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

Commuters and residents are required to have a valid parking permit purchased through the online ordering system to avoid potential citations. Read our article to learn more.

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.

Caltrain operational and financial updates

Some Stanford commuters have expressed concern about whether or not Caltrain will continue to operate given the financial challenges caused by ridership decreases due to COVID-19. We have developed a Caltrain Updates: COVID-19 page to help provide context about Caltrain’s current situation and the proposed eighth-cent sales tax measure to provide the agency with a direct funding source.

If you choose to take public transit for your commute, please take a look at some tips that we’ve created to help protect yourself and others.

About the Caltrain Go Pass

The Go Pass is valid for the full calendar year, seven days a week. Stanford purchases these passes primarily for your commute to Stanford; however, there is no restriction on their use. You can use them to travel free to a Giants' game, to get to the airport, or to skip the high cost of parking while spending the day in the city.

Check out this list of Caltrain attractions for other potential destinations.

Since Stanford pays for passes for all eligible employees, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars, regardless of whether or not you use them, it does not save the university or hospital any money if you do not request your transit pass(es). So, go ahead and request them – and use them as little or as often as you like.

How to Get a Go Pass

You can request that your Go Pass be loaded on the Clipper card of your choice using our online form. For those eligible for the VTA SmartPass, we recommend using the same Clipper card for your Go Pass.

All Go Pass users should register their Clipper cards on Clipper’s website. Registering your Clipper card helps to protect the value on your card if it is lost or stolen.

Terms of Use

For more information on Go Pass rules and regulations, please refer to Caltrain's Go Pass Use Acknowledgement page.