San Francisco has one of the most comprehensive public transportation systems in the United States. Transport services within San Francisco are provided by several bodies; they are separate organizations and although they have many interchange stations, tickets are not normally transferable across the systems (except for monthly or longer period passes). The major transit systems are:
Muni — Metro subway, streetcars, buses, trolley buses and cable cars within San Francisco proper.
BART — regional subway services in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Caltrain — commuter rail services to San José.
San Francisco Municipal Railway or Muni, +1 415 701-2311, runs a network of local transport that covers most areas of touristic interest well. An all day Muni passport good on all Muni services, including Cable Cars, costs $14. Other passports and passes are available for longer periods: a 3-day pass costs $21, while a 7 day pass costs $27. The passports come in the form of scratch cards; be sure to scratch off the appropriate dates before using.
Passports, as well as maps of the public transport system, can be purchased from the information booths at the San Francisco airport, the Cable Car ticket booth at Market and Powell, and many other locations. Monthly "FastPasses" can be a good investment, especially for those under 18 and over 65. They are $21 for youth and seniors and $62 for adults and offer unlimited rides on the entire system. The passports are not valid for BART travel.
A portable wallet-sized map of San Francisco and all its public transit (MUNI, BART, Caltrain) is also available at stores around the city or through their website online . Many of the city's bus stops also have posted copies of this map with the location of the stop marked, a godsend for lost pedestrians.
90 minutes of travel on the Muni system (Metro, F-line streetcar, buses) costs $2 ($0.75 for youth 5-17, disabled, and seniors 65+); be sure to get and keep a transfer ticket when you pay for your first ride; Muni inspectors may demand it at any time as proof of payment. Cable Cars are not included in these transfers and cost $6 per ride (one way, no transfers), or $14 per day. Before 7AM and after 9PM, seniors and disabled pay $3 for cable car rides. Muni Passports and FastPasses greatly reduce this cost, including cable cars in the regular daily, weekly or monthly fares. Payment must be made using exact fare — at Muni Metro stations, insert coins into the barriers to enter. Note that many Muni stations do not have change machines, and some change machines only issue $5 bills instead of the coins required for travel. Muni station staff do not give change.
You can plan your Muni travel online . Muni arrival times are also available online for many lines at NextMuni . An unofficial site is RescueMuni.com , which often has information on routes that are not listed officially.
Muni consists of:
Streetcar at foot of Market
Muni Metro (Lines J, K, L, M, N, S and T) is a modern light rail and subway system. It connects many southern and western neighborhoods to downtown, where you can transfer to one of BART's four downtown stations and the Caltrain terminal at 4th and King. Outside of the Market Street and Twin Peaks subways, Muni Metro operates as a surface light rail system, running in the center of the street with stops every couple of blocks (note that many of these stops are not wheelchair accessible - check the map to see which ones are). Tickets can be purchased from ticket vending machines before boarding; if the stop does not have such a machine and you do not have a ticket, you must board through the front door and buy one from the driver or risk being fined by a fare inspector. MUNI Metro operates seven days a week from 4:30AM to 1:30AM. Between 1:30AM and 5AM, OWL Buses substitute for Metro service.
The Historic Streetcar F Line uses historic streetcars, in original colors from several cities in the US and Milan, Italy. The line runs from Fisherman's Wharf south along the waterfront Embarcadero to the ferry building at the foot of Market Street, then up Market Street on the surface to the Castro district. Board through the front door and buy tickets from the operator if you do not already have a transfer or pass.
Cablecar at Powell & Market
The world-famous Cable Cars run on three lines in the steep streets between Market Street and Fisherman's Wharf: the north-south Powell-Mason and Powell-Hyde lines and the east-west California Street line. These cars are a fun ride, especially if you get to stand on the running board, if a bit impractical for everyday use (though residents of Nob and Russian Hills do, in fact, use them on a daily basis). The cable car is such an attraction that, especially on weekends, it takes longer to wait in line to ride up Powell Street than it does to walk the short but sloping distance. If you want to save yourself time standing in line at the turnaround, just walk up a couple of blocks to the next stop — the conductors save a few spaces for people boarding along the way; you won't get first choice of seats, but you'll save yourself a long time standing in line. Board through any door or just grab a pole on the running boards; tickets are checked and sold by a uniformed conductor. Do not buy tickets from anyone off the car except for clearly marked ticket booths — scam artists are common.
Both diesel and electric trolley buses serve the rest of city. Board through the front door and buy tickets from or show your pass or transfer to the driver. Service ranges from a consistent two minutes on many lines leaving Market, to a more sporadic 20 minutes for buses to Treasure Island and between outlying neighborhoods. Bus delays, leading to waits of 20 to 30 minutes, are not uncommon and are a source of much grousing among locals. MUNI operates 24 hours a day / seven days a week in San Francisco although late night owl service is limited in both lines and stops.
Other public transportation options include:
BART, the regional metro, has eight stations in San Francisco, making it a nice way to get between well-trafficked parts of the city, especially downtown and the Mission. BART gets you across the Bay to Berkeley and Oakland and to the airports of San Francisco and Oakland. BART Trains run over 107 miles (172 km) of track, serving 46 stations. BART trains operate on third rail power and accelerate to speeds approaching 80 MPH (130 km/h). BART operates seven days a week from 4AM to 12:30AM. On weekdays BART trains depart downtown San Francisco stations at two to three minute intervals. Outer stations in far outlying suburbs have a maximum wait of fifteen to twenty minutes between trains. After 12:30AM, AC Transit and other east bay transit providers provide late-night bus service, serving principal BART stations until about 6AM. BART routes are named for the two terminus stations, not by line color as denoted on the system map. For more information on BART, see the 'Get in' section above.
Caltrain has three stops within San Francisco. Other than the 4th and King terminal in SoMa, these are the 22nd St. Station and the Bayshore Station (off of Tunnel Ave), neither of which are particularly attractive for visitors. Of interest to visitors who wish to travel outside of the city is the Palo Alto Station (at University Avenue), across the street from the campus of Stanford University, and San Jose Diridon Station. Caltrain operates fast frequent commuter rail service, seven days a week. Service generally runs from 5AM to Midnight. For more information on Caltrain, see the 'Get in' section above.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about San Francisco
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San Francisco Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
