San Francisco is served by San Francisco International Airport, built in 1927 as Mills Field and then called the Municipal Airport until 1955. It is located in adjacent San Mateo County, 13 miles (21 km) south of the city, and was the first airport to use jetways for plane boarding.
There are two domestic and one international terminals built around the remains of the central terminal erected in 1954. The airport is located on US route 101 and is also served by Interstate 380 that connects to I-280, which connects the cities on the San Francisco peninsula. Travel time from downtown is about 25 minutes, and 20 to 40 minutes from Palo Alto and San Jose. Taxi fares to these areas range from $40 to $65 plus tip. Eight companies offer shared-ride service, and shuttles cost around $17 per person to San Francisco. Limousine service ranges from about $65 to San Francisco up to $100 and more to San Jose.
The San Francisco Municipal Railway, which provides public transportation in the city, does not operate to the airport. SamTrans, the San Mateo County transit system, connects the airport with San Francisco, Palo Alto and the rest of the peninsula. Routes 140 and 292 offer daytime local service, the KX express operates during rush hours and route 398 connects the airport to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trains at San Bruno and the Caltrain rail system at Redwood City. Route 397 provides all-night service. Bus service operates from the airport’s rental car center, which can be reached from all terminals on the automated AirTrain people mover, and fares are $2.00 in San Mateo county, $4.00 into San Francisco county and $5.00 on express buses.
The BART system has a station within the airport, on level 3 of the international terminal and adjacent to parking garage G. This can be reached on the AirTrain, and is served by the Pittsburg/Bay Point-SFO/Millbrae line. Travel time ranges is 30 to 40 minutes and the fare is $8.65. You can also book for San Francisco airport taxi easily online. Caltrain service between San Francisco and San Jose can also be reached on BART: there is a direct connection from the airport to the Millbrae station nights and weekends, it is necessary to change trains at San Bruno during the day and the fare to San Francisco is $5.25 and to San Jose $9.25.