SFO · BART · Muni · Caltrain · Transit Center
Getting around
San Francisco, answered
Four transit systems, four fare structures, and one airport that closes its rail link at midnight. Every fare and time on this site is checked against the agency that sets it — with the source on the page.
The answers people actually search for
BART from SFO to downtown San Francisco
$11.80 · ~30 min
Muni single ride (bus, Metro, streetcar)
$2.85 Clipper · $3.00 cash
Cable car single ride
$9.00
Taxi between San Francisco and SFO
~$56 metered
Caltrain, San Francisco to Palo Alto
$8.50 · 3 zones
BART hours
5 am–midnight · Sun from 8 am
Start Here
The Guides
Five pages that cover the trips and questions most people arrive with. Each one carries its sources and the month it was verified.
SFO Airport
Just landed. Every way out of the airport compared, terminal by terminal, plus the free AirTrain and the Terminal 3 rebuild.
BART $11.80
~30 min
Arrivals guide →
San Francisco → SFO
Heading out. What BART, taxi, Uber, the bus, and parking each cost — and the first and last SFO-bound trains.
from $2.25
20–45 min by road
Departures guide →
BART Guide
Distance-based fares explained, Clipper versus tapping a bank card, service hours, the five lines, and the stations shared with Muni.
$2.55 minimum
5 lines
How BART works →
Caltrain
Zone fares down the Peninsula, the electrified timetable, 4th & King station, and the Millbrae interchange with BART and SFO.
$4.00–$15.25
4 trains/hr peak
Fares & zones →
Muni Guide
The city's own network: flat fares, six Metro lines, historic streetcars, and the cable cars that cost triple.
$2.85 flat
cable cars $9
Fares & cable cars →
OAK Airport
Oakland's airport: the BART station is across the street, but every trip to San Francisco means changing at Coliseum.
$13.45 to SF
45–55 min
OAK guide →
Transit Schedules
Every operator's first and last service in one table, including what actually runs overnight.
9 operators
24hr options
Service spans →
SF Ferries
Two operators, one Ferry Building. Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel Island, Oakland, Alameda and Vallejo — and why paper tickets cost more.
from $5.10
Clipper saves $5.50
Routes & fares →
Ferry Building Food
Nearly 50 makers and eateries in an 1898 landmark, plus the farmers market three days a week.
~50 merchants
Sat 8am–2pm
What to eat →
Luggage Storage
No lockers at the Transit Center, Caltrain or BART. What exists instead, and which pricing model suits your gap.
from $2.25/bag/day
or from $1.50/hr
Where to store →
Salesforce Transit Center
Which bus leaves from which level at 425 Mission, the free rooftop park, and why there are still no trains.
11 operators
5 am–1 am
Terminal guide →
Cable Cars
Three lines, a $9 fare with no transfers, and the prepay rule at the busy turntables — plus where to board without the Powell Street queue.
$9 a ride
7 am–11 pm
Lines & boarding →
Golden Gate Bridge
No train goes there. The Muni 28 and Golden Gate Transit buses that do, when you can walk across, and why not to drive on a summer weekend.
Muni 28 $2.85
1.7 miles across
Getting there →
Hotels Near SFO
The Grand Hyatt on the free AirTrain, 30 hotels with free shuttles, where they pick up — and when a downtown room works just as well.
30 shuttle hotels
AirTrain 24/7
Where to stay →
Orientation
Four Systems, Four Fare Rules
Most confusion in the Bay Area comes from assuming one network. There are several, they don't share fares, and knowing which is which saves both money and an hour of your day.
BART — regional rail, priced by distance
The airport and the suburbs: SFO, the East Bay, the Peninsula, plus eight stations inside San Francisco along Market Street and the Mission. Every station pair has its own fare, from a $2.55 minimum to $11.80 out of the airport, and there are no weekly or monthly passes. Closes at midnight; opens at 8 am on Sundays. BART guide →
Muni — the city's own network, flat fare
Buses, Metro light rail, historic streetcars, and the cable cars — everything BART doesn't reach, which is most of San Francisco. $2.85 with Clipper or a tapped contactless card and $3.00 cash, valid 120 minutes including transfers; cable cars are a separate $9.00. Youth 18 and under ride free, cable cars excepted.
Caltrain — the Peninsula railway, priced by zone
San Francisco to San Jose and Gilroy from 4th & King, now all-electric with four trains an hour at peak. Fares count zones, $4.00 for one up to $15.25 for six, and anyone 18 or under pays $1.00 however far they go. Caltrain guide →
Regional buses and ferries — everyone else
AC Transit to the East Bay, Golden Gate Transit to Marin and Sonoma, SamTrans down the Peninsula, WestCAT to Contra Costa — most of them from the Salesforce Transit Center. Each sets its own fares; Clipper works on all of them. Transit Center guide →
Verified August 2026
Fare Snapshot
The numbers worth knowing before you arrive. Bay Area fares move often, so each of these carries a source — and if you spot one that's changed, tell us.
| Fare | Price |
|---|
| BART — SFO to any downtown SF station | $11.80 |
| BART — minimum fare (short in-city trip) | $2.55 |
| Muni — single ride, 120 minutes | $2.85 / $3.00 cash |
| Muni — Day Pass | $5.70 |
| Muni — monthly "M" pass / "A" pass with BART in SF | $86 / $104 |
| Cable car — single ride | $9.00 |
| Visitor Passport — 1 / 3 / 7 days | $15 / $35 / $47 |
| Caltrain — one way, 1 to 6 zones | $4.00–$15.25 |
| Caltrain — youth 18 and under, any distance | $1.00 |
| SamTrans — local or express bus | $2.05 / $2.25 cash |
| AC Transit — Transbay to the East Bay | $6.50 |
| Golden Gate Transit — SF to Marin (zones 2–3), cash | $9.00 |
| Taxi — San Francisco to SFO, metered estimate | ~$56 |
| Taxi — SFO pick-up fee (airport departures only) | $6.00 |
| Clipper — plastic card fee (free in your phone) | $3.00 |
Sources: BART fare calculator · SFMTA Muni fares · Caltrain fares · SamTrans fares · AC Transit fares · Golden Gate Transit fares · SFMTA taxi fares.
Before You Arrive
Three Things That Catch People Out
BART doesn't open until 8 am on Sunday. Weekdays it's 5 am, Saturdays 6 am, and every night it stops around midnight. Early Sunday flight out of SFO? You need a taxi, a rideshare, or the 24-hour SamTrans bus — this is the single most common planning mistake here. Options to the airport →
San Francisco has no flat-rate airport taxi. If you're arriving from a city that does, budget differently: the meter runs the whole way, roughly $56 between downtown and SFO, plus a $6 pick-up fee when you start at the airport. Taxis never surge, though, which is why they beat rideshares on a busy Friday evening. SFO guide →
A Muni fare is not a BART fare. They share four downtown stations on different levels and gates — tapping into the wrong system is a rite of passage. Clipper does take $2.85 off an adult Muni fare when you transfer from a connecting agency within two hours. How the two systems differ →
Practical
Bags and Beds
Two things travellers ask about alongside fares. These are affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no cost to you, and none of it affects the transit advice anywhere on this site. How this works →
FAQ
Common Questions
How do I get from SFO to San Francisco?
BART runs from inside the airport complex to four downtown stations for $11.80 in about 30 minutes — take the free AirTrain from Terminals 1, 2, or 3 to the Garage G/BART Station stop first. A taxi is roughly $56 on the meter plus a $6 airport pick-up fee. SamTrans Route 292 is the cheapest option at $2.05 with Clipper ($2.25 cash), running through the day and evening. Overnight, when BART isn't running, SamTrans keeps going on its late-night ECR Owl and 397 routes. BART stops around midnight, and on Sundays the first train doesn't leave SFO until 7:48 am.
Every way between SFO and the city →
How much is Muni in San Francisco?
$2.85 with Clipper or a tapped contactless credit or debit card, or $3.00 in cash, and the fare covers 120 minutes of travel including transfers. A Day Pass is $5.70. Cable cars are separate at $9.00 a ride. Visitor Passports covering Muni and the cable cars cost $15 for one day, $35 for three days, and $47 for seven. Youth 18 and under ride Muni free, cable cars excepted.
Full Muni guide →
What is the difference between BART and Muni?
BART is the regional rail system — airports, the East Bay, and the Peninsula — with fares based on distance and no monthly pass. Muni is San Francisco's own network of buses, light rail, streetcars, and cable cars, at a flat $2.85. They share four downtown stations on separate levels with separate fare gates, and there's no free transfer, though Clipper discounts a Muni fare by $2.85 when you arrive on a connecting agency within two hours.
BART guide →
Do I need a Clipper card in San Francisco?
Not strictly for BART or Muni, which both accept a tap of a contactless bank card or phone wallet for adult fares. But Clipper works across roughly two dozen Bay Area systems including cable cars, ferries, and regional buses, and it's the only way to get discounted fares. Adding Clipper to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet avoids the $3 fee for a plastic card.
How fares and Clipper work on BART →
About
How This Site Works
Every fare, schedule, terminal detail, and set of opening hours here comes from the operator that publishes it — BART, SFMTA, Caltrain, SamTrans, AC Transit, Golden Gate Transit, and SFO — and the source sits on the page next to the fact. Where a figure is our estimate rather than a published number, such as driving times, we say so. Fares in the Bay Area change often, so pages carry the month they were last verified and get re-checked on a schedule. Found something stale? Report it and we'll fix it.