Parking permits required at Stanford's main campus and Stanford Redwood City

Commuters and residents are required to have a valid ‘A,’ ‘C,’ ‘Z,’ ‘C-SRWC,’ ‘MC,’ or resident parking permit to avoid citations. Please refer to our announcement for more details.

For COVID-related transportation updates, please visit our Stanford Transportation COVID-19: Featured Topics page. If you are interested in learning more about your commute options as you return to campus, please refer to our Returning to Your Stanford commute page.

Bus and Light Rail

AC Transit (Alameda - Contra Costa County Transit)

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AC Transit buses serve 13 cities and adjacent areas in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.

Stanford Riders can connect with AC Transit at the following locations:

Muni (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency)

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Muni buses serve San Francisco, with a few stops in Daly City as well. Muni Metro also provides subway and light rail service to various locations.  

Stanford Riders can connect with Muni at the following locations:

  • San Francisco Caltrain Station (4th and King) Served by Caltrain. Muni Bus service at this station includes Routes 10, 30, 45, and 47. The N and T Light Rail Lines also connect with Caltrain at this point.
  • BART Stations: Served by BART, via Caltrain from Palo Alto to Millbrae (transfer to BART at Millbrae).
  • 22nd Street Caltrain Station: A number of Muni routes are within a short walk of the 22nd Street Station, including Muni Metro Line T and 48 Bus.

SamTrans (San Mateo County Transit District)

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SamTrans connects the Palo Alto train station (and the free Marguerite shuttle service), Stanford Redwood City, and the Redwood City Transit Center to all of San Mateo County (north of campus), including service to the San Francisco International Airport. For SamTrans information, visit http://www.samtrans.com.

Five SamTrans bus routes serve Stanford at the Palo Alto Transit Center and twelve SamTrans bus routes stop at the Redwood City Transit Center. Visit our SamTrans (San Mateo County Transit District) webpage to learn more.

For more information about transit to San Francisco International Airport, please call the Bay Area Transit Information Hotline by dialing 511 from within the San Francisco Bay Area or (510) 817-1717 from outside the San Francisco Bay Area. Visit the 511.org website for information about San Jose or Oakland airports.

VTA (Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency)

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VTA buses connect the Palo Alto train station (and the free Marguerite shuttle service) to Santa Clara County (south of campus). VTA also provides light rail service in the South Bay. All VTA buses have 2-bike front-mounted racks. For VTA information, visit http://www.vta.org.

Three VTA bus routes serve Stanford at the Palo Alto Transit Center:

  • The 22 operates along El Camino, running north to the Menlo Park train station and south to San Jose. It runs 24 hours a day with service approximately every 12 minutes during daytime hours.
  • The Rapid 522 is a limited stop service between the Palo Alto train station and San Jose. It runs along El Camino like the 22, but with fewer stops and service every 15 minutes.
  • The 35 runs between Mountain View and the Stanford Shopping Center, serving Palo Alto and Mountain View neighborhoods.