Disclaimer: Some of these apps may not be available on your smartphone's operating system, especially if you are using a Chinese phone. Please feel free to use the following resource as a guide to help orient yourself to some useful apps for day to day use in the U.S. Although a particular app listed below may not be offered by your phone's app store, you can still use the following list as a reference guide to help you find similar apps in your phone's app stores.
Please feel free to contact the visiting scholar program administrator at ccs-vs@berkeley.edu if you have any particular questions about the following information.
Transportation, Maps, & Ridesharing
 |
Google Maps offers satellite imagery, street maps, 360° panoramic views of streets, real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bicycle, or public transportation. |
 |
Uber is a rideshare app used nation-wide. Please make sure when using rideshare that the license plate of the car you get into matches the one you booked via the app. |
 |
Lyft is another rideshare app based in San Francisco. Similar to Uber. Please make sure when using rideshare apps that the license plate of the car you get into matches the one you booked via the app. |
 |
Transit is a real-time transit app for all subways and buses in the Bay Area, allows you to see exactly where your bus or train on the map in real-time. |
 |
Berkeley Mobile provides Bear Transit Routes and live tracking. Library and Gym information including hours of operation/location, dining hall menus, general campus resources. |
 |
UC Berkeley Mobile provides a connection to the campus that travels with you, and includes the course schedule, campus maps & tours, directory, events, news, library tools, and COVID-19 tools, as well as links to Berkeley's varsity athletics and social media sites. There is also a web version of the app which can be accessed via desktop and mobile devices if the app is not available on your operating systems. |
 |
Easy BART provides real-time departures and trip planner scheduling options, BART maps, fare and advisory information for the SF Bay Area Rapid Transit System. |
 |
NextBus provides real-time transit information to passengers. |
Office & Lifestyle
 |
Gmail allows you to access your Berkeley bMail account on your phone easily, anywhere and anytime. |
 |
Yelp is America's Dianping (点评) for those scholars coming from China. Otherwise, Yelp is a useful app to find reviews for restaurants, shopping outlets, nightlife, food, entertainment, things to do, services and More |