Cheap Parking And Transportation In San Francisco

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By UNROOTME

One of the worst things about going into the city is the challenge of trying to find parking! It isn’t a place you can jump into your car, drive to and whip into a parking spot without any thought put into where you’re going to be parking and how much it is going to cost.

Typically, we would have skipped the city altogether, but, there were two reasons we were determined to visit San Francisco. One, I wanted to try all of the delicious food we had heard about and two, uncle Phillip was flying into town and we weren’t going to miss him.

So, we began searching the web to find everything we could about both getting around and parking in San Francisco. Below is what we learned.

If you drive into San Francisco, You’re going to need to find a place to park your car somewhere in the city. Whether you choose to use a parking app, park your car in a garage, use metered parking or take advantage of a weekend parking deal, we’ve got you covered.

“No Great City As Ever Been Known For It’s Abundant Supply Of Parking”

Parking Apps

Parking apps can and will make your life a whole lot easier when attempting to park anywhere in the city! They are going to help you find and reserve a spot in advance and help you to find available parking. Talk about a relief!

The four most popular apps seem to be as follows.

Weekend Deals

Now let’s talk about the weekend deal we scored at the Golden Gate parking garage during our visit to the city. This garage offers an $8 flat rate during the weekend, but, if you want to get an even better deal ($3) be sure to stop by either the farmers market or china town and get your parking slip validated.

Metered Parking

San Francisco parking meters are the most convenient parking meters we’ve used. They accept every form of payment. You can pay with coins, a debit card or with your phone while miles away. They are located all over the city, but, unfortunately, there are also expensive ranging anywhere from $2 to $7 an hour, depending on where you’re located. If you’re going to be near any tourist destination, expect the rate to be on the higher end. Also, if you’re parking during a holiday expect to may more.

Oh, and don’t forget to use your parking app of choice.

Bonus: Metered parking is free on Sundays.

Parking Garages And Locations

Union Square Parking

Sutter-Stockton Garage

Location: 444 Stockton Street

Hours: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Height Clearance: 6’5″

Hourly rate: $1 to $3 per hour

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $36 ($18 on Sundays)

Union Square Garage

Location: 333 Post Street

Hours: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Hourly rate: $2.50 to $6 an hour

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $36

Ellis and O’Farrell Garage

Location: 123 O’Farrell Street

Hours: Opens every day at 5:30 am; closes at 1 am Sunday – Thursday and 2 am Friday – Saturday

Hourly rate: $1.50 to $4 an hour

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $36

Weekday Early Bird discount: Flat rate of $19 when you enter before 8:30 am and exit before the close

Options in Downtown San Francisco

Fifth and Mission / Yerba Buena Garage

Location: 833 Mission Street

Hours: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Hourly rate: $3 to $4 an hour depending on when you arrive

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $34

St. Mary’s Square Garage

Location: 433 Kearny Street

Hours: Open 24 hours, 7 days a week

Hourly rate: $1 to $5 an hour depending on when you arrive

Weekday Early Bird discount: Flat rate of $23 when you enter before 8:30 am and exit before midnight

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $39

San Francisco Parking in Nob Hill

Polk-Bush Garage

Location: 1399 Bush Street

Hourly rate: $3

Hours: Open Monday – Thursday from am – 10 pm, Friday from 7 am – 2:30 am, Saturday from 8 am – 2:30 am, and Sunday 9 am – 10 pm

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $27

Weekday Early Bird discount: Flat rate of $18 when you enter before 9 am and exit before 7 pm

Overnight discount: Flat rate of $8 when you enter after 9 pm and exit by 9 am (weekdays) or 10 am (weekends) the next day

Mission District Parking

Mission-Bartlett Garage

Location: 3255 21st Street

Hours: Open Monday – Thursday from 7 am-midnight, Friday from 7 am – 2:30 am, Saturday from 8 am – 2:30 am, and Sunday 8 am – midnight

Hourly rate: $1.50 to $5 an hour

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $27

Mission-Otis Garage

Location: 1660 Mission Street

Hours: Open Monday – Friday from 7 am – 6 pm

Rate: Every 30 minutes costs $3

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $22

North Beach Parking

North Beach Garage

Location: 735 Vallejo Street

Hours: Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Hourly rate: $4

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $30

Weekday Early Bird discount: Flat rate of $20 when you enter before 10 am and exit before 7 pm

Options for Civic Center and Hayes Valley

Civic Center

Location: 355 McAllister Street, underground

Size: Large garage with 843 spaces

Hours: Open weekdays from 6 am-midnight, Saturday from 8 am-midnight, and Sunday from 9 am – 10 pm

Hourly rate: $2 to $6 an hour

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $29

Weekday Early Bird discount: Flat rate of $18 when you enter before 8:30 am and exit before closing

Performing Arts Garage

Location: 360 Grove Street

Hours: Open weekdays 6 am-midnight, closed weekends unless an event is scheduled

Hourly rate: $1 to $4.50, special event rates range from $5 to $40

Daily maximum or lost ticket: $22

Weekday Early Bird discount: Flat rate of $14 when you enter before 8:30 am and exit before closing

Monthly Parking

Staying for a month or more in San Francisco and looking for a monthly parking rate? Check out the websites below.

https://monthlyparking.org/san-francisco-monthly-parking/

https://parking.com/san-francisco/monthly-parking

The parking apps listed above can also help.

Transportation Around The City

If the parking rates above are a little too steep for your budget or you don’t have a car to get you around. The public transportation is very convenient. Below is the website for each form of transportation and how much they cost.

Cal-Train

http://www.caltrain.com/

Cost one way $3.75

Day Pass $7.50

Additional Zones $2.25

Muni Pass

https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/muni/fares

Cost: Cash $2.75

Clipper Card: $2.50

Historic Cable Cars (Trolley)

https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/muni/cable-cars

Cost $7.00