it's like $40 to take a car vs like $15 on Bart into the city.
BART takes 2x the time station to station. Try it out right now.
The time is 1256 as of the time of this comment.
SFO International to Montgomery St. Station: Earliest arrival is 1346
Driving: Earliest arrival is 1323
My experience is that the car takes ~6 min to arrive to pick you up for Uber. You can call it earlier, but assuming you call it when you arrive and then wait that's 1322. You lose 23 minutes to BART.
And that's BART station to BART station. Change it slightly, like to my home near Caltrain and it's pointless. The cost in time is way more than $25.
What are you going to do on your phone in the Uber vs on your phone on your couch when you get home vs your phone on Bart? If you have an important in-person meeting to get to then by all means pay the surcharge but let's be real about how some of us are spending those "saved" minutes.
Thank you for doing the math - we're only talking about 23 of them? it's entirely possible to capitalize on 23 minutes, but seriously, 23 minutes?
Can use your laptop in the car safely. A friend of mine had his laptop yanked on BART. Chap ran off, my friend gave chase, and that guy threw away the laptop. Surprisingly, only dented! But I'd rather not experience that. 28 minute ride vs. 45 minute ride after 10 min wait is pretty large difference IMHO. If no traffic, that's even shorter. For me, from Caltrain station (where I live) to airport I have a record door to gate of 16 min. That's a no planning choice. If I have to make a 45 minute ride I have to plan: take the T-line to Powell, switch to BART, ride down to the airport? Crazy. No chance.