All Nighter (bus service)

All Nighter

Company type	Public transit service
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	December 2005
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	San Francisco Bay Area, California
Products	Night bus service
Owner	Jointly managed by AC Transit, Muni, and SamTrans

The All Nighter constitutes a night bus service system operating within the San Francisco Bay Area, California. It serves as a supplementary transit option to the rapid transit and commuter rail lines managed by BART and Caltrain, which provide connectivity among San Francisco, the East Bay, the Peninsula, and San Jose. Due to BART and Caltrain suspending overnight operations for track maintenance, the All Nighter network addresses this essential service gap. Its tagline proclaims, "Now transit stays up as late as you do!"

History

Initiated in December 2005, the All Nighter commenced full-scale service on March 19, 2006. Overnight track upkeep conducted by BART necessitates power shutdowns, which halt train operations during these periods. Before the All Nighter was introduced, passengers had to rely on uncoordinated replacement bus services after midnight; the network now provides integrated overnight transit options.

The service is managed jointly by AC Transit, Muni, and SamTrans. It incorporates scheduled transfers and offers half-hourly weekend routes linking downtown San Francisco with BART stations along the Richmond and Fremont corridors. The Late Night Bus Pilot Program, financed through BART’s operating budget, increased weekend service frequency following a 2011 analysis that revealed that later start times would adversely affect low-income and minority employees dependent on BART.

Route 800 of AC Transit operates along Market Street in San Francisco, representing AC Transit's inaugural route within San Francisco beyond the Transbay Terminal. Weekend extensions reaching Mission Street were eventually discontinued.

The financial backing for the All Nighter program is derived from Regional Measure 2 (RM2), which voters approved in 2004, involving a $1 toll increase on state-owned bridges throughout the Bay Area.

Prior to the AllNighter Program

Overnight transit options were available in the Bay Area before the launch of the All Nighter initiative, with consistent late-night service within San Francisco itself, though service levels outside the city varied due to financial challenges faced by transit providers.

• AC Transit discontinued its overnight routes in 1996, reinstated them in 1999, and subsequently expanded service.
• SamTrans began overnight operations to SFO in 2001, with the airport providing subsidies starting in 2003.
• VTA offered overnight service on Route 22 and light rail lines but later eliminated overnight light rail runs because of budgetary limitations.
• Golden Gate Transit maintained nearly continuous service on Route 80 to Santa Rosa but curtailed hours in 2003.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s 2001 study titled Lifeline Network emphasized the necessity for round-the-clock transit options to support low-income communities.

Routes That Were Discontinued

Initially included in the All Nighter network was County Connection Route 820, connecting downtown Oakland with central Contra Costa County, which was terminated on December 28, 2008 due to fiscal constraints and insufficient ridership.

Similarly, WHEELS Route 810, running from Bay Fair BART to Livermore via Dublin/Pleasanton BART, ceased operations on June 27, 2009 for comparable reasons.

AC Transit’s Route 880, linking Bay Fair BART and Castro Valley BART, was discontinued on March 28, 2010 amid agency budget shortfalls.

Weekend service on AC Transit Line 822 between San Francisco and Pittsburg/Bay Point BART began as a pilot program in December 2014 but was ended on December 20, 2015 because of low passenger demand.

VTA’s Route 22, which connects Palo Alto to San Jose’s Eastridge Center and accounts for about one-fifth of VTA bus riders, operated continuously overnight until spring 2020. Nicknamed "Hotel 22" due to its large homeless ridership during late hours, VTA proposed cutting service between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. in January 2019 to address funding deficits. The agency later advocated preserving overnight runs while collaborating with partners to direct homeless passengers to shelter facilities. Overnight service was suspended early in the COVID-19 pandemic and has yet to be fully reinstated.

Late Night Transportation Working Group

In April 2014, Supervisor Scott Wiener established the Late Night Transportation Working Group aimed at enhancing public transit options during late hours in San Francisco. By September of that year, the group announced that BART would pilot increased frequency on AC Transit route 800—cutting wait times from 30 minutes down to 20—and introduce a new AC Transit route 822 connecting San Francisco with Pittsburg/Bay Point BART stations.

Service Area

AC Transit operates throughout Contra Costa and Alameda counties, serving cities including Alameda, Berkeley, Fremont, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond, and San Leandro. It also provides Transbay routes crossing the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge into San Francisco.

Within San Francisco itself, services are provided by the San Francisco Municipal Railway. SamTrans covers the Peninsula area across San Mateo County, facilitating connections to both San Francisco and Palo Alto. The VTA serves Santa Clara County, linking Palo Alto with San Jose.

Typically, All Nighter routes operate nightly from midnight until around 5 a.m., with AC Transit’s Transbay services running later—until 6 a.m. on Saturdays and extending through 8 a.m. on Sundays and holidays—to coincide with BART’s non-operational periods.

Transfer hubs

The All Nighter system incorporates two main pulse transfer hubs that synchronize routes to facilitate smooth agency transitions:

• At Market Street and Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, Muni, AC Transit, and SamTrans intersect. Coordinated transfers align Muni's L Owl and 90 San Bruno Owl lines with AC Transit route 800 and SamTrans route 397. Muni's N Owl also serves this stop but operates without synchronized transfers.
• In Oakland's downtown at Broadway and 14th Street, several AC Transit lines (800, 801, 802, 805, 840, 851) provide coordinated transfer opportunities.

Additionally, seven secondary locations in San Francisco offer timed transfers. Near the Palo Alto Transit Center, SamTrans route 397 connects with VTA route 22; however, these do not have coordinated schedules.

Coverage limitations

The All-Nighter network mainly targets high-density zones around San Francisco and Oakland, leaving overnight service absent in multiple Bay Area locations:

• Marin and Sonoma counties (Golden Gate Transit area; limited late-night coverage on routes 30 and 101)
• Eastern Contra Costa County (served by Tri-Delta Transit and County Connection)
• Western San Mateo County (SamTrans jurisdiction)
• Solano County (SolTrans region)
• Southern Alameda County and northern Santa Clara County spanning between Fremont and San Jose

Among the principal Bay Area bridges, All Nighter service is exclusive to the San Francisco Bay Bridge, connecting San Francisco with Oakland.

Routes

The All Nighter network encompasses over twenty bus routes.

AC Transit operates BART shadow service via routes 800 (linking San Francisco and Richmond) and 801 (connecting Oakland to Fremont). In San Francisco, Muni’s route 14 covers Embarcadero to Daly City. On the Peninsula, SamTrans provides the ECR OWL route connecting Daly City to SFO. Caltrain shadow service is delivered through SamTrans route 397 (running from San Francisco to Palo Alto including SFO) and formerly by VTA route 22 (between Palo Alto and San Jose).

SamTrans routes ECR OWL and 397 offer overnight transit to San Francisco International Airport. Oakland International Airport receives service from AC Transit routes 73 and 805.

Route	Served communities
— San Francisco
L Taraval Owl	Downtown, Civic Center, Castro, Twin Peaks, Forest Hill, West Portal, Parkside, Ocean Beach
N Judah Owl	South of Market, South Beach, Downtown, Civic Center, Duboce Triangle, Haight, Inner Sunset, Outer Sunset, Ocean Beach
5 Fulton	Civic Center, Fillmore District, NoPa, Inner Richmond, Outer Richmond, Ocean Beach
14 Mission	South of Market, Mission District, Bernal Heights, Excelsior District, Daly City
22 Fillmore	Marina District, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Fillmore District, Mission District, Potrero Hill, Dogpatch
24 Divisadero	Castro District, Noe Valley, Bernal Heights
25 Treasure Island	Transbay Terminal to Treasure Island
38 Geary	Transbay Terminal, Downtown SF, Union Square, Tenderloin District, Western Addition, Japantown, Laurel Heights, Inner Richmond, Outer Richmond
44 O'Shaughnessy	Bayview-Hunters Point area; Bernal Heights; Diamond Heights; Excelsior; Glen Park; Golden Gate Park vicinity; Inner Richmond; Inner Sunset; Outer Mission; Presidio Heights; Twin Peaks
48 Quintara/24th Street	Dogpatch; Potrero Hill; East and West Mission neighborhoods
90 San Bruno Owl	Marina District; Civic Center; South of Market; Mission District
91 3rd Street/19th Avenue Owl	Parkmerced to Visitacion Valley passing through downtown neighborhoods
— East Bay
1T (International – E 14th)	Oakland and San Leandro areas	rowspan=9 style="background:#307c66;"
73 (73rd Ave – Coliseum – Airport)	Oakland including Oakland International Airport access
376 (Cutting Blvd – North Richmond)	El Cerrito to Pinole corridor
800 (Richmond – Oakland – Transbay Terminal)	San Francisco to Richmond via East Bay cities
801 (E 14th – Mission Blvd)	San Leandro to Fremont passing through East Bay suburbs
802 (San Pablo Avenue)	Oakland to Berkeley Amtrak station via Emeryville
805 (MacArthur Blvd – Airport)	Oakland to Oakland International Airport connection
840 (Foothill Blvd – Eastmont)	Neighborhoods within Oakland
851 (College Avenue – Broadway)	Berkeley to Alameda through Oakland neighborhoods

Route	Communities served	Remarks

397 OWL	Route from San Francisco to Palo Alto including SFO	Mirrors Caltrain service; combines segments of ECR and other daytime lines; supplemented by route 296 OWL between Redwood City and Palo Alto.
ECR OWL	Runs between Daly City and SFO	Parallels BART service between Daly City and SFO.

Original route lineup

When the All Nighter service launched in 2006, participating agencies included AC Transit, Muni, SamTrans, County Connection, and Wheels. Most lines operated on hourly intervals except for Muni routes which generally ran every half hour (with the exception of the 25-Treasure Island at approximately every 45 minutes), along with AC Transit weekend routes 800 and 801 which had a frequency of every thirty minutes.

Route	Served communities

AC Transit — East Bay

Route	Communities served	Notes

800	Spanning San Francisco to Richmond via Oakland, Berkeley, Albany & El Cerrito

801	Connecting Oakland to Fremont through San Leandro, Hayward & Union City

802	Linking Oakland with Berkeley via Emeryville

805	Serving Oakland to Oakland International Airport

840	Covering Oakland neighborhoods including Eastmont

851	Operating between Alameda and Berkeley passing through Oakland

Muni — San Francisco

Route	Communities served	Notes

L Taraval Owl	Downtown SF through Civic Center to Ocean Beach via Castro and Forest Hill

N Judah Owl	Serves South of Market area extending west to Ocean Beach via Haight & Sunset districts

5 Fulton	Runs from Civic Center through Fillmore District to Outer Richmond near Ocean Beach

14 Mission	Connecting South of Market with Bernal Heights & Daly City

22 Fillmore	Covers Marina District through Mission District ending in Dogpatch neighborhood

24 Divisadero	Serves Castro District through Noe Valley to Bernal Heights

25 Treasure Island	Links Transbay Terminal with Treasure Island

38 Geary	Runs from Transbay Terminal through Downtown SF to Outer Richmond area

90 San Bruno Owl	Covers Marina District through Civic Center to Mission District areas

91 3rd Street/19th Avenue Owl	Extends from Parkmerced through multiple neighborhoods including Downtown SF & Visitacion Valley

SamTrans — Peninsula

397	Service between San Francisco and Palo Alto via Brisbane & SFO Airport area

County Connection — Contra Costa County

820	Connects Oakland with Concord passing through Orinda & Walnut Creek

Wheels — Alameda County

810	Runs from San Leandro to Livermore via Bay Fair & Pleasanton

External links

• All Nighter Transit Service
• Trip Planning Tool