Getting around the Bay Area can be no sweat (literally) when you combine biking and transit for longer trips.
Every agency listed here offers some type of bike access, and for no additional charge beyond the regular ticket price!
🚌 East Bay Bike + Transit Options 🚇
You can take your bike on BART any time, even during commute hours! However, bikes are never allowed on the first car of any train.
Each train car has two bicycle priority areas that has a horizontal lean bar and straps that bicyclists can use to secure their bikes.
As of January 1, 2024 bikes are allowed on most escalators (Thanks to Bike East Bay staff member and BART Director Rebecca Saltzman for championing this win!). Bicyclists must yield to other passengers and not block aisles or doors.
If you’ve got a large cargo or e-bike and aren’t sure whether it’ll fit in the elevators: BART has listed the dimensions of every elevator in their system!
Every AC Transit bus has space for two or three bikes with 16” or larger wheels via the front racks. Keep an eye on your bike in the rack, however, to avoid a theft. Locking your bike to the rack is not allowed, but you can lock your bike to itself (frame and wheel) before stowing it which prevents someone from riding off with it.
Additionally, between the hours of midnight and 5:30am you are allowed to bring your bike on board a standard, two-door bus if the front racks are full and there is space on board.
Tempo bikes have bike racks inside the bus. You can roll your bike through the rear door to access them.
How to load your bicycle on the front rack?
- Signal to the operator that you want to load your bike. Make sure the operator sees you before stepping in front of the bus.
- Squeeze and pull up on the rack handle to release the folded rack. Lower the rack until it clicks into place.
- Use the inside slot first. Two bikes will face in opposite directions.
- Lift your bike onto the rack, fitting the wheels into their respective slots.
- Pull out and raise the support arm over the top of the front tire as high up as possible. Do not lock your bike to the rack.
Pairing your bike and the ferry is a great way to travel! The SF Bay Ferry updated their Bike & Scooter policy in November 2026.
- The following devices are ALWAYS allowed onboard
- Traditional and folding bikes
- Class 1, 2 & 3 electric bikes (Pedal assist or throttle. 750W or less)
- Scooters (Floorboard, possible seat)
- Cargo and recumbent bikes (7 ft. or less in overall length)
- Skateboards
- Assistive devices used by passengers with disabilities such as wheelchairs and mobility scooters
- The following devices are not allowed during commute hours (Mon-Thurs, 7-9am and 4:30-6:30pm)
- Passenger trailers
- Cargo bikes (Over 7 ft. in overall length)
- Tricycles (Standard and recumbent, pedal or motor powered)
- These devices are NEVER allowed onboard, per U.S. Coast Guard regulation
- Mopeds and motor scooters (Two-wheeled, motor powered. Pegs or pedals. More than 750W.)
- Motorcycles and dirtbikes (Two-wheeled, motor powered. Has pegs.)
- Cargo trailers
The ferries allow passengers with bikes on board for no additional fee beyond the normal ticket price. Park in the provided racks with your bike’s front wheel in the designated slot. Ferry terminals are in Alameda at Harbor Bay and Main Street, in Oakland at Jack London Square, in Richmond at the Craneway Center, and in SF at Pier 41, the Ferry Building, AT&T Park, and South San Francisco.
BikeLink lockers are located at the Richmond, Alameda Main Street, and Alameda Harbor Bay ferry terminals, and the Oakland Jack London terminal has a bike share station nearby.
Just roll your bike on board these Sacramento to San Jose trains with stops at Martinez all the way down to Fremont. Buy tickets at the station or online to avoid additional surcharges, board on the car with the bike symbol next to the door, and be prepared to stand during the trip if all of the bike parking hooks are taken. If you do stow your bike on a hook make sure to lock it up and take any valuables with you to your seat. Most Capitol Corridor stations have BikeLink lockers available on site.
Capitol Corridor has a thorough resource page, which can be found here.
The Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) Trains run from Stockton through the Tri-Valley, and down to San Jose. Livermore, Pleasanton and Fremont all have stations with ACE Trains!
Board via the door with a “Bike Car” sign affixed. Each bike car has 14 bike stalls with 2 additional stalls on the lower level. Secure your bike’s front wheel in the floor rack and secure with the provided velcro strap.
This system serves Central Contra Costa County. Each bus can accomodate two bicycles via front racks.
These Dublin/Pleasanton/Livermore buses can take two bikes each on the front racks, and inside the bus if space allows.
Serving East Contra Costa, all Tri Delta Transit buses can take two bikes each on the front racks. At the driver’s discretion, bikes may be allowed on the bus when the rack is full. If the driver determines that there are too many people on the bus, for safety reasons the driver will not permit bikes on board.
This West Contra Costa County transit service can accomodate two bikes each on the front racks. The line runs from Hercules to the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco.
Additional transit operators include Union City Transit, the West Berkeley Shuttle, and various other shuttles which provide service from East Bay BART stations (many for free, and many of which provide bike access!).
If you’d like to cross one of the Bay Area’s bridges, there are sometimes shuttles going across. See Caltrans’ website on crossing the bay by bike.
Secure Bike Parking Options
Sometimes you can’t or don’t want to take your bike with you on the bus, train, or ferry. Make sure your bike is still there for your commute home at the end of the day with these parking tips:
- Sign up for a BikeLink card to get access to all the secure bike lockers and bike rooms all around the East Bay for just 3-5¢ per hour! BikeLink offers secure bike rooms at the Ashby and Embarcadero BART stations, valet Bike Stations at Downtown Berkeley, 19th Street, and Fruitvale BART, and standalone lockers which can be found at almost every East Bay BART station. More lockers and rooms will be coming soon to East Bay Amtrak stations, and to BART stations at MacArthur, Concord, El Cerrito, Pleasant Hill, West Oakland, and Civic Center in SF.
- If you lock up outside make sure you do so securely. Use a quality U-lock and cable, and follow these instructions.
New Bike Commuters:
If you have never commuted by bike before you can also lessen the learning curve by:
- Reviewing the info on our New Cyclists page.
- Picking up one of the many free bike maps produced by cities around the East Bay.
- Attending a free Bike East Bay class to get tips from certified instructors and free gear.
- Joining Bike East Bay to help create better biking conditions in the East Bay, and to get all the latest news on what’s happening in your city.