Photo by SFMTA Photography Department
August means school is back in session, as well as more students, educators, and workers taking public transit more regularly again. We are sharing some resources and updates that may be helpful for your commute.
Muni Service Changes Start August 30
SFMTA is making changes on a few routes later this month to address crowding on weekdays and make it even easier to get to school and work in the morning and make connections to regional transit like BART.
Changes will occur on the following routes:
- 1X California Express
- New and restored early morning trips to help riders get downtown
- 30X Marina Express
- The service to support morning trips to work, including a new trip added.
- 8 Bayshore, 29 Sunset, 49 Van Ness/Mission
- Changes to reduce weekday crowding and improve reliability for school trips which include increasing frequency
- 6 Hayes and 56 Rutland
- Stop changes to help riders access key destinations
Learn more about Muni's service changes on SFMTA’s website.
BART Fare Gates Now Accept Tap and Ride
On August 20, BART introduced a new "Tap and Ride" system that allows riders to pay their fares by tapping contactless credit or debit cards, or mobile payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay, at fare gates.
This convenient payment system offers many benefits which include saving time for riders because no registration or setup process is required. BART is the first Bay Area transit agency to implement this Tap and Ride system.
When paying with a contactless bank card, riders will be charged full adult fares, and riders with eligibility-based discounts – such as Clipper START or youth and senior discounts – must continue using their physical or digital Clipper card.
Learn more about Tap and Go payment at BART's website.
Free Muni for All Youth
All youth 18 years and younger, regardless of household income level and residency, are still eligible to ride Muni for free. No application or proof of payment is required to ride Muni, except for Cable Cars.
This program helps young people access education, employment, and social opportunities throughout the city, and can also build early transit ridership habits that can benefit the entire transportation system long-term.
Clipper BayPass Pilot Program Benefits Students
A report from the Clipper Bay Pass Phase 1 pilot, which ran from fall 2022 through summer 2024, examined the impact of a seamless transit pass on approximately 50,000 students across four universities and 12 affordable housing sites in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Phase 1 report showed that, on average, students:
- Took 30% more transit trips
- Made 163% more inter-agency transit trips (for example, between Muni and BART)
- Were less likely to leave their university between fall 2022 and fall 2023 than their peers who only had access to pre-existing transit passes
Phase 2 of the pilot launched in January 2024 and includes partners such as UCSF, San Francisco State University, affordable housing sites, and city agencies, to name a few.
Learn more at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s website.
Many of these transit enhancements will not only benefit students, but also commuters and visitors who take transit to get to their destinations around the city and the broader Bay Area.