Burner Express Tickets on Sale Now, 500 Event/Bus Tickets on Sale in Mid-July

Burner Express Bus tickets are on sale now! There are some new options for 2016, including water sales, entry on Saturday pre-event without an Early Arrival pass, and a special late-summer sale of 500 Burner Express Bus Plus tickets that include the option to buy a $390 ticket to the event.

Burner Express Bus tickets can be purchased on the Burner Express website. You must have a valid Burning Man ticket, Will Call confirmation number, or other valid entry credential to board a Burner Express Bus. A Burner Express bus ticket alone will not allow you to enter Black Rock City.

The Burner Express Bus offers transportation from downtown San Francisco and Reno-Tahoe International Airport to Black Rock City with departures from Saturday, August 27 through Thursday, September 1.

Luggage is limited to two pieces with a maximum total dimension of 62 linear inches each (total sum of length+width+height) plus a carry-on item. You may also bring a bike, but you must purchase the bike add-on for an additional fee.

At the end of Burning Man, the Burner Express Bus will take you from Black Rock City to the Reno International Airport or downtown San Francisco, bypassing Exodus traffic through a dedicated exit. Departures from the playa begin Friday, September 2 through Tuesday September 6 with several departure times.

New for 2016

Purchase water in advance

Burner Express Bus passengers can purchase water in advance and fill up on the playa. You must bring your own container (we recommend collapsible five-gallon containers so they fit in your luggage). Water must be filled upon arrival in BRC and is only available to Burner Express riders. The cost is $1.50 per gallon. You must purchase water in advance. There will be no on-site sales.

No Early Arrival pass needed for Saturday, Aug. 27 arrivals

If you take the Burner Express Bus arriving Saturday, Aug. 27, your Burner Express Bus ticket is what allows you Early Arrival. If you’re not part of a placed camp, you may only camp between G Street and L Street outside of the blue flags. Blue flags in the ground mark off reserved camping; do not camp within blue flags. You are welcome to camp in HOVerlandia at 6:15 and I, a dedicated reserved space for those arriving via the Burner Express Bus.

You are not allowed to reserve camping space for people who have not arrived yet. If you are found holding space, someone from the Placement Team will move your belongings and remove any markers or boundaries you have set up.

Burner Express Bus Plus tickets

In our ongoing effort to reduce car traffic to the event and encourage alternative transportation, we’ll be selling 500 Burner Express Bus Plus tickets on July 13 at 12pm (noon) Pacific Time. Once you purchase your Burner Express Bus Plus ticket, you will have a bus ticket and the option to buy a Burning Man event ticket at the point of embarkation in San Francisco or Reno when you check in for your bus.

That’s worth repeating: Burner Express Bus Plus is a Burner Express Bus ticket PLUS an opportunity to buy a $390 (+9% tax) Burning Man event ticket for your use in conjunction with your bus ticket. The event ticket is only valid if you ride the Burner Express Bus — you cannot use the ticket to enter Black Rock City via any other method of transportation. If you have additional questions about Burner Express Bus Plus tickets, please see the Ticket Support page.

About the author: Burning Man Project

Burning Man Project

The official voice of the Burning Man organization, managed by Burning Man Project's Communications Team.

25 Comments on “Burner Express Tickets on Sale Now, 500 Event/Bus Tickets on Sale in Mid-July

  • Dusty says:

    Sweet! Now our unplaced theme camp can have one camp member take the early bus in on the 27th and snag a big space for us before everyone else gets there!

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    • Willow says:

      Make sure they get the double plus extra huge space!

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    • Nitro says:

      As I heard, no more blocking off large areas with tape, flags or other objects unless you have been pre approved. We’ll see how that goes. I’m use to setting up reasonable areas for friends who get in later but have been annoyed with people blocking off whole blocks with tape, chairs or one vehicle. I’ll be fine if I have to camp without my friends around. We can hook up! It’s also fun meeting meeting new neighbors, schooling first timers and letting the 2016 playa evolve around me. It’s all good! 11 year burner and owner of the steam punk tiki bar …come for a ride and a libation if you see me on the playa!

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  • Crying Sun says:

    Wow. Cover your ass, f*** your buddy, look out for number one. That’s the (anti) Burning Man spirit.

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  • East bay burner says:

    Wow – if I had got a ticket from the pre registration to the sale (and that whole fiasco) then this option could be open …..
    Right now I’m looking at other festivals after having attended the burn 12 times.

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  • Shirt cocker McGee says:

    Curveball!!! So weiiiiiiiiird!

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  • D Glenn says:

    What a lovely, generous, unexpected opportunity!
    What is the price of the bus ticket?
    Thank you so much.
    Mama G & Son

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  • Kaitlyn says:

    Love the options you are providing!

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  • Xuth says:

    I can’t take the burner express bus to get to the playa (none are early enough to work on the art project I’m helping with) but I’m probably going to take a bus leaving playa. Would having a ticket for a return bus trip enable me to purchase water? This would reduce a significant logistical hurdle for someone flying in to Reno, using the east coast shipping containers for the rest of my gear.

    Before anyone asks, yes I know I’d need to have water to supply myself up through the arrival of the first buses, but that’s 9 days of water I wouldn’t need to bring on whatever ride I can manage.

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  • Anon says:

    Why the bus price increase, which wasnt mentiones at all?

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  • NoDollarBills says:

    Wow, suddenly there are 500 extra event tickets if you are buying a ticket on the burner bus? What BS. These tickets should go into the OMG sale. The transportation you use to get to the event should not give you additional opportunities for a ticket. It’s like saying “as long as we make extra money off you, you can go to Burning Man.” It’s as bad as the Da Vinici level “art patron” tickets. Burners with lots of money to give the Org are the only ones that can go. Pricing people out every way you can.

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    • yes says:

      no, they are trying to reduce traffic. its the only way to increase the population in future years. going forward youre gonna see more tickets tied to BE

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  • Dandy hand says:

    Then don’t go or make your own festival. The self-entitlement is at a record level.

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  • JAH says:

    I know last year people came in on buses later than 2 pm. Are there going to be more added soon? I won’t make it to Reno on my flight to get to he bus before 3 pm!

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    • yes says:

      there is a 4 pm bus only on sunday. what you need is a different flight. last years bus times were the same. you can also stay a night in reno and shop and take a final shower

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  • Rebar King says:

    Love there’s a airplane with a bus in the image.
    We need to shuttle more burners to the event any way we can. Like most large events that have parking outside the venue. It’s not about ‘making’ more money. It’s more about the cost to produce the event has skyrocketed and without vendors and sponsors it’s up to the ticket sales. And with the increased restrictions on the roads the ONLY way the event is going to continue is through a shuttle system. Population can increase, vehicles on the roads can not.

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    • Unclebubba says:

      The whole shuttle plan is fantastic and will reduce traffic, fossil fuel, dust, road rage plus add another aspect to the communal life. The water sale should be open to all burners which would reduce fuel consumption and MOOP.

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      • yes says:

        water still needs to get to playa somehow, so not sure how it would reduce fuel consumption to open sales to everyone. not that anyone really cares – burning man is a consumption orgy, not a minimalist living encampment. but this door should not be opened. you bring in what you use. water sales are merely a substitute to ppl lugging water onto the bus

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  • redBone says:

    And do all the passengers on the bus have to wait in line for hours at gate like the rest of us or are they exempt from such mundane things…?

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    • yes says:

      they have always bypassed the line on gate road, and never need to wait at will call either. as for 447, there is no way to bypass that if there is an accident

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  • Dusty Knees says:

    Yet another twist in this years unorganized, half-assed ticketing mess. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate additional ticket availability at the regular ticket price and I support alternative transportation options in an effort to make getting there safer and more environmentally friendly. But it’s become very frustrating and tiresome just trying to navigate all the convoluted rules, various ticket sale dates and random pricing schemes. And what’s with the vague wording of “option to buy” and “opportunity to purchase”…? Either you are getting a ticket or you’re not. It’s kinda hard to be Radically Self-reliant, make plans or prepare your camp if you won’t know that you can even go until a month beforehand. Thanks but no thanks.

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  • Yamila says:

    I’m planning to buy a ticket just to return from the Playa, can I still buy a ticket through this option? Kindly clarify at your earliest convenience….

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    • Jon Mitchell says:

      Hi Yamila (and everybody else who’s wondering this). The answer is nope; the Burner Express Bus Plus people have to enter BRC aboard the bus as part of their ticket, so people who only want a return bus trip must get an event ticket separately.

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  • Avalanche says:

    Great, until you realize that buses don’t leave after 2pm – which TOTALLY SCREWS with any reasonable flight connections.

    So unless I want to spend 20 hours waiting in Reno, I’m going to have to rent a car.

    WTF? Really? That’s some incompetent shit, right there.

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  • So Good says:

    Last year (2015) the Burner ‘Express’ bus was stuck in traffic for 12 hours. What a joke.

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