Means of Transportation

Cable cars and public transport

Cable cars are one of the most typical public means of transportation in San Francisco, and although they are often full and not very fast, they’re very useful to go up and down the steep hills of the city, and a great chance to have a quiet look at the city while travelling around. They are also cheaper than taxis. There are three cable car lines in San Francisco, crossing the centre of the town. For more info, visit the San Francisco Cable Cars site.

In general, San Francisco has one of the best public transport infrastructures in North America, with buses, street cars, and light railway lines. One of the systems is the San Francisco Municipal Railway, also known as “MUNI” (which also owns the cable cars). Normal buses and street cars tickets cost 1$, and last for more than one ride. For more info, visit the San Francisco Muni Official Site. If you need to travel to or from the airport, or visit other locations in the Bay Area, the best means of transportation is the BART (not Simpson, it stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit), which runs a number of fast local underground and surface trains. For more info, visit the BART site.

Taxis

Cabs are a good way of going around the city if you are prepared to spend a little money. Remember that drivers expect tips, which should be fairly generous.

By car

It can be fun to drive around the streets of San Francisco, and probably a good way to feel as if you were in a 70’s TV series. And crossing the Golden Gate Bridge by car is a great experience. But traffic can be hectic, and parking expensive: try and look for a free parking place before going into garages, which can charge you a lot of money for a few hours. Also, when parking uphill, be sure to turn the steering wheel towards the sidewalk, an operation known as ’curbing’, so if your manual brake fails, the car won’t go downhill. It is compulsory to do so, for safety reasons. Having a car is also useful if you plan to travel around the Bay Area, outside of the city.

Bicycle and walking

If you want to go around by bike, be prepared to climb a few hills; there are some routes that take you almost anywhere without climbing hills, but they’re not very easy to find if you don’t know the city that well. Walking is advisable and fun, in spite of the slopes. The centre is fairly easy to walk around, and you’ll get the best sights.