How to Get Around San Francisco by Transit and on Foot

To plan how to get around San Francisco, start with Muni: the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency operates buses, Muni Metro, historic streetcars and cable cars within the city.

BART is the regional rail network, connecting San Francisco with destinations across five Bay Area counties. The two systems serve different needs, so check which one reaches your destination before choosing a fare or pass.

Muni Metro has six lines: J Church, K Ingleside, L Taraval, M Ocean View, N Judah and T Third. The J Church runs between downtown and Balboa Park, with stops including Church and Duboce, Church and Market, Church and 24th, Church and Day, and Balboa Park BART.

That route can be useful for understanding how the city’s local rail service connects neighborhoods with downtown.

Use SFMTA’s NextMuni information pages for route and stop details, real-time arrivals and alerts. BART’s official app offers trip planning, departures, service advisories, fare calculation and elevator and escalator advisories; its planner can also combine multiple Bay Area transit operators.

If your plans include several parts of the city, a one-day San Francisco itinerary can help you group stops before you set out.

Use Muni for trips within San Francisco. A bus or Metro train can make a longer cross-city journey easier, while the historic streetcars and cable cars are also part of the network. Remember that cable cars are treated differently by some Muni passes, so check what a pass covers before you buy.

Near the hotel, Church station is about a two-minute walk from Twin Peaks Hotel. Church Street & Market Street is also about a two-minute walk away. The J Church stop at Church and Market is an accessible surface stop. The underground Church Street Muni Metro station has elevators between the street and concourse, and between the concourse and platform.

Church Station serves the K Ingleside and L Taraval on weekdays and weekends from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.; the M Ocean View runs daily from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. The S Shuttle runs weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8:20 p.m. and for special events.

Service times and elevator status can change, so check the official site before you go. Current elevator status is available for Church Station. If you rely on step-free access, check the status before setting out.

BART is the regional option for trips beyond the city, including connections to the East Bay and other Bay Area destinations. It also links San Francisco International Airport (SFO) with downtown San Francisco in about 30 minutes.

The SFO station is in the International Terminal, a short walk from Terminals 1 and 3; the free SFO AirTrain connects all terminals directly to the BART station.

There is no single flat BART fare for a San Francisco trip: the fare depends on how far you travel. Use BART’s Fare Calculator for the price of your specific journey.

BART accepts Clipper and Tap and Ride; Tap and Ride works with contactless bank cards and mobile payments, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. BART does not offer weekly or monthly passes.

If you’re planning an East Bay outing, read this guide to getting to Oakland from San Francisco before choosing your route. For accessible travel, BART stations have elevators, although some require two separate elevators between street level and the train platform.

BART sends elevator outage alerts by email and text, through its app and on station screens, and lists accessible alternatives and pathways for individual stations.

Muni accepts Clipper, MuniMobile, cash and chip-enabled contactless credit or debit cards for an adult single ride. If you pay cash on a vehicle, bring exact change. An adult single ride costs $2.85 with Clipper, MuniMobile or a contactless card, or $3.00 with cash or a Metro ticket machine; the fare is valid for 120 minutes of travel.

If you expect to take several Muni rides in one day, compare the options before buying:

• The Muni-only Day Pass costs $5.70 and covers unlimited rides on Muni buses, trains and historic streetcars for one day. It does not include cable cars.
• Muni Visitor Passports offer unlimited rides on Muni, Muni Metro, historic streetcars and cable cars for 1, 3 or 7 consecutive days. They are not valid on BART or for travel to or from SFO.
• The listed one-day Visitor Passport price is $15.00. Discounts are available when you buy through MuniMobile.
• The BART adult A Fast Pass covers unlimited Muni rides and BART trips between Embarcadero and Balboa Park stations in San Francisco. BART trips beyond those stations are charged the full fare.

For a short visit centered on local trips, compare the Muni Day Pass with the Visitor Passport based on whether you plan to ride cable cars. If you’ll also use BART, remember that a Muni pass does not cover ordinary BART trips. Fare details can change.

Walking can work well for shorter trips, especially when you want to connect nearby parks, landmarks and neighborhood streets without changing transit lines.

From the hotel area, Duboce Park is about a nine-minute walk and Old Mission Dolores about an eight-minute walk. Harvey Milk Plaza is about nine minutes away on foot, and the Pink Triangle Memorial is about ten minutes away.

For a longer stroll, the GLBT History Museum is about an 11-minute walk away, Mission Dolores Park about 15 minutes, Mish House about 19 minutes and Corona Heights Park about 20 minutes.

You can combine nearby stops on foot, then use Muni for a longer cross-city leg. If you’re planning a walk that includes the Painted Ladies, use this guide to the Painted Ladies to plan that part of your route.

Start by checking whether your first destination is best reached by Muni or BART. For local journeys, look up the nearest Muni route and its live arrivals; for regional trips or SFO, check BART’s trip planner and fare calculator. You can use SFMTA’s trip-planning and real-time arrival information, or BART’s app for a route that combines transit operators.

If elevator access matters, check the relevant station status before leaving. SFMTA provides current Muni Metro elevator information, while BART publishes outage alerts and station-specific accessible alternatives. A little route checking can help you choose a station and avoid relying on an elevator that is out of service.

For a convenient starting point while you plan, see staying at Twin Peaks Hotel.