With electrified Caltrain service now running, some locals swear the commute from Mountain View to SF is transformed — but others say the parking lots, packed platforms, and last-mile problem make driving still the only sane choice. Which side are you on?
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Add your commentI ditched my car on the 101 corridor eight months ago. Full stop. Here's my actual setup: Onewheel from my place near Rengstorff to the station, Caltrain to SF, fold-up kick scooter for the last stretch to my office on Spear St. Total door to door: 58 minutes on a normal day. Driving was never under 75 minutes. Do I look slightly ridiculous at 7:45am? Absolutely. Do I care? I do not.
Took the electric Caltrain from Mountain View to 4th & King last Tuesday for the first time in three years. No diesel smell, smooth acceleration, got a seat, arrived 4 minutes early. I almost cried. ALMOST. Still had to circle Castro Street for 11 minutes to find parking at the station so... yeah, the last mile on THIS end is still a circus.
People keep talking about the 'last mile problem' like it's some unsolvable mystery. There are BIKES. There is LYFT. There are FEET. I've been biking from my apartment on Evelyn Ave to the MV station for six years and it takes eight minutes. The problem isn't the last mile, it's that Silicon Valley built itself around the assumption that everyone deserves a personal parking space within 40 feet of their destination.
That is factually incorrect. Caltrain electrification runs through Mountain View station — the overhead catenary is fully operational there. The system uses 25kV AC overhead wire from San Francisco to San Jose. Please don't spread misinformation about infrastructure on a public forum, it actually matters for how people make decisions.
Genuine question for the pro-Caltrain crowd: what do you do when you have to stay late unexpectedly? Last train out of SF is like 10-something and then what? $60 Uber back to Mountain View? I'm not anti-transit, I just have a job that does not respect schedules.
My wife works in Redwood City, I work in SF. We used to carpool, now we both take Caltrain separately and we actually see each other in the morning and evening instead of sitting in silence stewing in traffic. That alone was worth the switch. Some things aren't about the commute math.
Born and raised in Mountain View, back when the Caltrain lot wasn't a $10/day operation and you could actually just... park there. My dad commuted to SF on it in the 90s. The trains were slower and louder but he never once complained about finding a spot. Now they charge you to park, fill the lot by 7:15am, and somehow act surprised that people still drive. Fix the parking situation or stop wondering why the 101 is gridlocked.
To whoever said they're biking 8 minutes to the station — good for you, genuinely. But I have two kids to drop at Castro Elementary before 8:30, dry cleaning to pick up, and a Costco run on the way home every other Thursday. The 'just bike and stop whining' crowd is optimizing for a life that a lot of us don't have. Transit works great for single people with simple schedules. That is not a universal condition.
Honestly the vibe on the electric trains is just different. quieter, cleaner, people are actually on their laptops or reading instead of just gripping the seat because the diesel was rattling everything loose. I don't know how to quantify that but it matters. The commute feels less like an ordeal. Give it another year of frequency improvements and I think you'll see real mode shift numbers on this corridor.
Fun fact that most people here probably don't know: Caltrain actually runs on overhead wire from a diesel generator at the Mountain View station because the electrification infrastructure doesn't extend all the way into the platform there. So those 'electric' trains you're praising are partially diesel for part of the route. Just wanted to put that out there.
nope. hard disagree. tried it for two weeks straight in october and missed a critical 9am standup TWICE because of signal delays near Redwood City. my manager doesn't care that Caltrain had 'operational issues.' my car doesn't have operational issues. well, except that one time with the alternator but that's different
The electric trains are genuinely faster, I'll give them that. Baby Bullet to SF in under 50 minutes is real and it works. But I watched a guy try to fold his e-scooter on a packed 8:12am departure last week and it took four minutes and everyone hated him and themselves. We need actual enforceable bike/scooter rules on board or it's gonna get ugly.
just moved here from chicago six months ago and honestly you guys have NO idea how good you have it. caltrain is not perfect but do you know what we had? we had the red line randomly flooding. at least your delays are boring
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