<p>There’s absolutely no need for a car in Berkeley – Berkeley, Oakland & SF all have reasonably good bus systems in addition to BART so it is relatively easy to get around, and owning a car can be a hassle. And I do own a car these days – I live on the SF side of the Bay but if I have reason to go to Berkeley I generally prefer BART. It’s a 45 minute drive for me at best - but with the bridge you never know; depending on time of day or traffic it could take much longer. BART generally takes me about 40 minutes, without too much variation in time once a person is familiar with the BART schedules (depending on time of day or day of week, the trains run with somewhat more or less frequency).</p>
<p>okay, okay: the travel time from downtown Berkeley station to Embarcadero station (SF) is 22 minutes. I was off by 7, sorry. But you have to hit it at the right time, of course - the Richmond line runs every 15 minutes, and you have to get to downtown Berkeley, which is a block from the Western edge of campus. If you live in the Berkeley hills (which most students do not), a car could come in handy…the buses are always cutting back service these days. For the most part, though, students live within walking distance of campus.</p>