Travel calculators

BART Fare Calculator

Updated Aug 1, 2026 By Jehan Wadia
Rate Formulas
Your Trip
Trip Options
Trip Type
Round-trip doubles the per-person fare.
Payment Type
Clipper Card fares are discounted. Cash tickets include a $0.50 surcharge per trip.
Format: MM/DD/YYYY — used as the fare-schedule reference date.
Fare Summary
Trip Type
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Rider Type
—
Passengers
—
Fare Media
—
Fare per Person (one-way)
—
Fare per Person (this trip)
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Estimated Trip Distance
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Travel Date
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Total Fare
$0.00
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Remember to tag your Clipper Card at the faregate at both your departing and arriving stations.
Step-by-Step Solution
Fare Options Comparison
Fare Option Per Person (one-way) Per Person (trip) Total
Fare Components (per person, one-way, before rider discount)
Total Trip Cost by Rider Category

Introduction

The BART Fare Calculator shows you what a Bay Area Rapid Transit ride will cost before you go. Pick your start station and your end station, and the tool gives you the fare for one person and for your whole group.

BART fares are based on distance. Short rides cost less. Long rides cost more. Extra fees are added for crossing the bay through the Transbay Tube and for trips to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) or Oakland International Airport (OAK).

You can also choose:

  • One-way or round-trip
  • Rider type — adult, senior or disabled, youth, or child
  • Clipper card or cash ticket — cash costs $0.50 more per trip
  • Number of riders — up to 10
  • Miles or kilometers for the trip distance

After you hit Calculate, you get your total fare, the steps used to find it, a table that compares Clipper and cash prices, and charts that break down each part of the fare. Use it to plan a trip, set a budget, or see how much a Clipper card saves you. If you are weighing BART against other ways to get around town, compare the result here with a Taxi Fare Calculator estimate or an Uber Cost Calculator quote for the same route.

How to use our BART Fare Calculator

Pick your start and end BART stations, then set a few trip details. The calculator shows your fare per person, your total cost, the trip distance, and a step-by-step breakdown of how the fare was built.

From (Origin Station): Choose the BART station where you will get on the train.

To (Destination Station): Choose the BART station where you will get off. It must be different from your start station.

Swap: Click this button to flip your start and end stations. Handy for checking the return leg.

Trip Type: Pick One-Way for a single ride, or Round-Trip to double the fare for the ride back.

Fare Type / Rider Category: Pick Adult, Senior (65+) or Disabled, Youth (5–12), or Child under 5. Each one applies its own BART discount, and kids under 5 ride free.

Payment Type: Choose Clipper Card for the lower fare, or Cash Ticket, which adds a $0.50 surcharge to each trip.

Number of Passengers: Type how many people are riding, from 1 to 10. The total fare is multiplied by this number.

Travel Date: Enter the date you plan to ride, in MM/DD/YYYY form. This sets the fare schedule used for your trip. Need to count the days until your trip? Try the Days Until Calculator.

Distance Display Units: Pick miles or kilometres to change how your trip distance is shown. For point-to-point mileage on other trips, the Travel Distance Calculator covers longer journeys.

Click Calculate Fare to see your results, or Clear / Reset to start a new trip.

How BART Fares Work

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is the train system that connects San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and many other cities around the San Francisco Bay. Unlike a bus with one flat price, BART charges you by how far you ride. A short hop between two downtown stops costs much less than a long ride out to Antioch or Berryessa.

What Sets the Price

  • Distance: Every trip starts with a minimum fare. After the first few miles, you pay a small amount for each extra mile. The rate drops for very long trips. You can check the straight-line spacing between any two points with the Distance Calculator.
  • Crossing the Bay: Trips that go through the Transbay Tube between San Francisco and Oakland add a small extra charge.
  • Airports: Rides to or from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) add an airport fee. Rides to or from Oakland International Airport (OAK) cost more because of the Oakland Airport Connector tram. If you are catching a plane, the Flight Time Calculator helps you work backward from your departure time.
  • How you pay: Paper tickets cost more than a Clipper card.

Clipper Card vs. Cash

A Clipper card is the reloadable card used across Bay Area transit. It gives you the lowest BART fare. Paper tickets bought with cash add a surcharge on every single trip. You can also use Clipper in a phone wallet. You must tap your card at the gate when you enter and when you exit, because the exit tap is how BART knows the distance you rode.

Rider Discounts

  • Adults: pay the full fare.
  • Seniors 65 and older and riders with disabilities: pay about 62.5% less with a special Clipper card.
  • Youth ages 5 to 18: pay half fare with a Youth Clipper card (this tool uses the 5–12 group).
  • Children under 5: ride free with a paying adult.

BART vs. Driving

Before you decide to drive instead, price out the whole trip. Add up fuel with the Fuel Cost Calculator or the Gas Cost Calculator, add bridge and highway charges using the Toll Calculator, then check the road mileage with the Driving Distance Calculator and the trip length with the Drive Time Calculator. Once parking is included, a two-person round trip on BART often wins. Riders who commute daily can also see the emissions difference with the Carbon Footprint Calculator.

Tips to Save Money

Get a Clipper card before your first ride. Check if your school or job offers a transit benefit or a Clipper BayPass. If a station one stop away is much closer to your start point, walking or biking that stretch can lower your fare — the Walking Distance Calculator and Steps to Miles Calculator show how far that really is. Remember that a round trip is simply two one-way fares, so BART does not sell a cheaper return ticket.

Regular commuters should fold their monthly fare spend into a Monthly Budget Calculator, and anyone thinking about relocating to the Bay Area can compare transit and housing costs with the Cost of Living Calculator and the Moving Cost Calculator.

Fares here are estimates based on distance and BART's fare rules. Check the official BART website for exact prices before you travel.

Formulas used

Estimated rail distance (haversine great-circle × routing factor)
d = 2R\,\arcsin\!\left(\sqrt{\sin^2\!\left(\frac{\varphi_2-\varphi_1}{2}\right) + \cos\varphi_1\cos\varphi_2\sin^2\!\left(\frac{\lambda_2-\lambda_1}{2}\right)}\right) \times 1.15,\quad R = 6{,}371{,}000\ \text{m}
Distance-based fare (tiered)
F_{dist} = 2.55 + 0.1450 \cdot \max\!\left(0,\ \min(d_{mi},14) - 6\right) + 0.0730 \cdot \max\!\left(0,\ d_{mi} - 14\right)
Adult Clipper fare with surcharges (rounded to nearest $0.05)
F_{clipper} = \frac{\operatorname{round}\!\left(20\left(F_{dist} + S_{transbay} + S_{SFO} + S_{OAK}\right)\right)}{20},\quad S_{transbay}=1.10,\ S_{SFO}=4.00,\ S_{OAK}=6.55
Fare per person after media surcharge and rider discount
F_{person} = \frac{\operatorname{round}\!\left(20\left(F_{clipper} + 0.50\,c\right) m_{rider}\right)}{20},\quad c = \begin{cases}1 & \text{cash}\\ 0 & \text{Clipper}\end{cases}
Rider category multipliers
m_{rider} = \begin{cases} 1.000 & \text{Adult}\\ 0.375 & \text{Senior / Disabled}\\ 0.500 & \text{Youth (5-12)}\\ 0 & \text{Child under 5}\end{cases}
Total fare
F_{total} = F_{person} \times n_{pax} \times t,\quad t = \begin{cases}2 & \text{round-trip}\\ 1 & \text{one-way}\end{cases}
Distance unit display conversion
d_{mi} = \frac{d_{m}}{1609.344},\qquad d_{km} = \frac{d_{m}}{1000}

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is the fare estimate?

It is close, but not exact. The tool measures the straight line between the two stations and adds 15% to copy the way tracks curve. Real BART fares come from a fixed price chart. Expect your answer to land within a few cents of the posted fare. Check bart.gov for the exact price.

What is the lowest fare I can pay on BART?

The minimum Clipper fare in this tool is $2.55. That covers the first 6 miles of any ride. After 6 miles you pay by the mile, so the fare grows from there.

Why is every fare rounded to a nickel?

BART prices end in 5 or 0 cents. The calculator rounds each fare to the nearest $0.05 after it adds the surcharges, and again after the rider discount. That is why the math steps and the final price can differ by a cent or two.

How much is the Transbay charge?

It is $1.10 per one-way trip. You pay it when your ride goes through the tube under the bay, like San Francisco to Oakland. The calculator adds it on its own when your two stations sit on opposite sides.

How much extra does the airport cost?

Two different fees:

  • SFO: $4.00 added to any ride starting or ending at San Francisco International Airport.
  • OAK: $6.55 for the Oakland Airport Connector tram between Coliseum and Oakland International Airport.

Both are already inside the total you see.

Does BART cost more at rush hour?

No. BART charges by distance, not by time of day. A 9 a.m. ride and a 9 p.m. ride between the same two stations cost the same. That is why the calculator does not ask for a departure time.

Does the travel date change my price?

No. The date is only a label for the fare chart you are using. It does not raise or lower your total. Put in your real trip date so you can save or print the result and know which day it belongs to.

Is a round trip cheaper than two one-way rides?

No. BART does not sell a discount return ticket. A round trip is just two one-way fares, so the calculator doubles the price when you pick Round-Trip.

Why can't I pick the same station for start and end?

The tool needs two different stations to measure distance. If you tap in and out at the same station, BART charges a small excursion fare instead, and this calculator does not cover that.

Is the total for one person or for everyone?

The big number in the blue box is for your whole group. It is the per-person fare times the number of riders times 1 for one-way or 2 for round-trip. The smaller cards above show the per-person price.

How is the senior discount worked out?

Seniors 65 and up and riders with disabilities pay 62.5% less. So the calculator multiplies the adult fare by 0.375. You need a Senior or RTC Clipper card to get this rate at the gate.

Do children under 5 need a fare?

No. Kids under 5 ride free with a paying adult. Pick Child under 5 and the total shows $0.00. Do not count free kids in your passenger number if the rest of your group pays adult fare — run two searches instead.

What does the Swap button do?

It flips your start and end stations with one click. Use it to price the ride home. The fare is normally the same both ways, since distance does not change.

Does the fare include parking at the station?

No. Station parking is a separate daily charge and is not part of this estimate. Add it yourself if you plan to drive to a BART lot.

Do bikes, strollers, or bags cost extra?

No. BART does not charge for a bike, a stroller, or luggage. Your fare only depends on distance, rider type, and how you pay.

What do the two charts show me?

The first bar chart splits one adult fare into its parts: base fare, mileage, Transbay, airport, and cash fee. The second chart compares the total trip cost for adult, senior, youth, and child riders, so you can see the savings side by side.

Why is the distance different from a driving map?

Trains run on their own tracks, not on roads. The calculator uses station-to-station spacing with a routing factor, so it will not match a car route. Driving miles are usually longer.

Can I use one Clipper card for my whole group?

No. Each rider needs their own tag at the gate. One card cannot open the faregate for several people. Use the passenger box here to see the group total, then load enough value on each card.