When is the best time to commute in the Bay Area?

Question

For all you veteran commuters out there, what time does the I-80 stretch from Vallejo to Oakland become congested on normal workdays?

Answer 1

The best time to commute in the morning is before 6am or after 11am.  That is a really congested corridor.  I would highly recommend taking BART from Richmond and/or carpooling if you can.

511.org (the Bay Area's travel info site) has a new feature called predict-a-trip.  It's a little clunky, so be patient when you are trying it out.  You have to enter your origin and destination based on freeway interchanges, not addresses.

I tried it given the basic info you provided and this is what it gave me.  

This trip is at 6:00AM on a typical Tue-Th:

Trip A: Typical time = 27 min. (27.8 miles)

Road Typical Speed

I-80 W 50 mph or higher

I-580 E 60 mph or higher

Total Typical Travel Time: 27 min.

and

this trip is at 8:30AM on a typical Tue-Th:

From: CA-29 & I-80 E (Vallejo)

To: I-580 W-CA-13 N Ramp & I-580 W (Oakland)

Trip A: Typical time = 54 min. (27.8 miles)

Road Typical Speed

I-80 W 30 mph

I-580 E 59 mph

Total Typical Travel Time: 54 min.

That's a big difference!   27 minutes vs. 54 minutes - YIKES!

Answer 2

The best time to commute in the Bay Area is generally between 2 AM and 5 AM.

Answer 3

At high tide, when the alligators come out of the sewers.

Answer 4

When the ground is not quaking.