Guide: airport to city public transport around the world

I like using public transport to/from the airport and location in relation to public transport stations/hubs is one of the factors which goes into selecting accommodation. The only times I've gone for alternative transport where an airport train/bus exists is when I don't want to deal with train connections when I have an extra bag (well, large box) of checked baggage and dealing with all my bags becomes unwieldy on the train.

I have around 20 of the smart payment cards for public transport networks around the planet now. I just swap out cards when I go back to a city. (Canberra, Melbourne, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, London, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Washington, etc)
 
As a person that has never sat in the drivers seat of a car, Public Transport across the world is a big key to my travels. Whilst i like to see these articles i would also like to see them expanded in giving the pro's and con's too. For example at Oakland the BART is good to use, but it takes effort to get across to the station, up and over, then have to transfer at the BART line. BKK is good example where someone with a lot of luggage should understand it can be a bit of a nightmare getting off at Phaya Thai. Getting out of the station its only steps and I've seen many people struggle getting their bags down those stairs (in 100% humidity and 40C heat). Then the march across to the BTS, many of those stations are not bag friendly (Victory Monument can be a big challenge). If I'm travelling will little luggage and bit of time i will do the airport link, but generally a taxi to Sukhumvit saving a lot of time and only 200 baht more.
 
This looks like a brilliant site. I know I'm asking too much but as you get older it would be good to see a type of a "degree of difficulty" added and it would almost be the complete travel guide via public transport. Victory Monument in BKK almost killed me the other week.
 
leadman said:
Victory Monument in BKK almost killed me the other week.
Click to expand...
I remember once coming back with the minibus from Hua Hin to Victory monument and getting to the BTS which is on the other side of Victory Monument with 20kgs luggage, golf bag in golf travel bag without wheels and also carry bag. No lifts. Hot. Tired from the squashed seats in the full minibus. Took me more than 30 minutes. I had to stop 3-4 times. The stairs were a killer. People walking past me thought I was going to die.

I don't mind carting luggage around but can get difficult at times.
 
I'm an avid PT user. I've been researching getting to Town from AKL without paying the AirBus tax. Looks like the iHop may be my friend ... (I have time).

I'll be using my Myki to get to and from MEL for that trip.
 
serfty said:
I've been researching getting to Town from AKL without paying the AirBus tax.
Click to expand...

Bus + train is quite easy, particularly if staying around Britomart (and often quicker than SkyBus). Papatoetoe on South/East line plus 380 has most frequent services, but 380 and Onehunga also possible.

You do want to have an AT Hop card though to get the transfer benefits ($4.80 total) versus over $10 cash fare.

Decent journey planner -
Journey planner

The downside is the card costs NZ$10 with no credit...
(Making Myki look cheap)
 
Couldn’t find a forum about getting around airports, so posted here and hopefully a moderator will repost in the correct thread.

just transitted from T1 at CDG to T2F. Rapidly through immigration; bags out quickly; and transit train between all the terminals was excellent - rapid, clean, not smelly. We expected 90 minutes+ plus but only took 25minutes from deplaning to seeing our bags go on the convey belt for our flight to Budapest…awesome
 
The BART between SFO and the City (eg Union Sq/Powell) is currently US$10 each way but you can now get a Clipper card on your Apple or Google Pay wallets for free. Can also be used on MUNI buses and trams/lightrail.
www.clippercard.com

The Bay Area's all-in-one transit card

Clipper is the all-in-one transit card used for contactless fare payments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
www.clippercard.com www.clippercard.com

Gone are the days of arriving at SFO schlepping to the Info desk to buy a US$3 physical Clipper card before catching the BART.

There‘s also the ability to load a $5 MUNI day pass. I’m still using a physical card from years ago so I haven’t worked out how to buy and load one but it would be good value if doing a lot of trips around in one day (although there are free timed transfers).
 
Last edited:
SYD said:
The BART between SFO and the City (eg Union Sq/Powell) is currently US$10 each way but you can now get a Clipper card on your Apple or Google Pay wallets for free. Can also be used on MUNI buses and trams/lightrail.
www.clippercard.com

The Bay Area's all-in-one transit card

Clipper is the all-in-one transit card used for contactless fare payments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
www.clippercard.com www.clippercard.com

Gone are the days of arriving at SFO schlepping to the Info desk to buy a US$3 physical Clipper card before catching the BART.

There‘s also the ability to load a $5 MUNI day pass. I’m still using a physical card from years ago so I haven’t worked out how to buy and load one but it would be good value if doing a lot of trips around in one day (although there are free timed transfers).
Click to expand...
For those just heading into town/back to the airport, the BART is now accepting contactless payments.

Huge win for riders with Tap and Ride coming to BART allowing riders to pay with contactless payment methods, including bank cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay | Bay Area Rapid Transit

www.bart.gov www.bart.gov

But for getting around on the Muni, you still need a Clipper card (Physical, Virtual or App).

I’m heading back to SFO this week and got around to investigating the Virtual Clipper card. Easy as!

I rang a US number (automated system) to check my balance on my physical card and there was a couple of bucks on it.

Then on my iPhone, open Wallet and “+” to add new “Transit Card” and select “Clipper” (United States). Press “Continue” to create a new card but I used “Transfer Existing Card” and then it prompts you to hold your phone against the physical card. The process creates a new virtual card, transfers your balance and cancels the old physical card (can no longer be used).

The advantage is I can now see the real-time balance and top up on my phone (ApplePay) rather than going to a machine at a Muni/Bart station.
 
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Just did a check and none of the sites mentioned have updated to the presence of Elizabeth tube line from LHR
 
SYD said:
But for getting around on the Muni, you still need a Clipper card (Physical, Virtual or App).
Click to expand...
It's possible to get around on Muni without a Clipper card, you'll need to use the MuniMobile app. Don't know the history why SF have not integrated Muni and BART together but it is what it is.

Fares

With multiple ways of paying, buying your Muni bus, rail or cable car tickets is easy. Clipper®: Use your Clipper card on all Bay Area transit systems, including Muni. To pay for your trip, tag your Clipper card or Clipper mobile on the ticket readers inside Muni vehicles and at Muni Metro fare...
www.sfmta.com www.sfmta.com

I used my Wise virtual visa card (possibly via Google Pay) to purchase fares on the MuniMobile app earlier this year; all of the "MuniMobile" fares listed on the SFMTA link above were available for purchase.

You can purchase the fares in advance and you then have (IIRC) 6 months to activate the fare for travel.

I stayed with relatives in Daly City, so I purchased the Day Pass without Cable Car (it was $5 last year, went up to $5.50 earlier this year and is now $5.70) and traveled exclusively on Muni (did not use the BART).

The fares that you activate on your mobile are just images and date/time with some moving stripes (to indicate it's not a screenshot). Don't need to show the fare to bus drivers, just hop on.

Muni fares include the Muni metro system which shares some stations with the BART. To enter you have to go through fare gates but the MuniMobile app fares don't have any NFC or a QR code to scan at the gates; instead you have to go to the control booth and show the guy your MuniMobile fare and they'll open the gate for you to pass through.

I travelled 4 days on the Muni so I bought a Day Pass on the day I travelled and activated it before my first ride. On day 3 I noticed my 2nd day fare was still available for me to activate. On day 4 I noticed my 2nd day and 3rd day fares were available for me to activate. Ended up doing the right thing and purchased 4 day passes across 4 days; not sure why the mobile app thought I didn't activate the previous fare tickets. Never did get asked to show my fare, except when going through the shared Muni metro / BART stations for gate access.

MuniMobile fares only cover Muni travel, so if you intend to use both Muni and BART then it may be best to use the Clipper card instead.
 
Verbal said:
It's possible to get around on Muni without a Clipper card, you'll need to use the MuniMobile app. Don't know the history why SF have not integrated Muni and BART together but it is what it is.

Fares

With multiple ways of paying, buying your Muni bus, rail or cable car tickets is easy. Clipper®: Use your Clipper card on all Bay Area transit systems, including Muni. To pay for your trip, tag your Clipper card or Clipper mobile on the ticket readers inside Muni vehicles and at Muni Metro fare...
www.sfmta.com www.sfmta.com

I used my Wise virtual visa card (possibly via Google Pay) to purchase fares on the MuniMobile app earlier this year; all of the "MuniMobile" fares listed on the SFMTA link above were available for purchase.

You can purchase the fares in advance and you then have (IIRC) 6 months to activate the fare for travel.

I stayed with relatives in Daly City, so I purchased the Day Pass without Cable Car (it was $5 last year, went up to $5.50 earlier this year and is now $5.70) and traveled exclusively on Muni (did not use the BART).

The fares that you activate on your mobile are just images and date/time with some moving stripes (to indicate it's not a screenshot). Don't need to show the fare to bus drivers, just hop on.

Muni fares include the Muni metro system which shares some stations with the BART. To enter you have to go through fare gates but the MuniMobile app fares don't have any NFC or a QR code to scan at the gates; instead you have to go to the control booth and show the guy your MuniMobile fare and they'll open the gate for you to pass through.

I travelled 4 days on the Muni so I bought a Day Pass on the day I travelled and activated it before my first ride. On day 3 I noticed my 2nd day fare was still available for me to activate. On day 4 I noticed my 2nd day and 3rd day fares were available for me to activate. Ended up doing the right thing and purchased 4 day passes across 4 days; not sure why the mobile app thought I didn't activate the previous fare tickets. Never did get asked to show my fare, except when going through the shared Muni metro / BART stations for gate access.

MuniMobile fares only cover Muni travel, so if you intend to use both Muni and BART then it may be best to use the Clipper card instead.
Click to expand...
They have incorporated Muni and BART on Clipper. The virtual Clipper card is the way to go.
 

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