Public transportation options for 49ers games at Levi's Stadium

The San Francisco 49ers cut the ribbon on Levi's Stadium, and will begin hosting events this weekend, starting with the San Jose Earthquakes vs. Seattle Sounders FC. For people driving to the stadium, we've discussed how the parking lots will work. Head to that link to see detailed videos for how to get to each of the parking lots.

Parking won't be simple, but it won't be the worst thing in the world. However, traffic to and from the stadium could be a problem. And considering the location in the South Bay, plenty of people from San Francisco, the East Bay, and beyond will be looking for alternatives. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to get to Levi's Stadium that will allow you to avoid all, or at least some of the traffic madness.

Below is an updated look at public transportation options for Levi's Stadium. We took a look at it earlier this year, along with hotel options. Some options are updated since then, so here you go. If you have any questions, or think I'm missing anything, let me know in the comments or on Twitter @ninersnation and I'll update as needed.

South Bay

If you find a place in Santa Clara county, your best bet will be to take the VTA. The VTA is $2 each way, and there is a station right near Levi's Stadium. They will be running light rails and buses for an hour after each game, and you can check out a map of stops HERE. If you fly into San Jose Airport, there is a free shuttle from the airport to the airport VTA station, from which you can then go directly to the stadium. Here are full VTA details.

Combination driving and public transit

For people who don't want to wait on Caltrain or the Capitol Corridor Amtrak train, one option is to drive to Mountain View, and then take the VTA. The Mountain View Transit Center will provide approximately 550 parking spaces for game days. They will be located in four parking lots, all within a couple blocks of the Caltrain/VTA station. Head HERE to see the location of the parking lots. The spaces are tentatively priced at $10 for the day. I spoke with Mountain View Public Works, and they said, Caltrain has the right to raise nearby prices to as much as $25, so the parking lot prices could also go up to $25. They will update me when they get that figured out.

San Francisco/SFO/Peninsula

If you were to stay up in San Francisco, or near San Francisco International Airport, Caltrain would get you down to the South Bay. If you're in downtown San Francisco, you can hop on Caltrain at 4th and King (list of stops). If you're closer to the airport, you can potentially take BART or a cab to the Millbrae BART/Caltrain station and catch the train from down there. Eventually the game-day train schedule will be released, at which point I'll get more information out. For now, the basic gist of it is you would take Caltrain down to the Mountain View stop. Here is their special Levi's Stadium game day schedule.

When you get down to Mountain View, you would then hop on the VTA. This light rail service will drop off right next to Levi's Stadium in what will be a completely refurbished stop.

If you have a Clipper card, it will deduct $18 to make this trip. It's $7 each way on Caltrain, and then $2 each way on VTA. If you are buying just the individual passes coming down from San Francisco, there will be a stadium button that allows you to buy a day pass for $20.

The game-day schedule is not set, but to give you some comparisons, San Francisco to Mountain View on Caltrain ranges from 48 minutes to 74 minutes. The 48 minute "baby bullet" train runs twice, and I would imagine Caltrain will work that into the game-day service. VTA from Mountain View to the stadium is an additional 25-30 minutes, give or take. That means, you are looking at somewhere between 1 hr, 15 minutes and 1 hr, 45 minutes. It's not perfect, but you don't have to deal with parking.

East Bay

If you want, you can find a place in the East Bay, staying all the way up in Oakland if you want. Oakland has a rep, but they've done a lot to revitalize the city, and I'd recommend staying downtown if you can. If you stay in Oakland, you have a couple options.

Amtrak: The Capitol Corridor train runs from north of Sacramento all the way down to a block from the stadium. In the Oakland area, you can catch it at Emeryville, Jack London Square, or near the Coliseum/Airport BART. It then drops off at a Santa Clara/Great America stop that is a very short walk to the stadium. The round trip total would be $32. From Jack London Square, it's a 53-minute train ride to the stadium. Here is the full Capitol Corridor schedule.

Update: Amtrak is offering a 25% discount for trips to and from Levi's Stadium (the Santa Clara/Great America Amtrak station).

BART: According to VTA, there will be an express bus to and from the Fremont BART station. If you stay in the East Bay, you could BART to Fremont and take the shuttle the 16 miles from Fremont to Levi's Stadium. The shuttle will reportedly run every 20 minutes, so if you did not want to take Amtrak, that will be an option.

Central Valley

I don't know that many folks would be staying in the Central Valley when coming from out of town, but if you live there and are trying to get to Levi's Stadium, the Altamont Corridor Express will be your transportation of choice. It picks up in Stockton, makes several pick-ups along the way, stops a block from the stadium, and is $13 each way.

Biking

If you want to ride your bike to the stadium, there are several options. Complimentary parking is available in Red Lot 1 and Red Lot 6. Bike parking opens 4 hours before game time, and closes 1 hour after the game ends. Bike routes to the stadium are available from the following trails and roadways:

San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail
John W. Christian Greenbelt Trail/Prescott
Guadalupe River Trail
Great America Parkway
Lafayette Street
Tasman Drive/Great Mall Parkway/Capital Avenue
North First Street

If you take the San Tomas Aquino Creek Trail, it will be diverted on game day for security purposes. Per the stadium, "This temporary path diversion will send northbound traveling bicyclists east along Agnew Road, north along Lakeshore Drive, east along Gianera Street, north along the off-street pedestrian and bicycle path at the Gianera Street terminus, north through the VTA Parking Lot, northwest along Stars and Stripes Drive, south along Centennial Boulevard, and west along Tasman Drive, where bicyclists will be able to find the Bike Valet locations."

Here are some more details on the bike plan.

Shuttle Service

There are a variety of shuttle services, and this one from Bauer's seems like a solid option. The prices vary depending on pick-up location and game. For the preseason games, prices range from $9 to $35, with the Broncos game being cheaper than the Chargers game (I believe those prices are round-trip). Additionally, they offer season passes if you want to use them all season. The season pass includes a small discount. Each shuttle will leave the stadium approximately 30 minutes after the game, or once they are full. Here is the pick-up schedule with locations where you can get on: