas apartments via walking (20 minutes), bike (7), bus (13), or the Broadway Shuttle then pick up the next leg of your journey at one of the many ferry stops.

Biking

It’s easy to be a bicyclist at Atlas, because we provide bike storage and gear lockers on the first floor of the building. You can keep your metal steed safely without it taking up space in your apartment or hauling it up or down the elevator.

There are multiple bike repair shops nearby — Archer Bicycle is right across the street — and a bicycle cafe two blocks down from our building.

Oakland has invested in making it safe and simple for bicyclists to get around. As of 2021, there are 192.3 miles of protected bike lanes and other types of bike-friendly routes. There are also many public bike parking areas and lots of signage to help those on the road navigate. Oakland has maps online of all of these resources.

Bikes can be taken on BART, AC Transit, and the Ferry, which enables multimodal routes.

There are lots of nearby pleasant bike trails near Atlas apartments, including the Bay Bridge Trail, which is just a 20-minute ride away.

Driving

The majority of Bay Area folks still commute by car. Atlas is excited to offer on-site access to the shared car service Getaround to all residents.

If you have your own car, there are nearby lots with monthly parking. Douglas Parking has several options within a block of our building.

Amtrak

When you live at Atlas, the Amtrak station is less than a 20-minute walk from your front door (or, if you’re loaded down with luggage, a short taxi ride).

Walking

A classic! Walking is a big share of how Oaklanders get places. There are grocery stores, pharmacies, and a USPS post office location all in easy walking distance of Atlas apartments. Multiple coworking spaces are within a short walk if you want a change of scenery from the coworking spaces and meeting rooms already available inside Atlas. Some of our favorite bars and restaurants are only a few blocks away. There are more details in our post on nearby amenities and attractions.

We’re excited for you to join the thriving community at Atlas apartments. Our residents love how our location enables their adventurous lives. If you have more questions on transportation around our building, contact our office.