Sacramento’s public transportation runs on one main system — SacRT — with a separate agency picking up the suburbs across the river. There’s no single tap-and-go fare across the whole region yet, but the core network is simple enough to figure out in five minutes.
The basics
SacRT (Sacramento Regional Transit) runs three color-coded light rail lines, 54 stations between them, plus the city’s bus network:
- Blue Line — the longest line, running north–south from Watt/I-80 down through downtown to Cosumnes River College.
- Gold Line — the main east–west line, linking Sacramento Valley Station (downtown, and also the city’s Amtrak hub) out through Rancho Cordova to Historic Folsom.
- Green Line — a short downtown connector between 13th Street Station and the River District at 7th & Richards/Township 9. A new stop, 7th & Railyards, serving the Railyards redevelopment, opens October 15, 2026.
All three lines converge downtown, so most cross-town trips involve a change there. Across the Sacramento River, Yolobus is a separate agency running its own buses into West Sacramento, Davis, and Woodland — including a second route to the airport.
How to pay
You’ve got four ways to pay, in order of how modern they are:
- Tap a contactless bank card or your phone at a Tap2Ride reader. This works on every bus and SacRT GO paratransit vehicle right now; on light rail, contactless payment is only available at the station fare vending machines so far, not a tap-on-board reader. A fuller rollout that unifies bus and rail under one tap is planned for later in 2026 — until then, use the same card every time if you want any transfer benefit to carry over.
- Buy tickets in the Transit Connect app and activate them on your phone before boarding — works for both bus and light rail.
- Load a Connect Card, a reloadable smart card, at a vending machine or online.
- Pay cash — exact change only; drivers and machines don’t give change back.
However you pay, light rail runs on the honor system rather than fare gates: validate or activate your ticket before you board, and keep proof of payment with you, since fare inspectors do check.
Fares
| Single ride | Day pass | Monthly | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult (19–61) | $2.50 | $7.00 | $100 |
| Senior (62+) / Disabled | $1.25 | $3.50 | $50 |
| Student (TK–12) | $1.25 | $3.50 | $20 |
A light rail ticket is good for 90 minutes of unlimited light rail travel; add a 25-cent transfer if you also need to board a bus. Many K–12 students qualify for a free pass through their school rather than paying per ride.
Getting from the airport
Sacramento International Airport (SMF) is about 10 miles northwest of downtown, and SacRT runs a direct bus:
- Route 142 (Airport Express) — zero-emission buses connecting both airport terminals to downtown Sacramento.
- Cost: the standard SacRT fare — $2.50 — with free transfers to connecting buses or light rail within 90 minutes.
- How often: about hourly, seven days a week.
- Hours: roughly 5:15am to 10:33pm daily.
- Downtown, the shuttle meets the Gold and Blue light rail lines near 8th & Capitol and 10th & K.
Yolobus routes 42A/42B are a second option if you’re headed toward West Sacramento, Davis, or Woodland rather than downtown: $2.25 a ride, every 30–60 minutes, with the 42A running roughly 5:20am–10:36pm and the 42B roughly 7:05am–11:43pm.
Neither agency publishes an official travel time for either route, so build in some buffer.
Apps to download
- Transit Connect — SacRT’s official app for buying and activating tickets and passes.
- SacRT BusTracker — real-time arrival predictions for buses (light rail doesn’t have live tracking yet).
- Google Maps or a similar trip planner — handles routing with SacRT’s schedule data built in.
When it runs
All three light rail lines and the core bus network operate every day of the week. Schedules shift for construction projects and holidays more often than most systems, so check SacRT’s Trip Planner at sacrt.com before you head out, especially around a line you haven’t ridden before.
Accessibility
Every SacRT bus has low floors, ramps, and kneeling capability. On light rail, all stations are level- or ramp-accessible except 12th & I (northbound side) — low-floor Gold and Green Line trains deploy a ramp at the middle doors, while high-floor Blue Line trains use an operator-deployed mini-high ramp.
SacRT GO is the district’s door-to-door ADA paratransit service, for riders who can’t use fixed-route buses or trains due to a disability. It’s $5 per one-way trip (or a $137.50 monthly pass), runs 4:30am to 1am seven days a week within about ¾ mile of existing routes, and trips should be booked up to two days ahead by calling SacRT. Riders must be certified ADA-eligible first. Guide dogs and other trained service animals are welcome on all vehicles.
Etiquette & local quirks
- Bikes ride along. Buses have a front rack for up to 3 bikes, first-come-first-served. On light rail, each car has a marked bike area holding up to 4 bikes — except the very front of the lead car on high-floor Blue Line trains, which is reserved for priority seating.
- No gates, but inspectors do check. Keep your ticket, pass, or tapped receipt until you’re off the train — fare evasion can mean a citation.
- Headphones required for any music or video — SacRT’s code of conduct bans playing audio out loud, along with smoking/vaping and skateboarding or biking on platforms.
- Golden 1 Center, downtown’s arena for Kings games and concerts, has a light rail stop about a block away — easier than hunting for arena parking.
Good to know
- Sacramento Valley Station, the Gold Line’s downtown terminus, doubles as the city’s Amtrak station — a handy one-seat change if you’re arriving by train from the Bay Area or beyond.
- Park-and-ride is usually free. SacRT has 22 park-and-ride lots with roughly 10,000 free spaces system-wide; the lot at Cosumnes River College is the one exception, at $2 a day.
- Construction comes and goes. SacRT has been modernizing light rail platforms line by line for new low-floor trains, which means temporary bus bridges on short notice — check sacrt.com’s alerts before a trip if you’re relying on a specific line.