For many, New Year’s Eve is the biggest party night of the year. One of the few nights when, in many places, it’s fine to act more than a little wild in public, and even have a few drinks while you are at it.
But with all the partying that goes on while ringing in the New Year, there comes the matter of safely getting back home at the end of the night. Or, rather, in the early morning. Let someone else do the driving who hasn’t been tipping back a few glasses during the night.
With that in mind, many Bay Area transit agencies are offering either free or extended hours of service on New Year’s Eve, and improve the odds of people making it home and being able to experience whatever is ahead in 2020.
Here’s a look at the New Year’s Eve plans for several local transit options:
VTA
Around Santa Clara County, VTA is continuing with its four days of free rides on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. All VTA buses and light rail lines will operate until 2 a.m. Wednesday, except for the VTA Line 22, which runs until 5 a.m. No fares or Clipper cards are required for any of the VTA rides.
Caltrain
For those who have plans to party in San Francisco and don’t feel like staying in town until sunrise, or bankrupting themselves with New Year’s Eve hotel rate, Caltrain is offering free rides and adding two additional trains from the South Bay to San Francisco’s fireworks show starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday night. For the return trip, Caltrain says it will also add extra trains and make all local stops on the way to San Jose, with the last train leaving the city at 2 a.m. Wednesday. Like VTA, no fares or Clipper cards are necessary.
SamTrans
All 70 of the SamTrans bus routes that run through San Mateo County will be operating for free starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday and until 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. SamTrans said it will be running on a regular Sunday schedule for the rest of New Year’s Day.
BART
Not everything is free. BART fares will be in effect New Year’s Eve and into New Year’s Day, and the service says it will run a standard Tuesday schedule in most areas until 8 p.m. After that, BART will run a special service to and from San Francisco until 3 a.m., with extra trains on hand after the city’s fireworks show concludes.
Muni
Of course, BART doesn’t go everywhere once it gets to San Francisco. The city’s Muni service will run from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 5 a.m. Wednesday for free all across town.
AC Transit
If you have plans to party in Oakland or around the East Bay, all AC Transit bus lines will take passengers for free between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. Buses will operate on a Sunday schedule on New Year’s Day.
Uber and Lyft
If free public transit isn’t for you, there are always the area’s leading ride-hailing companies to get you home. Be warned: Scheduled rides won’t be available for much of New Year’s Eve and early into New Year’s Day, and expect to pay additional “surge” prices as the night goes on and demand for rides increases.