Get around on New Year's Eve with free rides from Bay Area transit agencies
New Year's Eve partygoers will be able to get around for free Sunday night into Monday morning as multiple Bay Area transit agencies offer complimentary services for the holiday.
For the 24th year in a row, Muni will offer free rides in San Francisco so revelers can drink alcohol without worrying about getting behind the wheel.
From Sunday night and going through to 5 a.m. Monday, Muni buses will be traversing the city to shuttle people home at no cost, with extra OWL bus routes running until the wee hours. Extra Muni subway service began at 8 p.m. Sunday and is running until 2:15 a.m. Monday.
Passengers are reminded not to tap their Clipper cards to make sure that they don't get charged. Fare gates at all Muni stations will simply remain open.
A full list of Muni's New Year's Eve ride information and extra services is available at SFMTA.com/NYE.
VTA will also continue its tradition of free bus (Route 500) and light rail service (Blue Line, Green Line, and Orange Line) in collaboration with other regional transit partners. All Light Rail and Bus service will be free from 8 p.m. on Sunday, December 31st, 2023, through 5 a.m. on Monday, January 1st, 2024.
VTA will operate on a Sunday/Holiday schedule with extended hours on New Year's Day, Monday, January 1st, 2024. More info on the extended free service is available at VTA.org.
AC Transit will provide free rides on all bus lines for free on New Year's Eve, including Transbay and Tempo lines. The free service period begins at 8 p.m. Sunday and continues until 5 a.m. Monday morning.
Caltrain rides will be free starting at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31, until the end of the special late-night service. Its officials said the rail line will be operating a regular weekend schedule with two more northbound special trains arriving in time for the fireworks.
Besides regularly scheduled service, more southbound trains will depart from San Francisco at 1 a.m., 1:30 a.m. or when full, making all local stops to San Jose Diridon after the fireworks, with the last train leaving San Francisco at 2 a.m. According to officials, SF MUNI will provide additional post-fireworks service connecting with Caltrain San Francisco Station at 4th and King streets.
On New Year's Day, Jan. 1, Caltrain will operate a weekend schedule and will resume collecting fares when service begins around 7 a.m.
Meanwhile, SamTrans will also provide free rides, including paratransit, starting at 8 p.m. on Sunday until 3 a.m. on New Year's Day. On that same day, SamTrans will still operate a Sunday schedule in observance of the holiday.
While BART won't be free on New Year's Eve, the transit agency is offering extended services to accommodate celebrants traveling home on Sunday morning.
BART will have a three-line special service -- Yellow, Blue and Orange only -- running in both directions with a total of six trains for the 1 a.m. extended service. The Yellow Line will be the only line running in San Francisco and Peninsula. The Blue Line will run between Bay Fair and Dublin/Pleasanton.
Trains will be waiting at 12th St Oakland, MacArthur and Bay Fair to complete timed transfers.
The last East Bay bound train will run through downtown San Francisco will be at around 1:30 a.m., while the last southbound train heading toward Millbrae will run through downtown San Francisco at 2:10 a.m. That train will not stop at SFO.
More information on BART's extended NYE service is available on the BART.gov website.