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San Francisco is definitely a public-transit town—if locals aren't walking or biking, they are using the bus or train (anyone who has spent an hour searching for parking will wholeheartedly agree!). The city's easily accessible public transit is a positive for travelers, but understanding the options can be a bit tricky.
First, let's wade through the acronyms: BART is our equivalent to the subway or underground, but it's much more basic than New York or London's systems. MUNI, confusingly enough, refers to both the orange city buses and the electric trains that run above and below ground. Then, of course, there are the cable cars, a San Francisco icon.
Luckily, once you've figured a few things out, the public transit system is easy to navigate, particularly when armed with a map or a good app (see below). But as with any city, there are certain quirks that can be frustrating stumbling blocks for first-timers. So, here are my best tips to help you get around town like a local.
I think the City Pass is a great deal for visitors relying on public transit. The seven-day pass offers unlimited rides on MUNI and the Cable Car (but not BART), plus tickets to the California Academy of Sciences, Aquarium of the Bay, SF MOMA, one-hour trips on the Blue and Gold Fleet cruises (excluding trips to Alcatraz), and a one-day pass to the Exploratorium or the de Young, all for $64 ($39 for kids under 12).
Now, for the big question: When do you use BART, and when do you hop the MUNI or the cable cars?
Use BART to get to Downtown, Union Square, the Mission, Berkeley, Oakland, and definitely the airport. BART is hands down the fastest way to get around town, but it only runs along one track, so keep that in mind when planning trips. Use MUNI to get to the Haight, the SF Zoo, the Castro, Japantown, and Ocean Beach. MUNI has an extensive network, so there's almost always a bus that will get you where you want to go for only $2. But, orange buses tend to be crowded, particularly during commute times and after-school hours, and there can be unexpected delays. Use cable cars to get to Fisherman's Wharf and the top of Pacific Heights. Or just to be romantic and nostalgic!
Things to remember when riding BART
The train goes directly to the airport terminal (similar to the Heathrow Express in London). All trains leaving the airport head toward the city, so there's no confusion, even for the most jet-lagged travelers. Best of all, it's only 30 minutes and $8 from the airport to downtown.
Always hold onto your ticket—you need it to get both in and out of the station.
You can "add fare" to your ticket at your destination before you exit, but those machines won't take any bills over $1. But all other machines accept debit cards as well as change and bills under $20.
Trains stop running around midnight, so keep an eye on your watch, particularly if you are going to the East Bay or the airport. The last train from SFO is at 11:45 p.m.
Unless there is an unexpected emergency, BART runs like clockwork, so check the schedule for train times. This is especially on Sundays and late nights, when there can be 20-minute waits between trains.
Rides within the city are $1.75. Outside the city, prices range depending on the length of the trip. You can put any amount on your ticket and use it over time, but each traveler needs his or her own ticket.
Things to remember when riding MUNI
You can use both $1 bills and change on the buses and trains. Each ride costs $2.
If you're the only one at the bus stop, you have to "hail" the bus; it'll only stop when someone is signaling to get on or off. Trust me on this—I can't tell you how many buses I missed when I first moved here!
To open the door from the inside of both MUNI buses and trains, you have to step down the stairs, and then push down on the handle. Likewise, don't stand on the stairs if you aren't getting off; the bus or train can't leave if you're in the way!
The same transfer tickets work on both the buses and the trains. Don't let these go,—transit police conduct random searches.
It might be obvious, but when you are standing on a crowded bus, always move to the back. You will get fewer stink eyes from locals if you do this simple courtesy!
Buses don't always stick to schedule, but many bus stops have a "next bus" sign that relies on GPS. For other stops, you can call 511 for the info, or get really tech-happy and download the Nextbus app on your iPhone. (see below)
MUNI is the most-used form of transportation for locals, and thus it's the best way to get a "real" view of the city, both by staring out the window or by observing your busmates. There are some real characters. Check out locals' stories about their most outrageous MUNI experiences.
Apps and helpful websites
There are numerous apps to help you get around town, but the best are iBART Live ($4.99) and iCommute SF ($2.99). Both offer GPS information for the closest stops near you and can map out your trip step-by-step. With real-time arrival info for buses and trains, either app is worth the extra few dollars.
I also like 511.org, HopStop.com, or sfmta.com to map out a trip.
EARLIER
For more tips, check out our cable car Q&A with a Leonard Oats.
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The NextBus service is really helpful with MUNI and with the nearby AC Transit in Alameda County.
If you go to their website,www.nextbus.com, you can get real-time arrival info for bus and even water taxis.
One of my young Bay Area business friends says it has made bus travel more convenient than driving into the city from the suburbs.
Posted By Newt Barrett on August 6, 2010, 2:00 PM
Even better about nextbus is that you can find it in Washington, DC, Toronto, and a host of other cities. Even MIT has nextbus for its shuttles.
Posted By Tom Naples on August 6, 2010, 4:12 PM
Don't take BART to get around San Francisco unless you're going to the East Bay, the Mission or the Airport--i.e., somewhere that only BART serves. MUNI Rail doubles the bart lines throughout downtown, but MUNI hands out transfers whereas BART does not. Plus you can use the City pass.
Also if you hop onto any bus or F-line at night, you get an all-night transfer (which can then be used on the underground Muni trains). Also not mentioned is historical F-line that can take you to Fisherman's Warf, but also ends in Castro in one direction, and in the other direction a block from the foot of Columbus Street, a pleasant walk to North Beach!
Posted By Jaime Raba on August 9, 2010, 12:02 PM
I am a long time San Francisco resident and with sadness I must advise and caution visitors NOT to expect MUNI service to be reliable, on time, or courteous. Expect overcrowding, rude behavior, filth and delays. Avoid eye contact and conversation with so-called "colorful characters." If you are hoping to keep an appointment, reservation or curtain time, take a taxi. Avoid all public transportation late evening. Also frequent BART breakdowns make it advisable to use one of many private shuttle van services to insure an on-time airport arrival. Sorry to say, but this is the situation at this time.
Posted By jeff walsh on August 9, 2010, 2:13 PM
Methinks the author lives in the East Bay. I can't come up with another reason why she would recommend BART over Muni, given that there's no free transfer from one service to the other without a monthly pass and BART's single line offers limited coverage at best.
She also barely mentioned the cable car lines and ignored the streetcar entirely. As a Russian Hill resident, I can tell you these are more of a tourist attraction than a viable transit option, and many out-of-town riders are in need of an etiquette lesson.
I agree that the bus system is extensive, but it is far from efficient or reliable. Stops every two blocks mean that it takes 45 minutes to get anywhere and wait times at stops can be long (and cold).
Overall, this is an extremely rosy view of a troubled public transit system that is itself the reason why parking is so hard to find: San Franciscans drive because they feel they have to.
Posted By Libby Estell on August 9, 2010, 2:48 PM
We (two senior citizens) visited San Francisco at the end of April, early May, and had no trouble traveling on the muni system. We loved the F street cars as they brought back a lot of memories. One thing we especially enjoyed: On nearly every crowded bus, younger people offered us their seats. We were pleasantly surprised at the courtesy in this big city.
A side note: We observed hardly any panhandlers or homeless people in most of the city. We even walked through the Tenderloin (by mistake) on a Sunday afternoon and were not hassled at all.
Posted By ruthiej on August 9, 2010, 3:32 PM
The key thing to know, which the article failed to mention, is that BART is a regional system, i.e. it transports people around and between San Francisco, the East Bay, and parts of the Peninsula, while MUNI is the way to get around WITHIN San Francisco (MUNI is a citywide system only.)
As Jaime pointed out, BART is generally not the best way to get around WITHIN SF (and it'll cost you more than MUNI, too) - it probably won't go where you need to go within the city, but it's wonderful to get to the airport (either SF or Oakland.)
Also worth noting is that the transfer you'll receive when you board MUNI (on the street) or pass through the fare gate (underground) is valid for roughly two hours (the expiration time will be shown on the transfer.) It can be used throughout the MUNI system during that two-hour window, including for a return trip in the opposite direction. So it's often very possible to use MUNI to get somewhere, spend an hour or so there, and head back using your transfer and only have to pay once.
Posted By David Troup on August 9, 2010, 4:42 PM
If you were to compare SF public transit to New Orleans public transit, you would never complain about BART/Muni! We have vacationed in SF many times over the past few years and always rely on Muni. We stayed in Union Square area and have Muni'd to Golden Gate Park and Lincoln Park and ended with dinner at the Cliff House. Though it may take a while to get where you want to go, you can get there, you just have to allow for extra time "in case". But it's nothing compared to a "wait" in New Orleans.
Posted By kaydee on August 9, 2010, 4:48 PM
The article states that "MUNI refers to the orange buses and..."
MUNI no longer paints their buses orange and white, rather a large number of buses are now gray and red -obviously they must have received a government grant to make buses more ugly and to confuse those who are not locals. So, trying to describe MUNI by color coding is confusing. However, they all do say "MUNI" on the side/front of the bus.
Posted By Larry Johnson on August 9, 2010, 7:39 PM
I know I'm late to the party, but a few points that will benefit both the author and her readers:
Using BART to get around San Francisco itself is fine, as long as your trip is confined to the Mission District and the downtown area along Market Street.
There's nothing confusing about using the term "Muni" to refer to San Francisco's buses and streetcars; those are operated by the city's Municipal Railway, which will celebrate its 100th birthday in a couple of years.
Muni stopped painting its fleet orange/white about 15 years ago, but it barely has the money to keep its vehicles running, much less repaint them in the current grey-red livery.
BART is operated by a completely different body of government from Muni: it's owned and run by the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. In essence, the BART district is a creation of the state government, while Muni is part of the city-county government. (Interestingly, the Muni subway stations at Van Ness, Church, and Castro were built by BART as the last phase of its mainline construction, and are leased to Muni by the BART district.)
The more you know...
Posted By pjc on August 11, 2010, 1:12 PM
Muni is infamous for many terrible multi-accident drivers; Mayor Willie Brown was suppose to fix it but did not. Mayor Gavin Newsom has failed tho accused the cable car operators of 'stealing fares' !! Ride the street cars and cable cars, but i would be very careful before getting on a rubber tire Muni bus with such over-paid but accident prone drivers. Also, there are no security guards at night, so stay out of the southeast quarter of the city called ' 3rd street', a very high crime black neighborhood, the Tenderloin on the west side of Union Square up to Geary Street, and the Western Addition also a high crime black ghetto on the west side of City Hall also staying north of Geary Street.
There have also been health risk studies of how poorly cleaned the interior of Muni vehicles are, so wear gloves or wash your hands more often.
BART is a major,originally all 9 county, much higher sales tax blunder, but many who can not afford a car are stuck with this embarrassingly inadequate system when we could have and should have just bought a Japanese bullet train off the shelf !! Max speed is 70 mph, the windows are too tinted and the stations signs to small to know where you are, and the announcements are too indistinct to understand, but bungling BART just goes on and on. The train cleaners were fired about 2 years ago, the last time i will ever ride it. Only a politician could love such super-expensive fubar !!
When the line in summer gets to 3 hours wait at the end of the cable car lines,,,because the mayor will not install relief drivers,,,not everyone can like the locals walk up to the next block corner and get on. Most just stand for 3 HOURS and pull their hair out in rude-to-tourists-major-business sf behavior.
Posted By cal48 on August 13, 2010, 1:31 AM
San Francisco is ideal for public transit. There are many choices - BART, Muni Buses, and the fabled cable cars. And anyone trying to drive around and find a parking space knows the value of public transportation.
It pays to study and have the transit schedules in hand before trying to venture around S.F. And enjoy walking from different vantage points.
One commentor says to use taxis, but this will cost you a small fortune.
Posted By Ray Anderson on August 26, 2010, 3:19 PM