Means of transport San Francisco

The famous little car, climbing up and down the hills, is one of San Francisco's greatest pleasures and one of its best-known icons. Three cable car lines serve Downtown's most interesting neighborhoods. The California runs along the street of the same name, from the Embarcadero to Van Ness, passing through the Financial District and the top of Nob Hill. The Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines both depart from Powell Station. This is where you'll find all the other transport you need: streetcars, buses and, underground, the subway and BART.

For more than 40 years, Blue & Gold Fleet has been offering shuttles to Sausalito, Tiburon, Angel Island... and fabulous cruises: a one-hour tour around San Francisco Bay, a 1.5-hour"Escape from the rock cruise" onpassing by Alcatraz, and even a sunset package (depending on the season). Enjoy the most beautiful landscapes of the bay, the fascinating skyline of the city and watch out for the sea lions: they are close by! The audioguide available in 9 languages will guide you through the many monuments and history of the city.

The San Francisco Bay Ferry is a public passenger transportation system, allowing travel on large ferries to more than 12 terminals in San Francisco and its Bay Area: Alameda, Oakland, Mare Island, Richmond, South San Francisco, Vallejo, among others. Cheap and convenient, the shuttle boats have a capacity of 220 to 450 passengers and offer free wifi access. Prepare your tour in advance, go to Pier 41, pay your ticket, get on board... and enjoy! More details on the website.

From San Francisco, board these large ferries to the destination of your choice: Larkspur, Sausalito, Tiburon or Angel Island. Inside or outside these comfortable boats, enjoy the full view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz or the San Francisco skyline. Ferries operate every day of the year, with departures ranging from 15 to 120 minutes depending on the day of the week and the season. Bicycles and pets are welcome. For detailed information, visit the website.

Greyhound buses are the cheapest way to cross California and even go beyond. About ten buses a day connect Los Angeles to San Francisco (between 9 and 11 hours of driving). They also serve the cities of Sacramento, San José, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara and even Seattle... The buses are functional and comfortable: wifi on board, electrical outlets, reclining seats, toilets... With their engine equipped with the latest technology, they leave a low carbon footprint: it's the green solution to travel!

Established in 1954, California Parking operates over 30 public parking lots and garages in the city of San Francisco at reasonable prices. These parking lots are located near many tourist places, such as Union Square, China Town, Fisherman's Wharf, Mission District, North Beach... You will find an interactive map showing all the locations on their website, with opening hours and prices for each parking lot. You can even make an online reservation for your parking space ( Reservations section).

In addition to the metro, Muni also manages San Francisco's 71 city bus lines. There are 54 bus lines and 17 trolley lines. This is certainly the best way to enjoy the city's scenery. The buses, which run on diesel, are generally used on routes where the topography is fairly even, in order to limit pollution. It's easy to find your way around and get organized: visit nextbus.com, where you'll find the next departures according to stop.

Official yellow cabs operate throughout the city. To order a Yellow Cab, download the YoTaxi smartphone app. Originally a subsidiary of Westgate, San Francisco's Yellow Cabs launched as a cooperative in November 1977 after the company filed for bankruptcy the previous year and a group of drivers, mechanics and investors managed to convince the federal bankruptcy court to buy the business. Another VTC app: Uber, and its slightly cheaper competitor Lyft, also on app.

There are many streetcars, all inherited from friendly cities. For example, the old orange streetcars are the old Milan streetcars, the cream green streetcars are the St. Louis trams, the lemon yellow and orange streetcars are the Los Angeles trams, and the cream and maroon streetcars are the Philadelphia trams. It was during the 1915 World's Fair, otherwise known as the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, that streetcars first appeared in the city. They were such a hit that San Francisco wanted to keep them by adapting them to the city's rails.

Muni, San Francisco's subway company, operates the subway and San Francisco's 71 bus and trolley lines. The subway is not used much by tourists, as it serves the city's main street, Market Street, at the same stations as BART, but can be used to get to the Mission District. Several lines run south to Daly City and west to the ocean. On the other hand, the buses (easy to find with live itineraries on Google Maps) are convenient for getting from one neighborhood to another, and very frequent.

The easiest, fastest and most economical way to get to the city center from the airport. Then into the city, always very convenient. Five lines run through San Francisco, four of which pass through Daly City, in the south of the city. Two of them even leave from there; they go underground in the center, where they run along Market Street. The other two BART lines, starting in Millbrae, run under the Bay and reappear in West Oakland, where the lines split off to several directions in the East Bay: Berkeley, Richmond...

Jump offers self-service electric bikes and scooters available for reservation via the Uber application. A Flash Code is used to unlock the vehicle and the meter starts running from the moment the reservation is made. A zone is delimited in the city of San Francisco, which is visible from the application or on the Jump website. If the bike is returned outside of the designated area, an additional fee of US$25 is charged. For residents, the Boost Plan, offers a subscription for US$ 5 per month.

The San Francisco-based company Lime, a pioneer in electric scooters, and Bird, its main competitor , make electric scooters available in every corner of the city. Easy to use, all you have to do is download the Lime or Bird applications and flash the vehicle code to start the ride. These can be left anywhere in the city, as long as they are not in the way and are in a safe place. You will be asked to take a picture of the scooter when you return it.

The German group has been operating in the U.S. market since 2018 and it is still expanding. It even bought the Greyhound institution in 2021. Flixbus is the certainty of the best value for money! San Francisco has 3 stops: at the corner of^5th and Townsend, Daly City Bart Station (500 John Daly Blvd) and at Fisherman's Wharf (700 Beach Street). Currently, San Francisco serves 17 direct destinations, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, Redwood City, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, Reno...