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New Year's Eve Plans? Here's How Late Bay Area Public Transit Runs

Nisa KhanCarly Severn
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Fireworks over San Francisco.
Fireworks light up the sky over the Bay Bridge, Embarcadero Center and Salesforce Tower during the new year celebrations in San Francisco on Jan. 1, 2023. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

If you’re still making plans and looking for things to do on New Year’s Eve, good news: Getting home in the Bay Area that night might be easier than you thought, and may even be free,

Many local transit agencies are providing extra services for New Year’s Eve this year on Tuesday, December 31 — and some are making rides completely free. So if you’re planning to head out to celebrate, keep reading to ensure you can get back safely and can start the new year on a high note without getting stranded, or left at the mercy of rideshare “surge pricing.”

Keep in mind, transit schedules could change at short notice, and it’s always a good idea to double-check times before heading out. Be sure to check the New Year’s Day operations for your journey home, too, as they may run on a reduced schedule.

BART on New Year’s Eve

You can read BART’s full announcement about the system’s expanded New Year’s service, but the rundown includes:

  • There will be a special three-line BART service at 1 a.m. on the Orange, Yellow and Blue BART lines.
  • The Yellow Line will be the only one running between San Francisco and the Peninsula. The Blue Line will be between Bay Fair and Dublin.
  • The last East Bay bound train running through downtown San Francisco will be around 1:30 a.m.
  • The last southbound train heading toward Millbrae will run through downtown San Francisco at 2:10 a.m.
  • The 1 a.m. extended service will not serve SFO and OAK airports’ BART stations.
  • Extra trains may be added in case of crowding.
A snapshot of BART’s special New Year’s Eve service

BART is not offering free rides on New Year’s Eve, so use BART’s fare calculator to calculate your journey’s fare, and remember that a 5.5% increase in BART fares will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.

A snapshot of BART’s special New Year’s Eve 1 a.m. service

Muni on New Year’s Eve

Muni will also be running extra services on New Year’s Eve. Some of these extra Muni Metro services will run on:

  • S Shuttle Trains between West Portal Station and Fourth & King,
    8 p.m.–2 a.m.
  • S Shuttle Trains between Chinatown and Third & Mariposa,
    8 p.m.–2 a.m.

Muni says the last trips on these S Shuttle trains will begin at 2 a.m. from each end of the line, and stations will close at 2:15 a.m.

Extra services on the OWL Network will run from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on the following lines:

  • 5 Fulton
  • 7 Haight/Noriega (which isn’t part of the OWL Network)
  • 22 Fillmore
  • 24 Divisadero
  • 25 Treasure Island
  • 38 Geary
  • 44 O’Shaughnessy
  • 48 Quintara/24th
  • 90 Owl
  • 91 Owl and N Owl.

Riding Muni will be free on all lines starting at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve until 5 a.m. (Just don’t tag your Clipper card or activate a MuniMobile ticket during the free Muni period, advises the agency, otherwise, you’ll get charged.)

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AC Transit on New Year’s Eve

All AC Transit rides (including Transbay and Tempo lines) will be free on New Year’s Eve from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

But according to a spokesperson, AC Transit is not running extra services on New Year’s Eve. The system will also operate on a Sunday schedule on New Year’s Day. See AC Transit’s full schedule and route maps.

SamTrans on New Year’s Eve

SamTrans will be running as usual on New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Day, SamTrans will operate on a Sunday schedule.

You can ride SamTrans for free on New Year’s Eve from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.

A photograph taken from above of a group of people "cheersing" their glasses at a New Year's Eve party
Several transit agencies are offering free rides home this New Year’s Eve. (The Good Brigade)

Caltrain on New Year’s Eve

Caltrain will be operating on the weekday schedule on New Year’s Eve . However, the agency will be offering several extra services that night, including extra southbound trains that will depart San Francisco at 1 a.m., 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m.

On Jan. 1, Caltrain will be operating on a weekend schedule.

Rides on Caltrain will be free starting at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

VTA on New Year’s Eve

VTA is offering extended hours during New Year’s Eve, according to a VTA spokesperson:

  • The Rapid 500 bus route “will operate extended hours between San Jose Diridon, Downtown San Jose and Berryessa BART. The last northbound bus will depart San Jose Diridon at 12:25 a.m. and the last southbound bus will depart Berryessa BART at 3:10 a.m.”
  • Light rail Blue and Green lines “will run extended service with the last trains leaving around 1:30 am January 1, 2025.”
  • Light rail Orange Line “will be extended to offer later service between Baypointe and Alum Rock. The last eastbound train will depart Baypointe at 12:27 a.m. The last westbound train will depart Alum Rock at 12:58 a.m.”

VTA will operate on a Sunday/holiday schedule on Jan. 1.

You can ride VTA for free starting at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve until 5 a.m.

For a fun bonus, the VTA is also offering a free historic trolley ride for the seasons Dec. 21–22 and Dec. 28–29. According to the spokesperson, “The trolley will operate approximately every hour between the Civic Center and Diridon stations from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., weather permitting.”

Capitol Corridor on New Year’s Eve

The Capitol Corridor train network has no extended hours on New Year’s Eve. On New Year 2025, there will be the usual weekend and holiday schedule.

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