© Maarten van den Heuvel・Unsplash License

United States

San Francisco

A city of fog and hills. The cable cars are still working public transit, while BART and Muni do the daily grind.

Getting to and from SFO, OAK and SJC

SFO has the BART station inside the International Terminal, and the gates take a contactless bank card. Downtown is about 30 minutes; a free AirTrain links every terminal. Sundays start late - first train 8:08.

Updated on August 2, 2026

How to ride

  1. 1
    Head for the BART station
    BART's station is on the Departures level of the International Terminal; from other terminals take the free AirTrain to Garage G.
  2. 2
    Tap in at the fare gate
    Hold a contactless bank card or Clipper against the reader on the gate. Paper tickets are not sold.
  3. 3
    Board a city-bound train
    Take a city-bound Yellow Line or Red Line train; downtown is about 30 minutes away.
  4. 4
    Tap out with the same card
    At the gate of your destination station, tap the same card or device you used to enter.
  5. 5
    Change at Millbrae for the Peninsula
    For Silicon Valley, get off at Millbrae and change to Caltrain.
  6. 6
    For OAK take BART; for SJC, the bus
    OAK has a BART station right outside both terminals. SJC has no rail - VTA route 60 links it to the nearest stations.

Fares

Single fares8

BART, SFO to central San Francisco
One way including the airport surcharge; the same to all four downtown stations
11.8 USD ≈ $12
BART, SFO to Millbrae (Caltrain interchange)
A four-minute hop; changing to Caltrain here means paying a second, separate fare
5.85 USD ≈ $6
BART, OAK to central San Francisco
Change to the main line at Coliseum; the OAK station is a short walk from both terminals
13.45 USD ≈ $13
BART, OAK to Coliseum (airport connector only)
The leg on its own for East Bay trips; downtown Oakland comes to $10.50
7.95 USD ≈ $8
SFO AirTrain (between terminals and to BART)
Free, running 24 hours a day as often as every four minutes, with no gates or tickets
0 USD
SamTrans route 292 (bus at the SFO terminals)
The lower price is the Clipper one; the $4.50 day pass can be bought on board with cash
2.05〜2.25 USD ≈ $2
Caltrain, San Francisco to Millbrae (2 zones, one way)
The same price from a machine or with Clipper; change to BART at Millbrae for SFO
6.25 USD ≈ $6
VTA route 60 (SJC to Santa Clara and Milpitas stations)
It calls at both SJC terminals, and Clipper gives two hours of free transfers
2.5 USD ≈ $3

Card itself1

Clipper card issue fee
Charged for a plastic card from a BART station machine; adding Clipper to a phone avoids it
3 USD ≈ $3

Add-ons & fees1

SFO taxi airport exit surcharge
Already built into the meter fare; it is not charged on rides that drop off at SFO
6 USD ≈ $6

Estimates use exchange rates as of September 5, 2026

Payment

Tap to ride
DiscoverVISAMastercardAmex
Tap straight on the BART fare gate; adult fares only
IC card
Clipper is the regional card - $3 at a machine, $2.55 balance to enter
App tickets
Clipper inside Apple Pay or Google Pay works at the gates too
Paper tickets
BART no longer sells paper tickets
Cash
No cash at BART gates; machines and buses on board take it

Tap for where to get the app

Quick facts

Hours
First 4:58, last ~24:00
Frequency
AirTrain as often as every 4 min
Fares from
11.8 USD+

Heads-up

  • Night engineering work delays BART trains to SFO

    On Sunday-Thursday nights from 9 p.m., expect delays of up to 30 minutes between Millbrae and SFO and in the surrounding area, caused by BART's train control modernization work running through summer 2026. Allow extra time for an evening flight.

  • BART cannot get you to an early Sunday flight

    BART cannot get you to an early Sunday flight. The first train leaving SFO is 4:58 a.m. on weekdays and 5:47 a.m. on Saturdays, but 8:08 a.m. on Sundays - BART itself tells riders to make other plans. Use the 24-hour SamTrans buses, a taxi or a ride-hail instead.

  • The Terminal 3 AirTrain station is closed - use Terminal 2

    The AirTrain station at Terminal 3 is closed until its replacement opens in 2027. If you are flying United, use the Terminal 2 station instead - it has been renamed the "Terminals 2 & 3 AirTrain Station".

Timetable

Operating hours First 4:58, last ~24:00
Typical duration SFO to downtown San Francisco is about 30 minutes on BART
Check the official site for the latest times and service status