Several Caltrain trains stopped in the downtown San Francisco, Calif., station on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. Caltrain provided 328,663 rides for 41 Giants home games between July and September 2026, averaging more than 8,000 rides per game, according to the agency. (Andres Jimenez Larios/Bay City News)
More Bay Area sports fans are taking Caltrain to games, with the rail service providing more than 350,000 rides to sporting events between July and September, according to the agency.
Fans took Caltrain to Giants, 49ers, Valkyries and Bay FC games, choosing the train as an alternative to traffic and limited stadium parking, the agency said in a statement Friday.
The San Francisco Giants remained the biggest draw, with 328,663 rides recorded for 41 home games, a 2.3% increase from the same period last year. That amounts to more than 8,000 rides per game on average.
Ridership to San Francisco 49ers games at Levi’s Stadium also increased, with 5,005 rides recorded for three home games, up 17.4% from last year.
Bay FC saw a 26% increase in ridership compared with its 2024 season, with 5,508 rides recorded for seven home matches at PayPal Park. Caltrain also reported a 19% increase in ridership among Valkyries fans traveling to Chase Center compared with last year.
Events bring more commuters
The growth has continued beyond the summer. Caltrain reported a 46.2% increase in game-day ridership for San Jose Sharks games compared with 2025. Ridership to Mountain View station for 49ers games rose 51.9%, while the five Golden State Warriors games played at Chase Center this year drove an 83.2% increase compared with the previous year.
Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said more fans are choosing public transportation because of increased train service and the convenience of traveling to games without driving.
The agency said sporting events and concerts have become an important source of new riders as work patterns change and fewer people commute five days a week. About 20% of first-time Caltrain riders traveled for special events, primarily concerts and sporting events.
Caltrain now serves an estimated 49,000 unique riders each month, about 37,000 more than in 2021 and close to its 2019 total, according to the agency.
The rail service plans to continue tracking event-related ridership as new teams and events arrive along its route, including a new women’s professional hockey team in San Jose and more concerts at PayPal Park.
Caltrain clarified that they measured the ridership by counting passengers boarding or getting off at designated stations during specific event periods, noting that the figures may include passengers who are not attending the events and may overlap with ridership from other events happening at the same time.
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San Francisco Caltrain Station