San Jose is Silicon Valley’s biggest city, and getting around it without a car means learning a handful of agencies rather than one. VTA runs the light rail and most local buses and is what you’ll use day to day; Caltrain and BART get you up the Peninsula or around the wider Bay; and a free airport shuttle ties it all together at a couple of key transfer points.
The basics
VTA light rail has three lines, all meeting in or near downtown:
- Blue — Baypointe to Santa Teresa, through downtown and south San Jose, past the Convention Center.
- Green — Old Ironsides to Winchester, through north and downtown San Jose, Diridon Station, SAP Center, and San Jose State, down through Campbell.
- Orange — Mountain View to Alum Rock, by way of Levi’s Stadium, California’s Great America, Milpitas BART, and the Great Mall.
Around that, VTA runs local and rapid buses across the valley. Caltrain runs commuter rail from San Jose Diridon up the Peninsula to San Francisco. BART currently ends at Berryessa/North San José and Milpitas — the extension into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara is still under construction. ACE is a weekday-only commuter train linking San Jose to the Tri-Valley and Stockton. Diridon Station, just west of downtown, is where most of these actually meet.
How to pay
Since January 2026, paying is simple almost everywhere in the Bay Area:
- Tap a contactless bank card or your phone (Apple Pay / Google Pay) on the Clipper reader, on the bus or on the light rail platform. It charges the full adult fare — no account or app needed.
- Tap a Clipper card — the regional transit card, also accepted on Caltrain, BART, and ACE. Load it online, in the Clipper app, or at retailers and station machines.
- Pay cash on the bus — the farebox takes U.S. coins up to $1 each, inserted one at a time; there’s no change given.
Light rail has no gates. It runs on proof of payment — tap the platform reader before you board, and carry your tapped card or ticket, because fare inspectors do check. Not having valid proof is a citation under California Penal Code 640.
Use the same card or phone for every tap on a trip: it’s what lets VTA apply your free transfer, and it’s what lets a cross-agency transfer discount kick in if your trip touches another Bay Area operator. Keep other cards away from the reader when you tap, since a second card in the same tap (“card clash”) can get charged by mistake.
Fares
| Single ride | 8-hr light rail pass | Day pass | Monthly pass | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult | $2.50 | $5.00 | $7.50 | $90 |
| Senior (65+) / Disabled | $1.00 | $2.00 | $3.00 | $30 |
| Youth (5–18) | $1.25 | $2.50 | $3.75 | $35 |
A single Clipper tap buys 2 hours of free transfers. You don’t need to buy a day pass up front, either — tap-and-pay enough single rides in one day (adding up to $7.50) and VTA’s day pass accumulator stops charging you for the rest of that day. A contactless bank card or phone is always charged the full adult fare; for a discounted fare, use a registered Clipper card.
Caltrain charges by zone — numbered 1 (San Francisco) through 6 (Gilroy) — rather than a flat fare; San Jose’s Diridon and Tamien stations sit in zone 4. Check Caltrain’s own fare page for the current zone pricing.
Getting from the airport
San Jose Mineta International (SJC) is close to downtown, and the connection is free:
- Catch the VTA Airport Flyer, Route 60, from Terminal A or Terminal B — it costs nothing in either direction.
- Ride it to Metro/Airport Station to pick up the Blue or Green light rail line (regular fare applies from there).
- Or stay on to Milpitas BART Station for BART, or to Winchester VTA Station, which connects onward to the Santa Clara Transit Center for Caltrain and ACE.
- For Amtrak or Greyhound, take Route 60 to Metro/Airport Station and transfer onto the Green Line south to Diridon Station.
No official source publishes a stated travel time for Route 60, so budget your trip using VTA’s real-time trip planner rather than a fixed estimate.
Apps to download
- Clipper — the regional fare app; buy and reload fares, or carry a virtual Clipper card on your phone.
- Transit — real-time arrivals and trip planning across VTA, Caltrain, and BART in one place.
- Google Maps — solid for trip planning with live VTA data.
VTA’s old EZfare app has been discontinued — Clipper is the current way to pay by phone.
When it runs
VTA light rail runs every day, starting around 4:30am and continuing until about 11:30pm on weekdays — there’s no overnight service. During the day, trains come roughly every 15 minutes; after evening rush, gaps stretch to around 30 minutes. Saturday and Sunday trains start later and run less often than on weekdays.
Local and Rapid buses run on their own schedules — some frequent, some not — so check the Transit app or VTA’s real-time trip planner for the route you need.
Accessibility
VTA’s ACCESS program provides door-to-door paratransit for riders who can’t use fixed-route bus or light rail because of a disability. Eligibility is based on a functional assessment, not age or income alone — apply directly through VTA.
Etiquette & local quirks
- Tap every time, including transfers — it’s how VTA knows to make your next ride free within the window, and it’s your proof of payment if a fare inspector asks.
- One card, one rider. If you’re traveling with others, everyone taps their own card or phone — don’t try to tap for a group with one card.
- Keep other cards and transit passes separate from the one you’re tapping to avoid a misread (“card clash”).
Good to know
- Fare enforcement on light rail is real: inspectors patrol routinely, and riding without valid proof of payment is a citation under California Penal Code 640, not just a fine you can shrug off.
- BART doesn’t reach downtown San Jose yet. The current line ends at Berryessa/North San José and Milpitas; a four-station extension into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara is under construction.
- ACE is a commuter train, not an everyday option — it publishes only a weekday schedule, aimed at the Stockton–Tri-Valley–San Jose commute, not all-day travel.