San Francisco, California, USA

Table of Contents

Overview - San Francisco

Located on a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay, San Francisco is a city and county in California. It has approximately 883,000 inhabitants in the city proper as of 2018. The San Francisco-Oakland metropolitan area (San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley) comprised 4,729,484 residents as of the 2018 US Census Bureau Estimate.

San Francisco's rapid transit network consists of a cross-bay regional metro network, a subway-surface streetcar with five branches on the west side of the bay, a light rail service, and a bus rapid transit service. It also has two heritage streetcar services, three cable car heritage streetcar services, and a commuter rail service.

MUNI Metro

Opened 1980, MUNI Metro consists of a subway-surface streetcar with five branches, a light rail service, and two historic streetcar services that serve the city of San Francisco, California. All MUNI strip maps use a gray stroke circle for accessible stations/stops and a rectangle for partially or inaccessible stops.

J Church

The J Church of MUNI Metro is a subway-surface light rail and streetcar service on a North-South alignment. It runs from Embarcadero in the north to Balboa Park in the south, serving 25 stations and stops, one of which is inbound only (Church and Duboce is also inbound only except for passengers in wheelchairs). It runs through the Market Street Tunnel from Embarcadero to Van Ness, sharing track with other MUNI Metro services.

The J Church was opened in August 1917 and the last extension to the line was in June 1993 when full day service was extended to Balboa Park. The J Church is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

K Ingleside

The K Ingleside of MUNI Metro is a subway-surface light rail and streetcar service on a North-South alignment. It runs from Embarcadero/West Portal in the north to Balboa Park in the south, serving 20 stations and stops. It runs through the Market Street and Twin Peaks Tunnels, sharing track with other MUNI Metro services.

The K Ingleside was opened in February 1918. Through Service with the T Third Street began in 2007 and lasted until the Central Subway opened in January 2022. The K Ingleside is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

L Taraval

The L Taraval of MUNI Metro is a subway-surface light rail and streetcar service on an East-West alignment. It runs from Embarcadero in the east to the San Francisco Zoo in the west, serving 25 stations and stops, one of which is inbound only. It runs through the Market Street and Twin Peaks Tunnels, sharing track with other MUNI Metro services.

The L Taraval was opened in April 1919. The L Taraval is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

M Ocean View

The M Ocean View of MUNI Metro is a subway-surface light rail and streetcar service on a North-South alignment. It runs from Embarcadero in the north to Balboa Park in the south, serving 26 stations and stops, one of which is inbound only. It runs through the Market Street and Twin Peaks Tunnels, sharing track with other MUNI Metro services.

The M Ocean View was opened in October 1925. The M Ocean View is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

N Judah

The N Judah of MUNI Metro is a subway-surface light rail and streetcar service on an East-West alignment. It runs from 4th & King in the East to Ocean Beach in the west, serving 32 stations and stops. It runs through the Market Street Tunnel from Embarcadero to Van Ness, sharing track with other MUNI Metro services.

The N Judah was opened in October 1928 and the last extension to the line was in August 1998 when the line was extended to 4th & King. The latest station change was the consolidation of Irving & 4th and Irving & 7th into Irving & 5th/6th in August 2020. The N Judah is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

T Third Street

The T Third Street of MUNI Metro is a light rail service on a North-South alignment. It runs from Chinatown/Rose Pak in the north to Sunnydale in the south, serving 22 stations. It runs through the Central Subway.

The T Third Street was opened in April 2007 and the last extension was the opening of the Central Subway to Chinatown/Rose Pak in January 2023. The T Third Street is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

E Embarcadero

The E Embarcadero of MUNI Metro is a heritage streetcar service on a Northwest-Southeast alignment. It runs from 4th & King in the southeast to Jones & Beach in the northwest, serving 18 stops. It shares tracks with the F Market & Wharves on the northern portion of its route. The E Embarcadero is currently suspended due to COVID.

The E Embarcadero was opened in August 2015 on weekends only, with weekday service beginning April 2016. The E Embarcadero is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

F Market & Wharves

The F Market & Wharves of MUNI Metro is a heritage streetcar service on a North-South alignment. It runs from Jones & Beach in the north to 17th St & Castro in the south, serving 32 stops. It shares tracks with the E Embarcadero on the northern portion of its route.

The F Market & Wharves was opened in September 1995. The F Market & Wharves is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

MUNI Bus Rapid Transit

Opened 2022, San Francisco's bus rapid transit network consists of a single bus rapid transit line.

Van Ness

The Van Ness BRT is a bus rapid transit line on a North-South alignment. It runs from Union in the north to Market in the south, serving 9 stations

The Van Ness BRT was opened in April 2022. The Van Ness BRT is owned by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.

MUNI Cable Car

Opened 1878, San Francisco's cable car network consists of a three cable car heritage streetcar services that serve the city of San Francisco, California. They are the only surviving cable car streetcar services remaining in the United States.

Powell-Mason

The Powell-Mason Cable Car is a cable car heritage streetcar service on a North-South alignment. It runs from Taylor and Bay in the north to Powell & Market in the south. It shares part of its track with the Powell-Hyde cable car.

The Powell-Mason Cable Car was opened in 1888 and was rebuilt in 1984. The Powell-Mason Cable Car is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

Powell-Hyde

The Powell-Hyde Cable Car is a cable car heritage streetcar service on a North-South alignment. It runs from Hyde & Beach in the north to Powell & Market in the south. It shares part of its track with the Powell-Mason cable car.

The Powell-Hyde Cable Car was opened in 1888 and was rebuilt in 1984. The Powell-Hyde Cable Car is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

California

The California Cable Car is a cable car heritage streetcar service on an East-West alignment. It runs from Van Ness in the west to Market & Drumm in the east (Montgomery Station), serving 18 stops.

The California Cable Car was opened in 1888 and was rebuilt in 1984. The California Cable Car is operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI).

BART

For information on BART, refer to the San Francisco Bay Metropolitan Area Page, covering the entire metropolitan area.

Caltrain

For information on Caltrain, refer to the San Francisco Bay Metropolitan Area Page, covering the entire metropolitan area.

References & Helpful Links

San Francisco MUNI Metro at Wikipedia

San Francisco Cable Cars at Wikipedia

Official Website for San Francisco MUNI: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Authority

Maps

All Official Maps - SFMTA [Last Accessed January 10, 2023]

Official System Map - MUNI Metro [PDF] [Last Accessed April 03, 2022]

Unofficial Map - San Francisco Muni Metro by Steve Boland (calurbanist.com)

Other Sources

San Francisco, USA at Urbanrail.net

Asset Notes

MUNI Metro colors taken from Wikipedia icons as of Feb 2020. For MUNI Metro, these correspond to the colors in the official map as of Feb 2020.

San Francisco Cable Cars and BRT lines use colors from MUNI logo.