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Ride Muni Free on New Year’s Eve

All the ways to get home free on NYE like Muni, Caltrans & Samtrans
By - posted 12/27/2015 No Comment

If you choose to get hammered on New Year’s Eve, rest assured you can get home safely for free via bus, train or light rail if you live anywhere other than the East Bay and North Bay. Within San Francisco, get free rides on Muni all night starting at 8 pm on December 31, 2015.

You can also get a free taxi ride home or a free “tipsy tow” from AAA if riding public transportation isn’t your thing.

All details have been confirmed with the transit agencies for December 31, 2015.

SF Muni
Free rides on all Muni lines and routes from 8 pm NYE until 5 am on New Year’s Day.

>>IMPORTANT: Please do not tag your Clipper card during the complimentary service.

  • Muni Metro service between West Portal and Embarcadero stations extended to 4 am and until 2:15 am to 4th and King street.
  • Service on the F Market historic streetcar line is provided by buses after approximately 4 pm.
  • Service on the Cable Cars is provided by buses after approximately 8 pm.
  • Extra Owl Service – 1 pm to 5 am: 5 Fulton, 14 Mission, 22 Fillmore, 24 Divisadero, 38 Geary, 90 and 91 Owl and the L and N Owl bus routes.
  • Extra 1-California Route service between Drumm Street and Presidio Avenue from 6 pm to 2 am
  • The subway will open for train service until 4 am.

SamTrans
Free rides on all routes from 8 pm to 5 am

SamTrans will operate will operate regular, non-school day schedules on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2015, and on their Sunday schedule on New Year’s Day.

CalTrain
Free rides from 8 pm to 5 pm and there is extended service after midnight.

New Year’s Eve, Thur. Dec. 31, 2015 will run regular Weekday Schedule plus, four post-fireworks extra trains departing San Francisco Station at 12:45 am, 1:15 am, 1:45 am and a 2:15 am or when full, to accommodate celebrants heading back down the Peninsula and to the South Bay. Caltrain operates on the Sunday schedule on New Year’s Day.

The day after New Year’s, Sat. Jan. 2, 2016 will run a regular Saturday Schedule.

VTA
Between 8 pm on New Year’s Eve and 5 am on New Year’s Day, all VTA service will be free. Both light rail and Express Bus 180/181 will also have more frequent service.

Light Rail (Alum Rock- Santa Teresa and Mountain View-Winchester lines)

Express Line 180/181 (to the Fremont BART Station)

  • Last Northbound bus leaving Diridon Station at 2:03 a.m. arriving at Fremont BART at 2:48 a.m.
  • Last Southbound bus leaving Fremont BART at 3:04 a.m. arriving at 2nd & Santa Clara at 3:40 a.m. (Does not go to the Diridon Station)

AC Transit
In 2015 (and as far as we know, for the first time ever), AC Transit is ringing in the New Year by offering free rides on all lines beginning New Year’s Eve, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015 at 8 pm until 5 am on New Year’s Day, Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. Buses operate on a regular weekday schedule on New Year’s Eve, with Sunday schedules in effect on New Year’s Day.

AC Transit’s All Nighter service offers the following options for revelers traveling past the stroke of midnight:

  • 800 Richmond BART and San Francisco 24th St. BART via San Pablo Ave., University Ave., Telegraph Ave. and downtown Oakland. Returns via Market St., the Transbay Temporary Terminal, West Oakland BART and downtown Oakland
  • 801 Downtown Oakland and Fremont BART via 11th/12th streets, International Blvd., E. 14th St., Mission Blvd., Union City BART, Decoto Rd., and Fremont Blvd.
  • 802 Berkeley Amtrak and downtown Oakland via San Pablo Ave.
  • 805 Downtown Oakland and Oakland Airport via Broadway, Grand Ave., MacArthur Blvd., and Coliseum BART.
  • 840 Downtown Oakland and Eastmont Transit Center via 11th/12th streets and Foothill Blvd.
  • 851 Downtown Berkeley and Fruitvale BART via UC Campus South, College Ave., Broadway, downtown Oakland; in Alameda via Webster St., Santa Clara Ave., Broadway; and Oakland via Fruitvale Ave.
  • (Please Note: There’s no 822 to Pittsburg/Bay Point service in 2015)

A complete list of stops served on All Nighter lines is available on the District’s website, along with maps and schedulesfor all lines.

Free Downtown Oakland Broadway Shuttle
Downtown Oakland’s Free B Shuttle will be running on New Year’s Eve every 10-15 minutes from 7 pm to 1 am.

Hop on and hop off at any stop between Embarcadero West (Jack London Square) and 27th Street.

BART
No special fares for New Year’s Eve, but there will be extended service until 3 am. Trains will run every 20 minutes after midnight with extra trains standing by in downtown San Francisco after the fireworks show. The best tip we can give is to buy your round trip ticket in advance to avoid a line on the way home.

>> “Skip Stop” Schedule at Embarcadero, Montgomery and West Oakland
Beginning at 8 pm, BART will utilize a “skip-stop” train pattern into and out of San Francisco:

Going into San Francisco- After 8 pm:

  • Trains from the Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond lines heading into San Francisco will not stop at Embarcadero Station. The San Francisco stop closest to the fireworks show for customers on the Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond lines will be Montgomery Street Station.
  • Trains from the Dublin/Pleasanton and Fremont lines will not stop at Montgomery Street Station but will stop at Embarcadero Station.
  • Trains from Millbrae and Daly City will make all stops in San Francisco.

After the fireworks end:

  • Passengers bound for Pittsburg/Bay Point and Richmond must use Montgomery Street Station. Trains on these lines will not stop at Embarcadero Station on their way out of San Francisco.
  • Passengers on the Dublin/ Pleasanton and Fremont lines must use Embarcadero Station, as trains heading to Dublin/Pleasanton and Fremont will not stop at Montgomery Street Station. Dublin/Pleasanton and Fremont trains will not stop at West Oakland and will make their first East Bay stop at Lake Merritt.
  • Daly City and Millbrae passengers should use Montgomery Street Station, which will be less crowded.

Golden Gate Transit Bus offers no special fares for New Year’s Eve. No Wave Shuttles. The bus will run on a holiday schedule on New Year’s Day.

Golden Gate Ferry will operate on a holiday schedule on New Year’s Eve and will be closed on New Year’s Day.

All details have been confirmed with the transit agencies for December 31, 2015 and January 1, 2016.