I'm confused about the public transit system (San Francisco, Gilroy: living, price)

[Park Chung Hee]

I am considering spending a month visiting SF. I was going to find a room on craigslist, and just use the public transit system.

However from what I can tell BART and Caltrain do not have monthly passes, but MUNI and Samtrans do. How many public transit systems are there exactly?

Can a person get by on MUNI or do you need BART? Would I need monthly passes for both MUNI and Samtrans?

[Jonotastic]

If you live in San Francisco, MUNI is all you need.
BART is more for people who commute to/from SF.
MUNI is more for people who travel within SF.

[humboldtrat]

Caltrain does have monthly passes. You don't need BART unless you want to go to the airport or the east bay. A Muni pass is all you need if you're traveling within in San Francisco.

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Caltrain does have monthly passes. You don't need BART unless you want to go to the airport or the east bay. A Muni pass is all you need if you're traveling within in San Francisco.

Note that you can use your Muni pass on BART to go between stops in the City.

[EmpressNYC]

I don't have a car, and I will be working at SFO...does muni go to san francisco as well? Am I better off taking bart everyday? Lol its kind of expensive compared to NYC Metro... 2.25 can get you anywhere in the city.

[EmpressNYC]

Originally Posted by mdwstrnkid

Note that you can use your Muni pass on BART to go between stops in the City.

How does that work? Say I want to go from SFO to any stop. If I want to stop at Powell street on the way, would I be able to use a muni pass without being charged xtra?

[BayAreaHillbilly]

At one point there was a combined monthly Cal Train - Muni pass (pricey).

I have not bought it in years, don't know if they still offer it.

Such a pass only makes sense if you reverse commute to the Peninsula / S. Bay.

Else, as noted, just get a Muni pass.

Also, as noted, BART is useless for most people living anywhere between the Golden Gate and Gilroy. Cal Train is all you need for heavy rail.

[Jonotastic]

Originally Posted by EmpressNYC

I don't have a car, and I will be working at SFO...does muni go to san francisco as well? Am I better off taking bart everyday? Lol its kind of expensive compared to NYC Metro... 2.25 can get you anywhere in the city.

If you are commuting daily from San Francisco to SFO, I'd use the BART, but inside the city use the MUNI.

[EmpressNYC]

Originally Posted by Jonotastic

If you are commuting daily from San Francisco to SFO, I'd use the BART, but inside the city use the MUNI.

Thanks! I will do that.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by Park Chung Hee

I am considering spending a month visiting SF. I was going to find a room on craigslist, and just use the public transit system.

However from what I can tell BART and Caltrain do not have monthly passes, but MUNI and Samtrans do. How many public transit systems are there exactly?

Can a person get by on MUNI or do you need BART? Would I need monthly passes for both MUNI and Samtrans?

Sort of depends where you are going and how often. BART has passes in fact that's the only way you are getting onto the platform. Maybe you'll be lucky and hit a couple "Clean Air Days" when everthing is free.