San Francisco encourages the use of public transportation due to heavy traffic. The city has several options, including MUNI, BART, Golden Gate Transit, Cal Train, and taxis. Visitors can purchase passes for these systems. San Francisco International Airport offers transportation connections, and car rental is available. The city is potentially walkable, but its hills can be challenging. MUNI bus stops have system maps, and drivers are knowledgeable. BART connects to the East Bay, while ferries and buses serve northbound visitors.
San Francisco, California is a popular tourist destination with over 15 million visitors in 2005 in addition to the city’s population of nearly 800,000. Like many California cities, San Francisco is poorly equipped to handle the volume of vehicular traffic that this type of influx represents, and both visitors and citizens are strongly encouraged to use public transportation. For visitors, taking public transportation in a foreign city can be intimidating, especially in a region with as many transportation options as San Francisco. San Francisco places a high value on public transportation, and many knowledgeable and helpful city employees are available to assist visitors in choosing the best public transportation option. While it may be intimidating at first, the San Francisco transit system is relatively easy to navigate, and assistance is usually readily available if requested.
San Francisco has several major public transportation options starting with the San Francisco Municipal Railroad, or MUNI, which operates the bus system, part of the underground railroad, and cable cars. Additionally, San Francisco is part of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system, a series of high-speed trains that cover San Francisco and the East Bay Area. San Francisco is also covered by the Golden Gate Transit System, which provides transit to the northern arts of the Bay Area via buses and ferries, as well as Cal Train, which provides high-speed service to San Jose. San Francisco also has many large taxi companies. Visitors may consider purchasing subscriptions for one or more of these systems; MUNI offers a wide variety of passes ranging from one day to one month that allow free access to MUNI and other transit services.
When flying into San Francisco, visitors arrive at San Francisco International Airport, just outside the city of San Francisco, which offers a wide variety of transportation connections including bus and BART service. Drivers may approach the city from a variety of directions, and it is highly recommended that you park and leave your cars safely for the duration of your journey, given the relatively cheap and hassle-free public transport system. Car rental is also available at the airport and most car rental agencies will provide a map to assist in navigation. Due to constant expansion and state-mandated seismic retrofitting, however, such maps may be out of date; It’s a great idea to consult the agent at the counter for exact directions. When driving in San Francisco, be sure to set the parking brake and brake the wheels, assuming you can find parking.
At seven miles square, San Francisco is potentially a walkable city, though the distinctive hills tend to make it an athletic challenge. Luckily for visitors, most of San Francisco’s top attractions are along the BART and MUNI subway lines, allowing visitors to travel from a hotel in Union Square to the zoo, for example. Within walking distance of the Union Square hotel area are a variety of museums and other attractions, including Chinatown, the Museum of Modern Art, the Asian Art Museum, and the Embarcadero.
When taking public transit, there are a variety of easily searchable websites that travelers can use to map out routes. Additionally, MUNI bus stops with comprehensive system maps are located throughout the city, and most buses run every 15 minutes during the day. MUNI drivers are very knowledgeable and will help visitors get off at the right stop or find the correct bus to transfer to. MUNI also offers limited cable car and tram service to a variety of locations, although visitors should be aware that cable cars require additional fees.
When leaving San Francisco for the East Bay, your quickest fix is to take the BART, which has a trans-bay route that will connect visitors to various points throughout the East Bay, including Richmond, Berkeley, Oakland, and Fremont. If traveling south, most visitors take the Cal Train, while northbound visitors can take a variety of ferries that depart from the Embarcadero each day, or connect with a variety of northbound bus services at the Transbay Terminal , located between 1st and Mission Streets in the Financial District.
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