Origin
Union City, CA
Late night in Union City on Tuesday
Local time
5:51 AM
PDT
Current temp
52°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Union City, CA to Fremont, CA
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
13m
Distance
8.6 mi
14 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$2
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 12m
★
6 AM
0h 13m
8 AM
0h 16m
10 AM
0h 14m
12 PM
0h 14m
3 PM
0h 14m
5 PM
0h 16m
8 PM
0h 13m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Union City, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
If you are looking for a quick commute between Union City and Fremont, this 8.6-mile trip is an ideal candidate for a single-day journey. You can expect the drive to take roughly 15 minutes, making it a highly efficient connection within the Pacific Coast region. Budgeting just $1 for fuel covers your costs for this short distance. Because the duration is so brief, there is no need to plan for overnight stays or multiple stops along the way. This route is purely functional, designed to get you from point A to point B without unnecessary complexity. It serves as a straightforward link between these two neighboring California communities.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Nimitz Freeway | 5.3 mi | 6m |
| Mowry Avenue | 1.6 mi | 3m |
| Smith Street | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| Alvarado-Niles Road | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| Cambridge Way | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Nimitz Freeway
— 5.3 mi, about 6m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Union City, CA and Fremont, CA.
1
Start on Cambridge Way
193 ft
·
10 sec
·
Cambridge Way
2
Continue on Smith Street
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
Smith Street
3
Continue on Alvarado-Niles Road
0.3 mi
·
40 sec
·
Alvarado-Niles Road
4
Take the ramp
0.4 mi
·
57 sec
Toward I 880 South: San Jose
5
Merge onto I 880
5.3 mi
·
6 min
·
Nimitz Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
35 sec
Exit 17
Toward Mowry Avenue, Central Fremont
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Turn left
116 ft
·
3 sec
Use the left lane.
8
Turn straight onto Mowry Avenue
0.1 mi
·
10 sec
·
Mowry Avenue
9
Continue on Mowry Avenue
1.5 mi
·
2 min
·
Mowry Avenue
10
Arrive at destination
Mowry Avenue
Heads-up: tricky spots
4 of 44 decision points cluster between mile 0.9 and 7 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
3
0.9 mi into trip
|
~2m in
Take the ramp toward I 880 South: San Jose
Navigation decision point
Toward I 880 South: San Jose
5
1.4 mi into trip
|
~3m in
|
I 880 / Nimitz Freeway
Merge onto I 880 / Nimitz Freeway
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
6.7 mi into trip
|
~9m in
Take the exit toward Mowry Avenue, Central Fremont
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 17
Toward Mowry Avenue, Central Fremont
6
7 mi into trip
|
~10m in
Turn left
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.98 one way
$3.95 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
3 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $2.04 | $4.07 |
| premium | $6.18 | $2.09 | $4.18 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $1.90 | $3.80 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$2
Estimated CO2 emission: 3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2.6 | 0 | $0.90 | $0.41 |
| Efficient EV | 2.2 | 0 | $0.75 | $0.34 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 3.4 | 0 | $1.20 | $0.55 |
Gas CO2
3 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (67% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Fremont, CA
Late night in Fremont on Tuesday
Local time
5:51 AM
PDT
Current temp
49°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
3 degrees cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
13m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive rather than a high-speed interstate cruise. You will navigate via Smith Street, Alvarado-Niles Road, and a brief segment on I-880 South, though the route maintains a 0% highway share for the majority of the travel time. The longest uninterrupted stretch occurs on Smith Street, where you will find zero miles of continuous highway driving. Behind the wheel, you should stay alert for frequent turns as you transition between local roads. The personality of this drive is strictly urban and navigation-focused, requiring your full attention as you maneuver through the local streets.
62% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
10 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 5.3 mi on Nimitz Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
4/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Nimitz Freeway and Mowry Avenue. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes around 0.9 miles in.
Driving Effort
4/10
Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a straightforward 13m drive. You will face about 4 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.9 miles: Navigation decision point; at 1.4 miles (I 880 / Nimitz Freeway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 6.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
About the Cities
Starting in Union City, CA
Full guide →Union City is a city of 70,000 people (in 2020) in the southern part of the East Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area region of California. It is bordered to the north by the city of Hayward and to the south by the city of Fremont. It is part of the Tri-Cities area, which consists of Union City, Fremont, and Newark.
Arriving in Fremont, CA
Full guide →Founded 1956
Fremont is a suburban city in the southern part of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; it is the 4th largest city in the Bay Area by population. Fremont is in the southern part of Alameda County, California, between Union City to the north, Sunol and the hills to the east, Milpitas and Santa Clara County to the south, and the San Francisco Bay to the west. The city of Newark, near the edge of the Bay, is surrounded by the city of Fremont. Fremont industry is not particularly large relative to other parts of the Bay Area, but neither is it a bedroom community. Many people in Fremont work locally in the electronics and high-tech industry, while many others commute to Silicon Valley or San Francisco locations for work.
Top landmarks
- • Mission San José — 18th-century Spanish mission in Fremont, California
- • Ardenwood Historic Farm — human settlement in California, United States of America
- • Niles Depot Museum — railway museum in Niles, California
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 13m. Total distance: 8.6 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
13m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (62%). Straightforward navigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 5.3 miles on Nimitz Freeway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.9 miles: Navigation decision point; at 1.4 miles (I 880 / Nimitz Freeway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 6.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Fremont, CA before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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