The Larkspur Ferry Plan That Will Outlast the Sail & Rail Fare
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
On weekdays at the Larkspur Ferry Terminal, the parking fee is $2 from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. After 1:00 p.m. and on weekends, parking is free, and overnight parking is not allowed. That system covers about 2,023 stalls: roughly 1,808 in the Main Lot and 215 in the North Lot.
Two notices about the terminal came out this fall, and they matter on very different timescales. The $10 Sail & Rail fare is ending. For many short trips paid with Clipper, the replacement fare is the same or lower. The more lasting news arrived on October 19, when the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District released a Draft Environmental Impact Report. It describes two garage plans that would more than double parking at Larkspur Landing and let ferry service grow well beyond its current ceiling. The only public meeting on that plan is on November 5, a short walk from downtown.
The Sail & Rail pilot sold a single $10 ticket for one SMART train ride plus one Golden Gate Ferry ride. It was sold only in the SMART e-Tickets app. SMART's fares page says the program began as a pilot so both agencies could decide whether to make it permanent, and that it ends effective November 30, 2026. The District's September 1 rider alert lists the last purchase date as this Saturday, October 31, and the last day to use a ticket as Monday, November 30.
After that, riders pay the two regular fares. Clipper users also get a transfer credit. The adult Larkspur ferry fare is $9.50 on Clipper or contactless and $14.00 on a paper ticket. SMART charges adults $1.50 per zone, up to $7.50 for five zones. Going from SMART to the ferry, Clipper automatically applies a $1.50 credit for adults. Using those published rates, here is what one adult trip from the train to the ferry costs on Clipper once the pilot ends:
| SMART zones traveled | SMART fare | Ferry fare, Clipper | Transfer credit | Total | Compared with the $10 pilot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.50 | $9.50 | minus $1.50 | $9.50 | $0.50 less |
| 2 | $3.00 | $9.50 | minus $1.50 | $11.00 | $1.00 more |
| 3 | $4.50 | $9.50 | minus $1.50 | $12.50 | $2.50 more |
| 4 | $6.00 | $9.50 | minus $1.50 | $14.00 | $4.00 more |
| 5 | $7.50 | $9.50 | minus $1.50 | $15.50 | $5.50 more |
The credit applies only to Clipper. The District says it is not available to cash-paying customers or riders using a SMART e-Ticket. So a one-zone trip with a SMART e-Ticket and a Clipper ferry fare comes to $11.00 instead of $9.50. Youth riders and seniors 65 and older ride SMART free, and the Larkspur ferry fare for seniors is $7.00.
For a short ride into Larkspur paid with Clipper, the end of the pilot costs nothing. The longer the train ride, the more the pilot was worth. Either way, this is a fare change. The proposal that would reshape the terminal itself is in the Draft EIR.
The plan is built around a large gap between recent ridership and expected future demand.
In 2019, the District ran the most service it is allowed to provide between Larkspur and San Francisco, an average of 42 trips a day. Average weekday ridership topped 8,000, and drivers were turned away for lack of parking several days a week, often before 10 a.m. The Draft EIR's transportation chapter estimates that a typical weekday in October 2025 carried about 3,600 Larkspur passengers, less than half the 2019 level. On the District's ridership statistics page, the Larkspur route carried 952,087 passengers in fiscal year 2025, out of 1,582,632 across all Golden Gate Ferry routes.
The District is not planning for today's ridership. Its executive summary points to regional housing projections of nearly 29,000 new homes in Marin and Sonoma counties by 2031. Both build alternatives would raise service from 42 daily trips to as many as 76 by 2050. If nothing is built, the District says parking stays at 2,023 stalls, and more riders arriving by car would be turned away once the lots fill, as happened in 2019.
Both alternatives use the same footprint and start with the same first phase. That phase is a six-level garage on the North Lot, next to the SMART station, with 850 stalls: 145 at surface level and 705 in the structure. Both also redesign the pickup and drop-off area, with dedicated zones for buses, ride-hail vehicles and drop-offs, and both upgrade bicycle storage and pedestrian connections.
The alternatives differ on the Main Lot:
The difference is one level of garage along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and about 740 stalls. That is close to the gap between the two projected totals. The report says both Main Lot garages would include secured bicycle parking, and that major construction would happen outside the Bay Conservation and Development Commission's shoreline band.
Choosing an alternative would not mean construction starts. The Draft EIR executive summary lists the remaining steps:
"If either of the Build Alternatives move forward, ferry service can increase beyond 42 trips per day, while additional actions will be necessary before construction of a parking garage begins. A preliminary list includes development of a funding plan (if federal funding is identified, then National Environmental Protection Act clearance will be required), final parking garage design, permitting, and bidding."
The same section says the timing and order of the North Lot and Main Lot work are up to the District, depending on available funding and actual demand at the time. In other words, the environmental review would clear the way for more ferry trips first. Each garage would follow only when money and ridership justify it. A North Lot garage could be built years before anything changes on the Main Lot, and the Main Lot might stay as it is for a long time.
The boats are on a similar timeline. The District's new ferry build page says the keel of the first new vessel, the 500-passenger MV Liwa, was laid on April 23, 2026, and that it is expected to enter service in 2028. The Draft EIR found that Liwa-class vessels would use less fuel and make smaller wakes than the District's current fast ferries. The new boats, the extra crossings and the possible garages are all part of the same long-range plan.
The District will hold its public meeting on the Draft EIR on Thursday, November 5, 2026, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Larkspur Library, 10 Rose Lane. The project page lists four ways to comment:
The page gives two different deadlines. The feedback section says comments are due December 7, 2026, and the study timeline says December 3, 2026. Commenting before the earlier date covers both. Until the District corrects the page, plan for early December.
The meeting comes five days after Sail & Rail sales end and 25 days before the last tickets can be used. The fare question will be closed by November 30. The choice between a four-level and a five-level Main Lot garage, and whether either is built at all, will take much longer to resolve.
A terminal plan like this can matter to Larkspur and Greenbrae homeowners for years, especially those deciding when to sell or how to present a property near Larkspur Landing. If you'd like to talk through what the ferry plan could mean for your home, First California Realty is glad to help. Let's connect, starting with a confidential home valuation.
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