Transit agencies across the Bay Area will be running extended — and mostly free — services on New Year’s Eve for celebrants looking to hop on a train home after the ball drops at midnight, transit officials said Saturday.
Starting at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Caltrain rides will be free. While the last train out of San Francisco usually departs around midnight, Caltrain will be running trains to San Jose’s Diridon Station at 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. — or whenever full — with the last train departing San Francisco’s 4th and King station at 2 a.m. Two extra northbound trains will also be running from Diridon Station earlier in the evening at 7:42 p.m. and 8:42 p.m. Open beverages will be prohibited on trains after 9 p.m.
For those looking to take BART, the last train from downtown San Francisco to the East Bay will depart at 1:30 a.m., and the last southbound train to Millbrae will leave around 2:10 a.m. Trains will not stop at the San Francisco International Airport or Oakland International Airport stops.
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With BART recently switching away from paper cards, the transit agency advises riders to add the digital Clipper card to their phone’s wallet app ahead of time. Parking at BART stations will be free on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 except at the Berryessa and Milpitas stations.
SamTrans and VTA will also be offering free and extended bus and light rail service on New Year’s Eve. SamTrans will be running free bus service from 8 p.m. on Sunday until 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, while VTA will run bus and light rail routes for free from 8 p.m. on Sunday through 5 a.m. Jan. 1.
VTA’s Route 500 bus will have extended hours between Diridion Station, downtown San Jose and the Berryessa BART station with the last northbound bus leaving Diridon Station at 12:20 a.m., and the last southbound bus leaving the Berryessa BART station at 3:01 a.m.
VTA’s Blue Line, which runs from the Santa Teresa Station to the Baypointe Station will run its last northbound light rail train from Santa Teresa at 1:52 a.m. and the last southbound train from Baypointe at 1:57 a.m.
The Green Line, which runs from Winchester Station to the Old Ironsides Station, will have its last northbound train depart Winchester at 1:40 a.m. and will end service at the Civic Center except for two trains leaving at 11:22 p.m. and 11:51 p.m. that will continue on to Old Ironsides Station. The last southbound train will leave Old Ironsides at 1:22 a.m.
VTA will also have extended service on the Orange Line between Baypointe and Alum Rock stations with the last eastbound train leaving Baypointe at 2:43 a.m. and the last westbound train departing Alum Rock at 1:36 a.m.