San Francisco has four separate ways to move around, and visitors routinely buy the wrong one. Here is what each is actually for.
How Do the Options Compare?
| Mode | Cost | Where it goes | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muni bus and Metro | About $2.85; free 18 and under | The whole city | Almost every trip |
| BART | Distance-based; about $12 to SFO ($11.80 with Clipper) | Market St, the Mission, the airport, East Bay | The airport and fast downtown hops |
| Cable car | $9 a ride | Three routes over Nob and Russian Hill | One memorable ride |
| F-line streetcar | Normal Muni fare | Castro to Fisherman’s Wharf | The waterfront, with a stroller |
| Ferry | Varies by route | Sausalito, Tiburon, Oakland, Alameda | A half-day trip on the bay |
| Bay Wheels bikes | About $1 to unlock plus per minute | Flat neighborhoods and the waterfront | Short hops where the hills allow |
How Do You Pay with Your Phone?
You have two ways to tap in with a phone. The first is a Clipper card in your phone’s wallet: Clipper’s own Pay with Phone page walks you through setting up a new card in Apple Wallet (iPhone or Apple Watch) or Google Wallet (Android or Pixel Watch), or moving an existing card onto your phone, and you can add money from the wallet. The second is the contactless Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover card you already carry, in plastic or in your phone, but Clipper notes that a bank card is charged the full adult fare, so it is the simple choice for a short visit and a Clipper card is the better one for discounts. The Clipper app only shows your balance and history and lets you add money. It cannot be used to pay for a ride.
Which Pass Should You Buy?
If you are making three or more Muni trips in a day, the day pass at about $5.70 pays for itself. If two of those trips are cable cars, the Visitor Passport at about fifteen dollars is the better deal, because it is the only pass that includes them. If you are here with children, remember that their rides are already free.
Heading out of the city? The Golden Gate Ferry and Muir Woods rules are in Day Trips from San Francisco Without a Car.
What About the Hills?
They decide more than the map suggests. The Powell-Hyde cable car, the 22-Fillmore and the N-Judah all exist because walking those routes is genuinely hard. If you are pushing a stroller, favour the flat corridors: the Embarcadero, Crissy Field, the Marina and the Mission.
Local Legend: The Horses That Inspired the Cable Car, Nob Hill
What is actually true: SFMTA says “legend has it” and the Cable Car Museum says “as the story goes”: the account comes from Hallidie’s own recollection years later. The rest is well documented. The first cable car made its test run at about 4am on 2 August 1873 on Clay Street, and public service began on 1 September 1873. Hallidie knew wire rope from his father’s patent and his mining work, and William Eppelsheimer engineered the system.
Correction, 1 October 2026: BART from SFO to downtown was given as about $11; BART’s fare for that trip with Clipper is $11.80. The cable car rule for children was wrong: SFMTA says only children 4 and under ride cable cars free; San Francisco youth 18 and under ride free with a Free Muni for Youth Clipper card, and visiting children pay the $9 fare.
Prices and hours were checked in September 2026 and can change, so confirm before you go.
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Read the guide →Questions People Ask About Muni vs BART vs Cable Car: How to Get Around San Francisco
What is the difference between Muni and BART?
Muni is the city system: buses, light rail, historic streetcars and cable cars, one flat fare, and it goes everywhere in San Francisco. BART is the regional rail network with only a handful of stations inside the city, all on Market Street and in the Mission, plus a direct line to the airport. Locals use both, usually in the same week.
Do children ride free in San Francisco?
On Muni, yes: everyone 18 and under rides free, with no income test, residency requirement or application. Cable cars are the exception: only children 4 and under ride free automatically. San Francisco youth 18 and under ride free with a Free Muni for Youth Clipper card, and visiting children 5 and over pay the $9 fare. On BART, children 5 to 18 pay half fare with a Youth Clipper card and under-fives ride free.
Is BART or Uber better from SFO?
BART is about twelve dollars a person ($11.80 with Clipper) and thirty minutes to downtown, with no traffic risk. A rideshare is typically thirty-five to sixty-five dollars and can take longer at rush hour. With small children in car seats, the rideshare may still win, since California car seat law applies to Uber and Lyft with no exemption.
Is the cable car public transport or a tourist ride?
Both, but price it as an attraction. Nine dollars a ride with no transfers is a lot for a short hop, and the queue at Powell and Market can be long. The California Street line is the one locals still use, and the F-line streetcar gives you similar charm at the normal fare.
How do you pay for transit in San Francisco?
Tap a Clipper card or a contactless bank card or phone at the gate or farebox. Paper tickets are gone on BART, and cash on Muni costs slightly more than tapping.
More to Explore
Happening Soon
- Treasures of the Pharaohs Sat, Aug 1, 2026 – Jan 31, 2027 · de Young Museum
- Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Sat, Sep 12 – Dec 31 · Ferry Building Plaza
- Heart of the City Farmers Market Sun, Sep 13 – Dec 31 · Fulton Plaza, Civic Center
- SF State Observatory Public Nights (Wed–Fri, through Dec 4) Thu, Oct 1 – Dec 4 · SF State Observatory, Thornton Hall
Places to Check Out
- Alta Plaza Park Parks & Playgrounds
- Angelo J. Rossi Playground Parks & Playgrounds
- Aquarium of the Bay Attractions
- Asian Art Museum Museums
Cite this page: Project SF, “Muni vs BART vs Cable Car: How to Get Around San Francisco”, projectsf.com/guides/muni-vs-bart-vs-cable-car/ (updated ).