Angelika And here is local news from San Francisco again! After 30 years of debating and planning, the first subway, popularly known as BART (Bay Area Rapid Transportation System), finally ran on a newly constructed route to San Francisco's airport, SFO, at the end of June. This may seem a bit backward to you Europeans. However, those who have traveled extensively in the USA know that even major airports often lack a subway connection to the city center, let alone cities having a reasonable public transportation system. Thus, the San Francisco model is considered groundbreaking. As in most American cities, the only options to reach the airport until now were by taxi, private car, or the so-called "Door-to-Door Shuttle."

Until recently, we always resorted to the latter option, because the "Door-to-Door Shuttle," as the name suggests, picks you up right at your doorstep. This is especially convenient when traveling with a lot of luggage. The "Door-to-Door Shuttle" is a minibus with a driver. Since a minibus can accommodate more people who share the ride, it makes the trip cheaper. There are several companies in San Francisco that offer this service. The whole experience costs between 12 and 17 dollars per person, depending on the provider, and some offer about a 50% discount for additional travelers in your group. Naturally, you also tip the driver. In comparison, a taxi from the airport to downtown costs about 37 dollars plus tip, while the subway ride from our station, 24th Street, costs 4.60 dollars.

We Old Europeans immediately tried out this new BART service when we set off for the Perl Conference in Portland. With the help of our rolling turbo luggage, the journey down the steep 24th Street to the subway station was a breeze, and indeed everything went like clockwork. The BART zoomed into the brand-new, ultra-modern SFO station, then it was up a few escalators to the AirTrain, the internal airport train that connects terminals, parking garages, etc. In the end, though, we felt a bit like we were in the provinces again, because passengers can only reach the terminal for domestic departures by passing through the parking garage. We had a good laugh about it.

Until next month! Your America Foxes:

Michael and Angelika

• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Traffic lights in the space age
  	California Gun Laws
  	California Governor Recall
  	Topprodukt
  	How much longer?
  	The Ailing Retirement System
  	The American School System

  
  

• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Traffic lights in the space age
  	California Gun Laws
  	California Governor Recall
  	Topprodukt
  	How much longer?
  	The Ailing Retirement System
  	The American School System