On Monday, November 2, the estuary between Jack London Square and Alameda goes without a single passenger boat. SF Bay Ferry's fall schedule changes start that day. Two of them, along with a schedule gap that was already there, leave one free shuttle named Woodstock carrying the crossing from Tuesday through Friday. On Mondays, no boat crosses at all.
For November, the steady part of the estuary crossing is a small free boat that docks at the foot of Broadway. The larger ferry system has pulled back. The weekend, which usually gets less ferry service, ends up being the best time of the week to get across.
What the October 8 announcement changed
SF Bay Ferry's announcement, published October 8, 2026, mostly covers other parts of the bay: new peak trips on the Alameda Seaplane route and added midday and evening service on Harbor Bay. Three lines in it change the crossing from Jack London Square:
- Starting November 2, weekday Oakland departures to Downtown San Francisco will no longer stop at Main Street Alameda. The agency directs Oakland-to-Alameda riders to the Short Hop or the water shuttle instead.
- For all of November, the South San Francisco route is suspended for dredging at its terminal. Because of that suspension, weekday Alameda Short Hop service is suspended for the whole month.
- On weekends, Short Hop trips run eastbound only, from Main Street Alameda to Oakland.
The weekend line describes how the Short Hop already runs. In normal service, the Short Hop runs between Main Street Alameda and the Oakland Ferry Terminal at 10 Clay Street. It goes both directions on weekdays and only Alameda-to-Oakland on weekends. So the weekend pattern stays the same, and all of the November cut falls on weekdays. Those weekday runs normally carry Alameda-to-Oakland trips from 6:50 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and Oakland-to-Alameda trips from 3:05 p.m. to 9:50 p.m., at $2.85 one way for adults under fares that took effect July 1, 2026.
The agency expects South San Francisco service to resume December 1, 2026. That dredging is the reason the weekday Short Hop is off for November.
Why Monday ends up with nothing
The free Oakland Alameda Water Shuttle runs Tuesday through Sunday, and the City of Alameda says plainly that there is no service on Mondays. In October, a Monday still has two other options. Weekday Short Hop trips run, and Oakland's San Francisco-bound ferries stop at Main Street Alameda. In November, the Short Hop is off on weekdays and the Oakland ferries skip Main Street, so neither option is left.
Here is how a November week looks from the dock at the foot of Broadway, based on SF Bay Ferry's posted Water Shuttle timetable as it stood in mid-October 2026:
| Day in November | Boats between Oakland and Alameda | Last Woodstock departure from Oakland |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | None | No service |
| Tuesday to Thursday | Woodstock only | 7:41 p.m. |
| Friday | Woodstock only | 9:25 p.m. |
| Saturday and Sunday | Woodstock both ways, plus the Short Hop from Main Street Alameda to Oakland | 9:25 p.m. |
Woodstock's first departures are 7:20 a.m. from Alameda and 7:31 a.m. from Oakland on every day it runs. Last boats are 7:30 p.m. from Alameda Tuesday through Thursday and 9:36 p.m. Friday through Sunday. For anyone heading home from Alameda, the early evening cutoff from Tuesday through Thursday is the one that matters.
The two boats don't share a dock on the Oakland side. Woodstock ties up at the public dock at the southern end of Broadway, just west of Scott's. The Short Hop uses the Oakland Ferry Terminal at 10 Clay Street. On a weekend trip back from Main Street Alameda, the Short Hop lands at Clay Street, not at the foot of Broadway.
The shuttle that ends up carrying the crossing
Woodstock started in July 2024 as a two-year pilot. Since then it has grown in the way a small service grows when people use it. The City of Alameda reports that it carried more than 250,000 riders and 60,000 bikes in its first two years. Service went from five days a week to six, and weekly trips rose 84 percent to 345. A Phase 2 pilot runs from July 2026 through June 2028, and the city says an evaluation of the first two years will be published this fall.
The Alameda end is the public dock in Bohol Circle Immigrant Park, at the northern end of Fifth Street behind Target at Alameda Landing. A small public lot on Tradewind Drive has 2 ADA spaces and 34 standard spaces. AC Transit Line 96 stops about a quarter mile away on Mitchell Avenue. The boat, ramps and docks are designed for wheelchairs and other mobility devices, though the city notes that the gangways get steeper at very low tides.
The added weekend hours came from construction money. Alameda received Alameda County Transportation Commission funding tied to the impacts of tube construction, and it began using that money in March 2026 to expand weekend service. The current pattern of six days with longer Friday-through-Sunday hours is scheduled to last through October 2027. From November 2027, the plan drops to five days, Wednesday through Sunday, though the city notes Tuesday service could continue if funding allows.
Having one boat carry the weekday crossing has a known weakness. Alameda Post reported that Woodstock was out of service after mechanical failures beginning August 5, and that normal service resumed August 26. If something similar happens in November, there is no weekday Short Hop to fall back on.
The tubes keep their own late-night schedule
Under the water, Caltrans' Oakland Alameda Access Project sets the late-night limits. The Webster Tube closes completely overnight, Sunday through Thursday, from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., while crews build a new bicycle and pedestrian path. Caltrans sends drivers to the Park Street Bridge. The Posey Tube stays open for Alameda-to-Oakland drivers and for people on foot or bike.
The September 11 Caltrans newsletter said the path inside the tube was built but still needed railings, and the connecting paths were nearly finished. It gave no revised end date for the overnight closures. Caltrans first estimated about six months of closures starting in April. On those nights, AC Transit runs Lines 19, 30, 51A, 96, O and 851 on detours around the Webster Tube after 10 p.m.
With no published end date, it's unclear whether the overnight closures will still be running in November. If they are, the two schedules stack up. From Tuesday through Thursday, Woodstock's last trip from Alameda leaves at 7:30 p.m., and the Webster Tube closes at 10 p.m. On Mondays there's no boat at all. Under the closure pattern as announced, Friday and Saturday nights have both the latest boats and no Webster closure. Caltrans posts updates on its project page.
The next phase is already scheduled. A City of Alameda staff report says the Posey Tube stage, with limited weekend full closures and an extended single-lane closure, is expected to begin in early 2027. Caltrans lists the overall project as running from early 2026 to spring 2029 and calls that schedule tentative. Alameda staff have also proposed a West Alameda Bay Wheels pilot with eight stations and 53 e-bikes. It would link riders to the ferry, the shuttle and buses during the Posey work, with an early 2027 opening depending on funding and agreements.
A November calendar that lands on the well-served days
Most of the Square's own November events fall on weekends, when both boats run and Woodstock stays out latest:
- Sundays through December 13: the Jack London Square Farmers Market, operated by the Golden State Farmers Market Association, runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free yoga is 2 to 3 p.m., and a free play zone opened September 27.
- Sunday, November 1: the Día de los Muertos Family Fun Fest runs 1 to 3 p.m. with folklórico, mariachi, chalk art and children's activities. It's the last day before the new ferry schedules start.
- Late November: the Holiday Tree Lighting promises Santa, a laser show, faux snow and performances. The event card says November 28, but the description says "Saturday, November 29th." November 28 is the Saturday in 2026, so confirm with the Square before you plan around it.
Weekday visits to the waterfront also changed this year. Oaklandside reported that Carlyle's Chicken Wings, founded by Jamale Carlyle, soft-opened at 439 Water St. this summer. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a Reem's cafe run by worker-owners was set to open June 26 at 85 Webster St., and it now appears in the Square's directory. Oaklandside also reported that Home of Chicken and Waffles, a longtime Jack London restaurant at 247 4th St., closed at the end of August.
SF Bay Ferry recommends checking the updated schedules at sfbayferry.com/schedule-change before you travel and allowing extra time while the new weekday patterns settle in. The Short Hop's weekday service is expected back when South San Francisco reopens December 1.
If you're weighing how much the estuary crossing matters in your week, whether you live near the water now or are thinking about Alameda or Jack London for later, Ryan Wang is happy to talk through how schedules like these shape daily routines on both sides of the water. Start with a conversation.
