We stopped at union Sq where there was a main station,right by the cable cars....have to say we only used it once to go there and back to the baseball stadium,the trains seemed often enough and were clean....ill advise you get a weekly pass if you going to use them alot plus use it on cable cars and buses as well.....have to say this time we didnt feel that safe at night for the first time this trip and its our 4th visit to san francisco....so cant say how safe the trains are at night....have a nice trip

Hi Colin,
We found all the public transport in the city to be excellent during our stay last summer.
I would imagine you have looked at the BART website and have seen just how far you can go.

As on most transport systems fares are zonal with fares adjusting accordingly. Returns are generally double the single fare so no saving like in the UK. From the city center to say Pittsburg bay point(about as far as it goes) it will cosy you $11.20

I am pretty sure the MUNI Passport that yeltzman mentions cannot be used on the BART?? However the MUNI pass 1day $11 3days $18 and 7 days $24 offer superb value unlimited travel on the bus , tram and the famous cable cars all of which will get you all over the city

Many American visitors to the city were unaware of these passes and grumbled on about the $5 single fare on the cable cars . You can buy them in some hotels or if not we got ours from the kiosk at the Powell St cable turnaround point

We used the BART also for the transfer from the airport straight into the city centre for $10.70 return, this is far cheaper than a taxi and we only had a two min walk to our hotel.

Hope this helps, BART and MUNI have both got good websites full of info.

Have a good trip J...

Thanks a lot guys, great info and helps a lot.

Hi

I agree about the Muni pass, I'm sure we took the bart into san francisco (got tickets at airport), then we bought another pass of some sort (probably muni pass) to use the cable car. I'm not sure which one, but one of our passes also worked for the bus.

The excellent Muni pass is good for buses, streetcars and cable cars but not the BART. I think we paid $15 for a 3 day pass on our last trip, great value when you consider a single ride on a cable car is $5. Make sure you do the cable car line that runs down California as well as the one from Union Sq to the Wharf area. In some ways that line is even better with steeper hills and great views down to the Bay Bridge....although it is difficult to top the views down to Alcatraz at the highest point on the Union to Wharf line.

As for safety in San Francisco, I've only ever felt unsafe once and that was walking down O'Farrell to Union Square from Polk Street and therefore through the notorious Tenderloin district. Lots of homeless, and generally people hanging around. In daylight, probably not a major issue with wits about you but certainly an area to avoid at night.