Review Highlights

    Location & Hours

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    800 Madison St

    Oakland, CA 94607

    8th St & 9th St

    Lake Merritt

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    Ask the Community

    • Q:

      Is there a parking lot at this Bart Station?

      A:

      Yes, there is a parking lot at this station. The entrance is at either 8th or 9th Streets, between Oak and Fallon Streets. The lot does fill up pretty quick in the morning on weekdays. Also the lot is across the street from Laney Jr. College.

      Carol C. 
       1 person found this helpful
    • Q:

      I need to go to SFO on a Sunday around 2:30 for a 4:00 pm flight...are their trains heading to SFO airport directly on Sundays?

      A:

      Looking at the map, yes it appears to be a line that heads towards sfo on Sunday. It's the "yellow" line you have to be on or transfer on to heads there (bay point/Pittsburgh-sfo), hope that helps alittle.

      Kyle L. 

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    Start your review of BART - Lake Merritt Station

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    92 reviews

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    • Photo of R G.
      R G.
      Toronto, Canada
      0
      11
      1
      Apr 15, 2024

      I was visiting Allameda for the first time in March 2024 and had the pleasure of meeting William Cromartie who was manning the booth at the Lake Merritt BART station.

      What a lovely human!

      I found him to be joyful, helpful and pleasant and he had something kind to say to everyone that came by and many knew him by name and spoke to him as if they were all close friends.

      William went above and beyond, letting me use his phone as a hotspot, showed me how to get easy transit information and walked me up and across the street to show me where to catch my Uber.

      I feel bad for posting this so late but I absolutley wanted to show my gratitude and appreciation for William's kindness.

      He really is a one in a million And I'll never forget his level of friendly service.

      Thank you.
      Rozana

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    • Photo of Belly G.
      Belly G.
      Houston, TX
      763
      1174
      8182
      Aug 19, 2019

      It's a generally clean station with working ticket machines.

      I didn't have to interact with the staff because I really didn't need their help with anything.
      Even when I come back to this station late at night from San Francisco, the outside is well-lit and there's plenty of lime or bird scooters around for me to take back to wherever I need to go.

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    • Photo of Chad P.
      Chad P.
      Cincinnati, OH
      359
      1274
      1151
      Mar 27, 2022

      A friend of mine moved to a different part of Oakland and now this is the closest station to her. So I went to check it out. After doing a little bit of research, this was the station that President Nixon himself got off at after riding the soon to be open BART system from San Leandro. It still looks like it's a relic from the '70s. But it was pretty functional and easy to navigate. At the time the station was pretty empty and seemed mostly clean. It definitely looks like it's from the '70s though in case I didn't already say that. Good signage pointing you to what street you want to go to and overall good experience. Can't complain!

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    • Photo of Charlene G.
      Charlene G.
      Sacramento, CA
      2159
      2162
      10588
      Jun 7, 2018

      Calling all commuters! Calling all Warm Spring riders!

      I would have to say, compared to most other stations, Lake Merritt is much cleaner and safer. I've gotten off at this station a handful of times when I had to attend jury duty at the Alameda County Superior Court offices. So yup, you read that right... if you got summoned for jury duty for this location AND you live in the San Leandro, Lorenzo, Castro Valley, Plesanton, Hayward, Union City and or Fremont Area....ride Bart to this station and walk to the superior courts.

      Also, on the weekends when they don't have connecting flights that go straight to SF so I've used this station as a transfer point.

      This station is well lit at night too.

      The platform
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    • Photo of John G.
      John G.
      Daly City, CA
      512
      1079
      10006
      Mar 15, 2018

      This review is for the Customer Service Center and the people that work there.

      I use the commuter checks program from work for my BART tickets, and it was convenient for me when they had the ticket exchange booth at the Montgomery station. Sucks ever since they closed down for reasons that don't make sense since a lot of commuters would have to go to the East Bay in order to exchange their commuter checks.

      The "closest" location is at Lake Merritt so I have to plan a trip every month or so that makes it very inconvenient for those of us that work on this side of the bay. I've been here several times since then, and the interactions I had with the people working there had been atrocious. The people working at this booth must be miserable at their jobs and they gladly spread their "joy" unto others.

      I've been treated like garbage here by several of their customer service staff on multiple occasion. Ironic since they work at the "Customer Service" booth and they don't provide you that. Look, I get it, you deal with the general public and it probably sucks. I don't expect great service, but at least provide decent service and respect. Don't lump everyone into a one-size-fits-all type of customer and category, plus have a little bit of patience.

      I dread coming here to exchange my commuter checks and I shouldn't feel this way as a grown-ass man.

      The only time I was treated with dignity and respect was my latest visit on February 8th. It was a nice Asian lady (unfortunately I didn't get her name) that saved it from being one star. The rest of these miserable customer service professional could learn a lot from her.

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    • Photo of Denise C.
      Denise C.
      San Francisco, CA
      1540
      2982
      7878
      Dec 14, 2019

      Everybody talks about Lake Merritt these days. So many young people live around Lake Merritt and there's this Bart station at Lake Merritt. It's a stop you can't miss and it feels alright. You can get around Oakland by getting to Lake Merritt. They have transfer points nearby. This is at Dublin/Pleasanton. The East Bay Bart transportation system is quiet and Lake Merritt is the Lake Merritt stop in Oakland. If you have somewhere to go then you do, and if you don't you don't.

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    • Photo of Daniel B.
      4951
      4951
      89984
      Feb 27, 2016

      If you're headed to Lake Merritt, Chinatown, or the Oakland Museum, Lake Merritt is the stop to get off at. Both the ticketing area and train platforms are located indoors at this BART station, making it a convenient and more comfortable switching point. Other stations in the East Bay have open-air, above-ground platforms, exposing riders to the elements. Not here. It's a warmer, "cozier" place to change trains, so keep that in mind.

      Three lines run through Lake Merritt station:

      1. Daly City to Dublin/Pleasanton. Crosses the bay.
      2. Richmond to Fremont. Does not cross the bay.
      3. Daly City to Fremont. Crosses the bay.

      This is a simple station with a single island platform. Island platforms are the way to go. There's no need to switch platforms unlike other stations like nearby Fruitvale station which has side platforms. This station is brightly lit, satisfactorily clean, and easy to navigate.

      Outside, on street level, there's a concrete park built on top of the station. This is where BART HQ used to be until their offices were moved and the building demolished (2010). Across the street is a small, one-block private park called Madison Park. It has a tiny playground with half a basketball court, four square, and hopscotch.

      I exited at this station and waited for my ride outside one of the entryways at 8th St and Oak St. The neighborhood felt safe enough, late on a weekday afternoon. This is a good station to be picked up and dropped off at because the roads bordering the station are wide -- four lanes with additional parking lanes, making it relatively easy for vehicles to maneuver in and out. There's a parking lot too.

      You can use the fare schedule posted inside the station to determine exactly how much it'll cost you to get from Lake Merritt to your destination. You can put the exact amount it will cost for your ride onto your BART ticket at one of the ticket kiosks. You can do this by increasing or decreasing the amount of money on your ticket in increments as little as 5 cents.

      At the time of writing this review, the cost of a one-way ride from Lake Merritt station into the city of San Francisco is $3.45. The cost of a one-way ride from Lake Merritt to San Francisco International Airport is $9.25. These costs are the same heading in the opposite direction.

      Finally, if you're like me and wondering what that "Hometown Donuts" place with beer, wine, liquor, and "Chinese Food To Go" is like, check out their Yelp listing here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hometown-donuts-liquor-and-food-oakland.

      Inside.
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    • Photo of K C.
      K C.
      Oakland, CA
      2
      162
      1
      Jan 15, 2022

      Bart runs late sometimes . Too many homeless people lurking around and I thought mask is a mandate . Many people wearing the mask improperly or maskless.

      Lots of people hopping over gate without paying . And people smoking on the platform and on Bart. No Bart police in site. Safety is also an issue too. Too many weirdo or drunks around. This review applies to all stations and if I can, I would give no stars!!

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    • Photo of Rachel R.
      Rachel R.
      Havenscourt, Oakland, CA
      0
      48
      Sep 20, 2022

      We had an out of town guest and we were dropping her off at a Bart station. After finding the Lake Merritt Bart we decided against dropping her off. It had just turned dark and was extremely empty and unsafe. Please add extra lighting! Be careful and stay safe

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    • Photo of Steve G.
      Steve G.
      Alameda, CA
      166
      641
      913
      May 25, 2018

      This review is for the customer service people who actually serve customers. The lady who helped me was friendly, efficient and very knowledgable. She processed my transaction quickly and was very nice to me.

      In contrast to Embacadero Clipper who are clueless and I left like the people here actually wanted to help me. For any Bay Area transportation needs I'm coming here.

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