The best way to get from San Jose to San Francisco is to take Caltrain. With several stations in the South Bay, including San Jose Diridon (Downtown San Jose), Santa Clara and Tamien Station (Central San Jose/Willow Glen) it’s easy to jump on an express Baby Bullet train and be in the City in an hour. Our San Francisco and 22nd Street stations are excellent hubs for the City.
There are buses that will get you from San Jose to San Francisco, but it’s gonna be a riiiiiiiide. There are ride-hailing apps, too, but you know that’s going to hit the pocketbook hard.
Look, no one likes traffic and the drive from San Jose to San Francisco is among the most congested in the country. So, get off the road, out of traffic and enjoy train travel.
Instead of white-knuckling it down 101, fending off bad drivers, and working the brakes like a clown works a horn - ride Caltrain. Sit back, read the daily news, drink your coffee, catch up on work before you arrive, nap, stare dreamily out the window...
Making the Change to Caltrain
The scariest part of transit for new riders is often the challenge of learning what seems like an overwhelming system of maps, costs and potential risk. We’re here to make it easy.
Fares – Buying Caltrain tickets and passes is easy with the Clipper app, a single fare system for the entire Bay Area. Download the app, sync it to your wallet, use Apple Pay and Google Pay. There are also ticket machines at stations.
Plan Your Trip – Find your local Caltrain station, know where you want to go and find those stations on the Caltrain schedule. You’ll see northbound and southbound trains from those stations. Pick when you want to leave and be on the platform at that time. Use Google Maps (transit option), Transit App, or the Caltrain website schedule and sort by destination/departure.
Get to the Station – You can drive, most Caltrain stations have plenty of parking, normally only $5.50/day. Go full transit and find a local transit route to the station. Biking is a popular method, and Caltrain offers abundant resources for bike parking at stations and onboard.
Life is better with options, try Caltrain.