Lafayette BART Station

For me, this is the second nicest BART station in the entire system. The first place station is Orinda, just one stop away. Lafayette is a nice clean safe suburban area and the BART station is just off Mt Diablo Blvd. Easy in and out, no big line of cars and traffic lights to deal with. No free parking anymore, but that’s life on BART. Your car will be much safer parked here than some BART lot over on the bay side of the hills. Starbucks is right near by if you need that.
I was in Walnut Creek and need to be in downtown SF for a quick meeting, and this station is way easier to deal with than Walnut Creek. The ticket machines were east to use and the trip was smooth. It’s a bit of change boarding here in Lafayette and getting out on Market Street and the inner urban hazards … and smells.

One of the nicer BART stations, but still a BART station. I took BART for nearly a year from Walnut Creek/​Lafayette to a job in San Francisco and it near drove me insane. To be honest, it was probably a combination of my job and the unrealiable, somewhat long BART trip that made me unhappy. Thankfully, I moved and got a new job, so I don’t have to deal with BART at all anymore, and save $ 60 a week not commuting. Anyway, as far as stations go though, this one is clean and has plentiful parking (as long as you get there before 8am or late in the afternoon). I prefer the lot layout to a garage, as I think it makes it easier to find open spots, and allows for quicker entrance and exit.

BART in itself is fairly good for the United States. Of course much of Europe and Asia has far greater transit, especially because of their policies, but that’s for another day. The BART station of Lafayette has it’s ups and downs.
There is lots of parking and the parking spills into a vast array of lots. The station is well served by bus service, but Lafayette could use more bus service.
I used to go here a lot with my school, so the big bench that can sit quite a lot of people in front is kind of nice. On one side, it’s on a hill but close to downtown so it’s kind of easy to get to. The other is close to a shopping center that has Pizza Antica and they really make you walk up several flights of stairs. When you walk up, the escalator often runs going down only. It would make more sense to always have it going up because walking up is more difficult than walking down.
When you reach the platform, you are smack in the middle of the freeway. After a few times going here, you get used to it. There are some seats, but they are often taken and limited to a bench inside glass. Half of the station does not have any of these at all. You are limited to the Pittsburgh Bay Point Line, to go to Bay Point, Concord, Walnut Creek, Oakland, San Francisco and the San Francisco Airport. This line runs towards the bigger cities on Sundays, so that’s nice. However, it will get crowded at rush hour having to go through many stations before Lafayette.
You will have to stand on a crowded train and you might fall into people occasionally and Lafayette is no help. But, you are close to Oakland. If you want to go to San Francisco or Oakland, I might suggest this to alleviate traffic from your concerns.
Lafayette is a good station for those in Lafayette, but try to get on earlier, like in Concord. And moving to the very front or very back helps. They let you use the bathroom at the station and this station is just okay.

It’s a Bart station, what’s to say! There is a view of the Lafayette crosses, and easy walk to download Lafayette. The bathrooms are a bit grubby, but no worse than most. They’ve recently added new bike racks under shelter on the South side.
I’ve always found Bart employees helpful, and here is no exception.

I use this station on weekday mornings and afternoons. It gets crowded at peak hours.
That being said, the Lafayette station is far nicer than almost any other stop in the entire BART system. It’s quiet, clean, and safe. Unlike the stations in Oakland and most of San Francisco, you won’t be confronted by smelly panhandlers and menacing ghetto rats in Lafayette. As a fun exercise in comparison and contrast, take BART from Lafayette and get off at the 12^th Street/​Oakland City Center station. You’ll understand why Kurtz went insane. «The horror. .. the horror. .. «
Thank goodness for towns like Lafayette, Orinda, and Walnut Creek. They make BART bearable. As any real estate agent will tell you, the key is location.

One star for no parking. Paid lots full. Private lots full. Whatchu gonna do, Lafayette?

it doesn’t smell like urine like most BART stations.
Must be the neighborhood.
Ya feel me?

The Lafayette Bart Station is very convenient for those living in Lafayette since it is located almost right down town.
Parking is five dollars a day and the parking lot can get pretty full if you are trying to get there in the morning.

Walking distance from Peets, Whole Foods and a few other tasty locales.
I generally gather here when taking group trips to SF or Oakland. Easy in and out and very simple access to Hwy 24.
Just across the road from this station is a living, growing monument to the soldiers lost in the Iraq war. It’s a powerful visual and it is kept by several women and men now that it’s originator has, herself, passed on.

Used to use BART when I commuted to school. Now I use it for the occasional trip to SF. No complaints. Occasionally there will be delays but stuff happens and you just got to accept it. They recently redid the fabric of the seating which is nice. This particular station is fine. It’s situated in a very low-​crime area so I never feel uncomfortable while waiting for the BART to arrive. Plenty of seating.
There’s always at least one ‘interesting’ person to observe and keep you entertained during the ride. The best time is around 5 – 6 PM when the work commuters get on board. As they pack in like cattle in their suits and uniforms, most, if not all of them look dead on the inside. Soulless, tired eyes. Some sleep, hoping to forget their lives for a few passing minutes while others stare vacantly ahead at nothing. The flame that once drove and inspired them long extinguished. It’s actually kind of depressing but would make for a great cover piece in a magazine or paper. On the other side of the coin are the sports fans. It’s fun to see that team spirit all packed in together. And after the game (and a couple of beers) they’re especially animated! So take a seat, sit back, and enjoy a ride on the BART!

I used to ride from this station all the time when I lived here. It was convenient to walk from the apartment, since it was only 2 blocks away. Now we live a few towns away but love to revisit Lafayette Reservior.
I MUST recommend coming here to get quarters to put in the metered parking. Yesterday we came here since it was a Sunday and the banks were closed to get coins.
The way I did it was putting in $ 6.00, then subtracting $.05 until it reaches $ 4.50, because that’s all it’s going to give you back. So if you travel by BART and need a ticket, just insert the ticket back in and put more money in the ticket.
The reason why I didn’t go get quarters at grocery stores is that they usually don’t have that much change or can give you an amount you need. So if the your bank is closed, then this is a quick and easy way to get what you need, whether it be for metered parking or laundry. e

I am at this Bart station twice a day most days to drop off and pick up my daughter as she commutes to high school in the City. I much prefer this station to WC when it comes to the drop off and pick up as the station is very easy to get in and out of. The teen dream prefers this station too as it is smaller and easier to maneuver and she says it is always clean but would never try the bathroom even in a dire emergency!

Make sure to pay for parking and that when you do your receipt says you paid for the right slot. Yes, it’s happened to me before. I refuted the ticket and they wanted me to drive all the way to LA to attend the appeal in court. How stupid right? I ended up paying for the $ 40 ticket instead of wasting more money and time on the trip down.
There aren’t a lot of bums present like the ones in sf/​dc, but I did encounter one before. He was dressed like Will Smith from Pursuit of Happiness with a messy suit and a briefcase. He ripped my uncle off for some money so he can «Bart to Vallejo». Funny right. My uncle just wanted him gone and didn’t think about what he was saying so he just gave him a few bucks and left. It was at night, so remember wherever you go just be careful.
Overall, I like going here because it’s close to home and SF, so the fare for me isn’t so bad. Parking is a pain if you don’t come really early during the weekdays.
Would I go back? Yes.

Clean, easy to find but parking is tough and spills over but it’s safe and quiet.

So convenient, almost always parking (though not in the shade and no structure, so prepare for a good walk sometimes!) and a semi-​clean restroom. Best place to park and ride for Giants games.

This is my favorite station in the Walnut Creek/​Lafayette area because I can still find a parking spot there at 8:15am on a weekday morning.
There isn’t a parking garage, which could be a + or -, so all the lots are laid out flat and expansively. This means if you do get a parking spot at 8:15am, it’s out at the far end of the lots and could mean a good, tedious 5-​minute walk to the station. As someone else mentioned, there is street parking available for $ 5 cash. However, all the residential streets framing the station are limited 2-​hr parking unless you have a residential parking permit.
Lots are well-​lit and clean, as is the station. I’ve seen mostly professionals going to work in San Francisco at this station. My EZrider pass sometimes doesn’t work in the turnstiles, which is annoying, but the Information kiosk staff are always helpful and nice.

This is a good BART station to park when you want to head towards Mt. Diablo Blvd. and the heart of Lafayette. The Lafayette Hillside Memorial is also visible from here and it’s a great place to ponder the human consequences of war.

It’s a toss up between this and Orinda for the most scenic bart station! Both are gorgeous.

This is my back-​up BART station when Walnut Creek is full (which is a HUGE Con for me). They have more parking and I can get a spot here and if not there is parking on the side streets provided by the city which is $ 5.
PROs:
— lots of parking and back up parking on the street for $ 5 (provided by the city not BART)
— well lit parking lots which is nice for walking to my car at night
— clean parking lots and station
— near downtown Lafayette, Safeway and a couple gas stations
— right off the freeway
CONs:
— long walk because of the layout (but I guess that could be a pro for exercise?!)
— trains seems to come less often
Thank you Lafayette for giving me a spot to park those mornings when I needed you!

A friend dropped me off here on his way to the Lafayette Reservoir. We spotted wild turkeys roaming around outside a residential area on the way! Wild turkeys!!! Anyway, this is just like any other outdoor Bart station. It’s nestled in between two freeways so it’s loud and if you have nothing better to do, you can just sit (or stand) there watching cars zoom by. My Bart train was delayed by 10 minutes because they’re doing some track work between Orinda and Walnut Creek, I believe. But hey, a Bart station is a Bart station.