Chinatown Park & Ride

This may be a good deal, but don’t trust the shuttle times. The sign in the garage says:
9 – 5 (every 15 min)
5 – 8 (every 20 min)
8 – 10 (every 30 min)
The website says:
«Service runs every 10 – 20 min and every 30 min from 8pm-​10pm.»
Leaving aside the fact that the website and the sign aren’t quite the same (imaginary 10 min frequency?)… here’s the reality:
Leaving the garage:
Arrived @ bus stop: 3:30pm
Bus came: 4:07pm
Coming back from Chinatown (Broadway & Stockton):
Arrived @ bus stop: 6:13pm
Bus came: 6:56pm
In each case, the driver had some excuse (so and so’s on break, I got stuck behind a truck, etc.) and on the return trip, even pulled out his schedule to show that he was on time according to the schedule given him by his supervisor. In addition, he claimed that buses only run every 30 min. after 6pm, which contradicts the information given to the public.
I’m sure guy’s just doing his job but bottom line we waited well over 30 min in the freezing wind for that damn bus. I would’ve just walked but I had 2 little kids in tow and hella groceries. Bottom line: avoid this service unless you’ve got time to waste.

My family and I wanted to drive into SF Chinatown for the weekend and we know how crazy parking gets here so I looked up some suggestions on Unilocal.
I parked here on a weekend for a flat rate of $ 3 with validation from a restaurant that we dined at in Chinatown. We had no trouble with validating at the restaurant we went to (New Woey Loy Goey Restaurant). Here is a link with a list of participating merchants:

There is apparently a shuttle that you can take to Chinatown and other various drop off spots, but we just decided to walk… so I’m not sure how great the shuttle service is.
Note that there are no ticket machine/​kiosks to pay for your parking before exiting. You just pay with the attendant on your way out of the garage.
Also, the parking lot does close at 10pm sharp… so be aware of this otherwise they do charge to be let out of the garage.

It is still $ 3.

this was by far the worst advice i have ever taken!!!
i went to the parking garage and walked to chinatown. not one store or restaurant on the list provided would validate my ticket — trust me i asked a ton of them. i thought this couldnt be that bad and was expecting to pay about 15 – 18 to get out of the parking garage… nope $ 36 was the grand total of parking fees. i could have parked a block closer to the embaradaro for $ 8 to $ 18 depending on the lot.
severely disappointing.

3 dollars for parking. who what when where why and HOW you ask? well it’s easy as 1−2−3!
1– park car (note: garage is near Embarcadero /​Finacial dist)
2– take Niffty shutttle to chinatown or not. (but you’re gonna wanna after reading step 3!)
3– validate p-​tix in local chinatown shops! (there is a list)
and voila… only three dolla! this garage is good for those shopping in chinatown cus ya know parkin is a dog! arff!
you definitely catch a bus in chinatown to go to the wharf or downtown. just make sure you got 1.50 on ya for bus fare. or you can try getting thru the back doors. they’re pretty laxed on that around that area! but still dont get caught… cus saving won’t mean diddolly squat if you get a freggin ticket! (dont say i didnt warn ya!)