San Francisco Municipal Railway facts for kids
Quick facts for kids San Francisco Municipal Railway |
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| Info | |
| Owner | San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency |
| Locale | San Francisco |
| Transit type | Bus, trolleybus, light rail, streetcar, cable car |
| Number of lines | 83 |
| Chief executive | Jeffrey Tumlin (Director of Transportation, SFMTA) |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | December 28, 1912 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge (light rail, streetcars) 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) (cable cars) |
| Electrification | Overhead line, 600 V DC |
| Average speed | 8.1 mph (13.0 km/h) |
The San Francisco Municipal Railway, often called Muni, is the main way people get around San Francisco, California. It's a big public transportation system. Muni runs many different types of vehicles. These include buses (some are trolleybuses that run on electricity), the Muni Metro light rail system, three old cable car lines, and two historic streetcar lines.
Muni used to be its own group. But in 1999, it joined with two other groups. They became the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). In 2018, Muni served a large area of San Francisco. It is one of the busiest transit systems in the United States. It's the second busiest in California, after Los Angeles.
Contents
How Muni Works
Most Muni buses run often during busy times. This is usually every 5 to 15 minutes. During the middle of the day, they run every 5 to 20 minutes. Late at night, special "owl" routes run about every half-hour. On weekends, most buses come every 10 to 20 minutes.
Muni aims for 85% of its services to be on time. However, sometimes there are delays. This can be a problem, especially on lines that don't run as often.
All Muni lines stay within San Francisco. A few lines go into northern Daly City. Also, the 76X Marin Headlands Express goes to the Marin Headlands on weekends. Other ways to travel between cities include BART and Caltrain trains. There are also AC Transit buses and Golden Gate Transit buses.
Bus and train stops are different all over the city. Some are big Metro stations with raised platforms. Others are small shelters or just signs on a pole.
Muni's Name and Logo
The name Muni is a short way to say "Municipal." It's not an acronym, so it's written as Muni, not MUNI. People in San Francisco often call the Metro "the train" or "the streetcar." But most people just say "Muni" for the whole system.
Muni's logo is a cool, curvy design of the word muni. A designer named Walter Landor created it in the 1970s.
Announcements on Board
Muni buses make announcements in four languages. This is to help the many different people in San Francisco. The languages are English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Tagalog.
Route Names
Buses and trolleybuses have numbers for their routes. Train lines have letters. The three cable car lines are known by their names. These are Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde, and California.
Fares
A single ride on a Muni bus or train costs $3.00 for adults if you pay with cash. It's cheaper if you use a Clipper card or MuniMobile. Kids aged 5-18, seniors, and people with disabilities pay less. Kids under 5 ride for free with an adult.
When you pay, you get a transfer. This lets you ride other Muni vehicles for 120 minutes without paying again. Cable cars are different. A ride on a cable car costs $8 one way. You don't get transfers for cable cars.
You can also buy a Muni Passport or a monthly pass. These passes let you ride all Muni lines, including cable cars. A monthly pass for adults costs $81. There's also a pass for $98 that includes some BART train rides within San Francisco.
Muni uses a smart card system called Clipper. You can load money or passes onto this card. Many other transit systems in the Bay Area also use Clipper. You can also pay using a mobile app called MuniMobile.
Special Services
Muni has special services for different times. There are 14 "express" lines and 5 "rapid" lines. These lines make fewer stops to get you there faster. There are also 12 "Owl" lines that run late at night.
For San Francisco Giants baseball games, Muni adds extra trains. These help fans get to and from Oracle Park.
Express lines usually run during busy peak hours. In the morning, they go towards downtown. In the evening, they go away from downtown. Rapid lines stop at only some of the stops. They usually stop at every third stop or at places where you can transfer.
Cable Car System
Muni also runs the famous San Francisco cable car system. These are old-fashioned cable cars that are pulled by underground cables. The city bought its first cable car line in 1906. The current system has been running since 1952.
The cable car system is a National Historic Landmark. It's very popular with tourists. It also helps people travel around the city. There are three main cable car lines. They serve popular areas like Fisherman's Wharf.
Heritage Streetcars
Muni also has two special heritage streetcar lines. These are the E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves lines. They use old streetcars. The F line started regular service in 1995. The E line has been stopped since April 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. These streetcars don't go into tunnels.
Muni Facts and Figures
The longest Muni line is the 24.1-mile (38.8 km) 91 Owl route. This is a night-only route. The longest daytime route is the 17.4-mile (28.0 km) 29 Sunset. The shortest route is the 88 BART Shuttle, which is only 1.4 miles (2.3 km) long.
Muni vehicles climb some very steep hills! A diesel-electric hybrid bus on the 67 Bernal Heights line climbs a 23.1% grade. A trolleybus on the 24 Divisadero line climbs a 22.8% grade. A cable car on the Powell-Hyde line climbs a 21% grade.
The busiest bus area is the Geary corridor. The 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid routes travel 6.5 miles (10.5 km). They have an average speed of only 8 miles per hour (13 km/h). This means it can take over 50 minutes to travel the route.
Vehicle Fleet
Muni has about 1,200 vehicles. This includes 550 diesel-electric hybrid buses. It also has 300 electric trolleybuses. There are 250 modern light rail vehicles, 50 historic streetcars, and 40 cable cars. All vehicles, except cable cars, can be used by people in wheelchairs.
The electricity for Muni's electric vehicles comes from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. This is a hydroelectric dam in Yosemite National Park.
Muni's buses use special fuel called renewable diesel fuel. This fuel is made from things like fats and oils. Using this fuel and hybrid technology helps to use less fuel and reduce pollution.
On-Time Performance
Weekday mode share on Muni services in 2019 Muni Metro (23.4%) Bus (49.6%) Trolley bus (24.8%) Cable Car (2.2%)
In 1999, voters in San Francisco decided that Muni should be on time at least 85% of the time. However, Muni has had trouble meeting this goal. In 2012, Muni vehicles were on time about 60% of the time. This improved slightly in 2014.
How Muni is Managed
Since 1999, Muni has been part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). This is a city agency that also manages parking and taxis. A group of seven directors, chosen by the Mayor, runs the SFMTA. Jeffrey Tumlin became the new Director of Transportation in December 2019.
The daily running of Muni is handled by the Transit division of the SFMTA.
Muni's History
Early Years
Muni started after the big 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Before that, many different companies ran horse-drawn cars, cable cars, and electric streetcars. In 1912, San Francisco decided to run its own electric streetcar line. This was Muni's very first line. At that time, public transit moved a bit faster than it does today.
Muni quickly began building more lines. In 1914, the Stockton Street Tunnel opened. This allowed streetcars to go to North Beach. In 1918, the Twin Peaks Tunnel opened. This helped develop the southwestern part of the city. These new lines made Muni compete with other railway companies.
1940s: Trolleybuses Arrive
In 1941, Muni started its first trolleybus line. Trolleybuses are like buses but run on electricity from overhead wires. In 1944, Muni bought out another railway company. This added more routes and equipment to Muni. Over the years, Muni replaced many of its rail lines with trolleybus service.
During World War II, many men went to serve in the military. So, both Muni and other railway companies hired women as drivers and conductors. One famous person who worked for Muni in 1943 was the poet Maya Angelou.
1970s and 1980s: New Construction
In the 1960s, plans were made for the regional BART train system. It was thought BART would handle local train service in San Francisco. Because of this, Muni didn't get much money for its own improvements.
Construction on BART's Market Street tunnel began in 1967. It had two levels of tracks. The upper level was meant for local service. But due to high costs, the plans changed. The upper level became the basis for a new light-rail subway system called the Muni Metro. This connected downtown stations to existing tunnels.
The Muni Metro finally opened in 1980. However, there were many design changes and problems during construction. This led to some challenges in how it operated later on.
In 1982, the cable car system closed for 21 months for major repairs. During this time, Muni changed many of its bus routes.
In 1983, Muni started a special "Historic Trolley Festival." Old streetcars ran down Market Street. This was a fun way to entertain tourists while the cable cars were being rebuilt. It became so popular that it happened every year. This led to the permanent F line opening in 1995.
1990s: Challenges and Changes
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The F line was brought back in 1995. It was first a temporary attraction. But it became a permanent part of Muni. The E line service also started in 1998.
In the late 1990s, Muni had problems with old equipment and poor management. Service was often unreliable. A group called Rescue Muni formed to push for improvements. In 1999, voters approved a plan that created the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. This plan also set service standards for Muni.
In August 1998, Muni Metro had a big breakdown. This was called the "Muni Meltdown." A new automatic train control system caused many delays. Trains stopped with no warning, and people were very frustrated. The Mayor even rode the train to see the problems himself. Muni apologized and worked to fix things.
To make things better, Muni started replacing its old trains with newer ones. They also replaced old trolleybuses and bought new diesel buses.
2000s
A new light rail line called the T Third Street opened in 2007. This line added 19 new stations.
In 2007, Muni won an award for its cable car signs. City officials also looked into adding double-decker buses to the fleet.
In 2007, the Mayor announced that all city vehicles, including Muni buses, would use biodiesel fuel. This helps reduce pollution.
In 2009, there was a train accident at West Portal Station. It injured 48 people. Later that year, Muni made big changes to its system. They cut some bus routes and reduced how often some lines ran. This was to help with budget problems.
2010s
The 2010s started with more service cuts. But later, Muni got more money and restored some services. They also started the "Muni Forward" project. This project aimed to make service faster and more reliable.
In 2012, Muni became the first transit agency in North America to allow "all-door boarding." This means you can get on the bus or train using any door, not just the front. This helps speed up boarding.
Muni also ordered 175 new trains for its Metro lines. The first new trains arrived in 2017. They also bought many new buses and trolleybuses.
2020s
During the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people rode Muni. Many services were stopped or changed. Light rail service was replaced by buses for a while. There were also problems with overhead wires. Slowly, more bus and light rail services started to come back in 2020 and 2021.
Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit service began in April 2022.
Future Plans for Muni
Muni Metro and Rail Service
Muni has plans to expand and improve its train services. The "Muni Forward" project includes many of these improvements. There are also plans for new subway extensions.
Central Subway
A new underground extension for the T line opened in November 2022. It's called the Central Subway. It has three new underground stations: Moscone Center, Union Square, and Chinatown. This project cost about $1.95 billion.
Muni is also thinking about extending the T line even further. It might go to North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf.
Buses and Streetcars
Muni vehicles have been getting slower over the years because of more traffic. Their average speed is now about 8 miles (13 km) per hour. To fix this, Muni launched plans to make its vehicles move faster. The "Muni Forward" project looks at the whole system to find ways to improve service.
For streetcars, there are ideas to extend the E Embarcadero and F Market and Wharves lines.
Muni also plans to add more trolleybus service. They want to extend some existing trolleybus lines. They are also thinking about changing some diesel bus lines to electric trolleybus lines. This would help reduce pollution and improve service.
Images for kids
See also
In Spanish: Ferrocarril Municipal de San Francisco para niños
- Key System
- Market Street Railway Company
- San Francisco cable car system
- Trolleybuses in San Francisco
