How to Ride Muni bus or light rail in San Francisco

Bring Exact Change

Change is not provided on bus or light rail vehicles. Stop ahead of time and pick up change along the way or load cash onto your Clipper card to avoid the hassle. Customers paying cash at Muni Metro light rail stations must purchase a Limited Use Ticket from a Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) located outside of the faregates. Cash or credit/debit cards are accepted at these machines. Tap the ticket to the faregate reader for access.

Carry Your Fare Receipt ("Transfer") At All Times

When riding the bus, the driver will hand you a fare receipt (often referred to as a "transfer"). Keep this with you at all times, regardless of whether you plan to transfer to another route or not. If the driver does not hand you a receipt, remember to ask for one. Riding Muni without proof of payment can result in receiving a citation and heavy fine, so keep your receipt! This receipt must also be shown to a station agent when transferring to light rail in a Muni Metro station for faregate access. A Limited Use Ticket purchased from a TVM electronically records the transfer time.

Keep Track of the Time

Always keep track of the time on your receipt or ticket to be sure it's still valid. You must complete your trip within 90 minutes. Once your transfer expires, you must pay for another single ride fare. 

Late night transfers issued by drivers on surface vehicles after 8:30 pm are valid until 5:00 am. Late night transfers are not available in the Muni Metro Subway system or on fares paid with a Clipper card or Limited Use Muni Ticket. In these cases, the 90-minute transfer rule applies.