Unlike many major cities that have a centralized public transportation system, the San Francisco Bay Area is made up of multiple regions, each with its own public transit system — many of which transport people both locally and into San Francisco. These different systems mean you have many options, but public transportation in San Francisco can be a bit confusing.
But no worry. We’ll explain all of the Bay Area’s transit systems, their shortcuts, how they connect, and how to use buses, cable cars, light rail, and BART. Read on to learn the best ways to get around San Francisco and the Bay Area.
What public transportation is available in San Francisco?
Let’s start with the breakdown of the different public transit systems in the Bay Area and San Francisco, starting with:
What is the difference between BART and Muni?
BEARD
While BART — short for Bay Area Rapid Transit — is probably San Francisco’s best-known transit, it’s actually a regional rail system. BART has a handful of overground and underground train lines that connect cities in the East Bay to the Peninsula via a central main line through San Francisco. (Each line is a different color and identified by its final destination.) BART provides excellent access to both Oakland International Airport and San Francisco International Airport. to get from the East Bay to San Francisco; and to get to some of the city’s key neighborhoods, such as the Mission, the Financial District, and the Embarcadero. However, due to its limited route through the city’s central corridor, BART is not the primary mode of transportation in San Francisco.
A BART train.
Mark Miller Photos/Getty Images
Insider tip: When I was in college at Berkeley, many a night ended up sprinting for the last train back to the East Bay since BART stopped running around midnight. Luckily, there’s an all-nighter bus service these days, serving a handful of routes roughly every 30 minutes from midnight to 5am
View the full BART map here and use the trip planner to plan your next ride.
ammunition
Operated by SFMTA (San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency) – this acronym can be found at train stations across the city – “Muni” stands for “Municipal”. Muni is the most used form of public transportation in San Francisco and is the best way to get around the city. Muni includes: buses and electric bus trolleys, light rail subways, and the historic cable cars and streetcars that San Francisco is famous for.
In addition to the Muni, there is also some free public transport to get people to and from the city’s main parks. The Presidio GO is a free shuttle that travels around the Presidio and also provides service to downtown and the Embarcadero BART station. Golden Gate Park also offers free shuttle service around the park.
Two Muni Metro light rail cars pass each other in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco.
Spondylolithesis/Getty Images/iStockphoto
insider tip: Don’t be confused if you hear someone say, “Let’s take Muni” to refer specifically to the light rail – although “Muni” encompasses the entire transportation system, some people use it to refer to the inner-city subway facility, to be different from BART. For other means of transport, one might be a bit more specific, even if they are also part of Muni: “Let’s take the bus”, “Let’s take the cable car”, etc.
The full Muni system map can be found here. You can also use Muni’s travel planner to navigate around the city.
Connection to the city from the region
Since each county and county in the area has its own public transit system, you should also learn about the other major Bay Area public transit systems that serve San Francisco. There are over a dozen smaller ones, but the biggest are:
Most of these systems use buses, while BART and Caltrain run trains, and Muni and VTA have light rail subways in addition to buses. There are also a number of commuter ferries to cross the bay, including boats operated by Golden Gate Ferry and San Francisco Bay Ferry.
insider tip: The 511.org website has the most comprehensive information on all the different agencies. However, since the service has ditched its trip planner, Google Maps — with public transit as a transportation option — is actually one of the best ways to plan your route across multiple agencies and factor in public transit. Being able to cycle between different stops and transit points saves you a lot of time and allows you to get to know the city in a new way.
A Clipper card reader on an electric bus in San Francisco, California.
Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE
How to use public transportation in SF
Most public transit in San Francisco is not free, but there are discounts for seniors and students. There are also tickets for unlimited travel for set periods and volume discounts.
Muni has a $5 daily pass for unlimited rides — except on cable cars. Because the cable cars are such a popular tourist destination, the ride is one-way only (it is not possible to transfer between the cable cars).
You can purchase tickets and pay the fare at the BART and Muni stations before walking through the gates. Muni also has its own app, or you can pay cash when boarding Muni buses (but not subway lines). Muni buses use a proof of payment system, which means there are fare inspectors who board the bus and hand out fines to passengers who have not paid.
BART will only issue tickets on a plastic Clipper card when you purchase your BART fare. This is confusing considering I just told you there are so many different transport systems, but it helps so be patient: In fact, the Clipper Card works on all public transit systems in the Bay Area and when you register it with an account, discounts are automatically applied – making it the easiest way to pay and multi-route. You can purchase a Clipper card at BART stations before boarding the train, at attendant kiosks, and at some Walgreens locations; You can also set up Clipper on your phone.
Insider tip: BART and CalTrain require you to tap your Clipper card twice: once when boarding and once when disembarking. However, there is no need to get off Muni buses or light rail, as fares do not depend on the distance traveled (instead, each fare is for 120 minutes, including all transfers).
Being caught in rush hour traffic, like here on the Bay Bridge, is a powerful incentive to use the Bay Area’s public transit system.
Charles Donaldson / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm
Should you drive or use public transport?
The answer really depends on where you are going. Most public transportation in San Francisco is located downtown and along the main corridor of Market Street. Once you get further out, say in the Sunset or Richmond neighborhoods, there are far fewer options and stops. However, there are many buses that serve these more remote areas and cycling can be easier here as it is less dense. The streets are a bit wider and there are designated Slow Streets where speed limits and traffic are restricted. With a little planning, it’s entirely possible to navigate the city without a car – it also saves you the stress of parking and traffic.
Most regional transit systems are also designed to carry people downtown, to SoMa, and along Market Street. That’s because regional public transport is primarily a commuter service and therefore focuses on getting people to and from where most offices are located – downtown, at least in pre-Corona times. The Salesforce Transit Center between Mission and Howard on 1st Street is also a major transportation hub for transfers between Muni, Golden Gate Transit, AC Transit, SamTrans and even Greyhound. (The CalTrain main station is a little further south on 4th Street, near Mission Bay and Oracle Park.)
All of this means that it’s easiest to get around in the core downtown area. It’s also terrible to drive and park in this area – recently it took me 20 minutes to cover a half mile during morning rush hour. So if you’re visiting popular travel destinations, attending major events or games, or traveling on common commutes, use public transportation. However, if you plan to travel more to the outskirts of town or for hikes and nearby small towns, you may need to consider other options, including driving or hiring a ride-sharing service.
Insider tip: Most games, concerts and events in San Francisco are connected by public transportation, saving you money and time. For example, there are special ferries that go directly to Oracle Park for Giants games and Pier 48 ½ for Warriors games. Muni also offers an express service to the new Chase Center on event days. With your event ticket you can ride Muni all day for free (except cable cars); Just show it as proof of payment.
This story was edited by Kristina Moy, Editor-in-Chief of Hearst Newspapers; You can contact her at kristina.moy@hearst.com.
