San Francisco

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Muni's logo is a stylized, trademarked "worm" version of the word muni, designed by San Francisco-based graphic designer Walter Landor in the mid-1970s. Bus announcements are in four languages: English, Spanish, Cantonese and Tagalog, to cater to the large Hispanic and Latino American and Asian American populations in San Francisco. Bus and trolleybus lines are identified by a number and a route name that typically incorporates the street on which the route operates its longest segment. Rail lines have letters as well as a name designation (J-Church, K-Ingleside, L-Taraval, M-Ocean View, N-Judah, T-Third), and the three cable car lines are typically referred to by name only (Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde and California). The longest Muni line is the 24.1-mile (38.8 km) 91 Owl, a nighttime-only route that blends several other routes together, while the longest daytime route is the 17.4-mile (28.0 km) 29. The shortest route is the peak-hour only 88 BART Shuttle at 1.4 miles (2.3 km), while the shortest off-peak route is the 39 Coit at 1.6 miles (2.6 km). The steepest grade climbed by a Muni vehicle is 23.1% by a diesel-electric hybrid bus on the 67 line, 22.8% by a trolleybus on the 24 line and 21% by a cable car on the Powell-Hyde line.

In Their Own Story

Most bus lines are scheduled to operate every five to fifteen minutes during peak hours, every five to twenty minutes middays, about every ten to twenty minutes from 9 pm to midnight, and roughly every half-hour for the late night "owl" routes. On weekends, most Muni bus lines are scheduled to run every ten to twenty minutes. However, complaints of unreliability, especially on less-often-served lines and older (pre-battery backup) trolleybus lines, are a system-wide problem. Muni has had some difficulty meeting a stated goal of 85% voter-demanded on-time service. All Muni lines run inside San Francisco city limits, with the exception of several lines serving locations in the northern part of neighboring Daly City, and the 76X Marin Headlands Express line to the Marin Headlands area on weekends and major holidays. Bus and cable car stops throughout the city vary from Metro stations with raised platforms in the subway and at the more heavily used surface stops, to small shelters to signposts to simply a yellow stripe on a utility pole or on the road surface. 70% of stops are spaced closer than recommended range of 800–1,000 feet (240–300 m) apart.

Reader's Guide

Except for cable cars, cash fares are $3.00 for adults; $1.50 for seniors over 65, people with disabilities, and Medicare card holders; and free for low- and moderate-income seniors, youth aged 18 and under, and people with disabilities residing in San Francisco. Clipper card and MuniMobile fares are $2.85 for adults and $1.40 for seniors and people with disabilities. One fare entitles a rider to unlimited vehicle transfers for the next 120 minutes. Cable cars are $9 one way, with no transfers, unless the rider has a Muni Passport or a Muni monthly pass. As of August 2025, monthly passes cost $86 for adults ($104 with BART privileges within city limits), $43 for low-income residents ("Lifeline Pass"), or $43 for seniors and people with disabilities. Muni operates 14 express lines, 5 Rapid lines, and 12 Owl lines, which run between 1 am and 5 am. For San Francisco Giants games, additional "baseball shuttles" supplement N Judah and T Third service to Oracle Park. Muni also operates the San Francisco cable car system, a heritage streetcar system descendant of a larger network of manually operated cable cars. The system was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. There are three cable car lines: the Mason-Powell line, the California State line, and the Powell-Hyde line. The system accrues five million annual riders.

Did You Know?

• Muni's logo is a stylized 'worm' version of the word muni, designed by graphic designer Walter Landor in the mid-1970s.
• Bus announcements are in four languages: English, Spanish, Cantonese and Tagalog.
• The steepest grade climbed by a Muni vehicle is 23.1% by a diesel-electric hybrid bus on the 67 line.
• At Powell and Market Streets, three types of rail gauges come within a few hundred feet of each other: BART's 5 ft 6 in broad gauge, Muni Metro's 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge, and the cable car system's 3 ft 6 in narrow gauge.
• The Geary corridor has an average speed of only 8 miles per hour (13 km/h), taking over 50 minutes to travel from the Richmond District to the Transbay Terminal.