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Celebrate the Holidays at Union Square with Muni By Che Harmon Holiday Scenes in Union Square. As 2023 comes to an end, the holiday festivities in San Francisco are just beginning. Muni is your ride to the Union Square Christmas Tree, Ice Skating Rink and the return of Winter Walk.   The holidays at Union Square are a San Francisco tradition, and all of its festive attractions are easily accessible by Muni. Take Muni to Union Square to enjoy the iconic Christmas tree and ice-skating rink through Jan. 15 or take a stroll through Winter Walk and its wonderland design through Dec. 24. Enjoy Winter Walk's entertaining shows, food trucks, shopping booths and more, all making their festive return from a 5-year-break. Union Square is accessible through the Union Square/Market Street and Powell stations, as well as many other Muni lines that make it easy to get to.   We are also excited to continue our tradition of free Muni rides on New Year’s Eve starting from 8 p.m. on Saturday, De

How Your Feedback is Shaping the Bayview Community Shuttle By Hana O’Neill A new community shuttle is coming to Bayview-Hunters Point in 2024, and we need your help designing it! The SFMTA is partnering with the  California Air Resources Board  and nine community-based organizations to launch a dynamic service community shuttle that truly meets your needs. The shuttle is funded through California Climate Investments , a statewide initiative that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities.  A “dynamic service” shuttle is one that doesn’t have a fixed route like a bus line, but instead operates in a “service area.” The shuttle will pick up and drop off riders throughout the service area, which can help you reach destinations that were previously hard to get to. The Bayview is a geographically isolated community and the community

Take Muni for Free on New Year’s Eve 2023 By Janice Tan Ride Muni for free during New Year's Eve.   As the year comes to an end, we in San Francisco have a lot to celebrate. To keep that celebration safe, we are offering our 24th consecutive year of free Muni rides for all customers on New Year’s Eve. Let Muni be the designated driver for free from 8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31 through 5 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 1.   Clipper Card customers should NOT tap their cards to make sure they don’t get charged a fare. MuniMobile passes will not be necessary. Metro fare gates will be open on New Year’s Eve starting at 8 p.m.  Riding transit is the safest way to celebrate New Year’s Eve in San Francisco, and we are happy to provide free Muni service as part of our ongoing commitment to the city’s Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic fatalities.   Whether your New Year’s resolution includes reducing your climate footprint, trying new restaurants or using more active transportation modes for

SFMTA Introduces First LRV4s with New Seating Arrangement By Che Harmon New seating arrangement in LRV4 vehicles with seats facing the front or rear.  At the SFMTA, we’re committed to improving service every way we can, and your input is critical to doing it. Our LRV4 Muni fleet is newer and easier to clean and maintain. These state-of-the-art vehicles are helping us make dramatic improvements in Muni reliability, but we’ve heard consistently that passengers want more seating options. We’re listening and putting your feedback into action.  In early September, we introduced the addition of side-by-side seats facing the front or rear of the vehicle, also known as “transverse” seats. Car #2120 was the first of a hundred LRV4 cars to feature a revamped interior. This seating arrangement lets passengers choose whether they want to face forward or backwards, depending on the direction the train is headed.  The original interiors in Muni’s LRV4 fleet featured a bench arrangement that ra

Climb Aboard History At Powell Plaza By Edward Wright Powell Street Cable Car 503 at Market and Powell Street Turntable | August 13, 1945  They’ve been sung about by Judy Garland and saved by Dianne Feinstein, and now you can experience San Francisco’s historic cable cars in a brand-new way at Powell Plaza.   Starting this Saturday, Dec. 16, a 150-year-old cable car will be stationed at Powell Plaza every Tuesday and Saturday from 7 a.m.-7 p.m., weather permitting. Visitors and residents can climb aboard history, take photos and explore this mobile museum up close.  A true San Francisco original, cable cars were first invented right here in the city in 1873 by Andrew S. Hallidie. Our street-running cable car system is the only one of its kind remaining in the entire world, and San Francisco’s cable cars are a designated National Historic Landmark.  This pilot activation at Powell Plaza is a unique opportunity to learn about the history of these iconic vehicles and experience them

We all love Valencia Street. Let’s make sure it works for everyone. By Jeffrey Tumlin The center running bikeway installed in 2023 as part of the mid-Valencia pilot. San Francisco is a high-density city. This helps neighborhoods like the Mission thrive because they are where people live, work, visit restaurants and shop at our small businesses. It’s where different communities intersect with different needs. It’s where we come together. It’s the best of urban living. When we make decisions about improving our neighborhoods, we have to consider all of this. How can we advance goals that we all share, even when those goals conflict with each other? What’s happening right now on Valencia is a perfect example of this. Valencia is one of our city’s amazing merchant corridors with incredible restaurants and retailers that draw people from all over San Francisco and beyond. It’s also a key artery for bicycle commuters – with thousands of bicyclists using Valencia every day to avoid the

SFMTA Awarded Federal Grant for Safe Streets By Erica Kato Street safety improvements are coming to San Francisco's Tenderloin with the help of a federal grant.  We are thrilled to announce we are the recipient of an $8 million grant from the US Department of Transportation (US DOT) Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program . The funds will be used for street improvements that are part of the Tenderloin Traffic Safety improvements Project . We are thankful to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Dean Preston for their strong advocacy and letters of support in our application.   The Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program was established by President Biden’s historic infrastructure law, and provides $5 billion over five years for regional, local and Tribal initiatives — from redesigned roads to better sidewalks and crosswalks — to prevent deaths and serious injuries on the nation’s roadways.     Larkin Street traffic signal modif

‘Muni Is My Ride’: A Celebration of Muni Riders and Operators By Sophia Scherr Muni is more than just a system of buses, trains, streetcars and cable cars. It's a living entity that pulses through the streets of San Francisco, connecting riders to the neighborhoods and people that they love. In the vibrant pages of "Muni Is My Ride," artist Keith Ferris and writer Lia Smith invite readers to celebrate the soul of Muni.   The project began as a collection of sketches depicting interesting passengers that caught Ferris’ eye. After a few years, he realized those sketches were something special: a mosaic of people who make up the heart of Muni. Ferris and Smith, who are both passionate about the transit system, found inspiration in each other as the project unfolded. What started as a passenger showcase grew to include portraits of Muni operators.   Ferris and Smith then embarked on a journey (during COVID no less!) to capture the essence of riding and operating Muni. The

“120 years: SFMTA Photo Archive 1903-2023” Exhibit Opens Dec. 16 By Jeremy Menzies On Saturday, Dec. 16, a new exhibit featuring photographs from the SFMTA Photo Archive is opening at the Harvey Milk Photo Center with a reception from 2 – 5 p.m. The show,“ 120 years: SFMTA Photo Archive 1903-2023 " taps into twelve decades of image making by photographers working for our city’s transit agencies.   View east towards Ferry Building on Market Street from 4th Street, October 1, 1948. Since 1903, the development of San Francisco has been documented through the lens of our transportation system by more than two dozen people. Today, these photographs make up the vast collections in the SFMTA Photo Archive . With well over 100,000 images, the archive is one of the largest repositories of photos focused on our transit network.  West Portal Station with new Light Rail Vehicles at platform, February 18, 1982.  From glass plate negatives to digital image sensors, the tools of the trade

SFMTA Pilots a New Artistic Way to Store Bikes By Jason Hyde The SFMTA’s new bike hangar storage.  Are you looking for a more secure, and affordable new way to store your bike around town? The SFMTA recently installed two new eye-catching bike hangars decorated by local artists with room for up to 12 bikes per hangar for just 5 cents per hour.   These hangers are a two-year Mayor-directed pilot intended to provide secure, medium-term bike storage. Hangars have limited, monitored access to make them more secure than our short-term bike racks.   We have partnered with the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District (YBCBD) and eLock/BikeLink on this pilot. Customers will need to download the BikeLink app to use the hangars and are encouraged to use their own bike lock inside them for added security. The hangar doors are designed with a hydraulic assist to facilitate opening and closing. We will assess whether the bike hangars are a good fit for San Francisco based on usage (number of re

New MuniMobile® App Available Today! By Kharima Mohamed The SFMTA has released a new version of the MuniMobile® app, providing enhanced trip planning, service alerts and real-time transit predictions. The mobile app will continue to offer mobile ticketing people can access on their smartphones.   Meanwhile, the original version of the MuniMobile® app will be phased out and shut down on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024.   What does that mean for MuniMobile customers?  MuniMobile® customers now can now download the new app to their smartphone. Customers will need to create a new user account with the new MuniMobile® app as accounts are not transferrable. Anyone with active tickets on the previous MuniMobile® app can use those tickets until they expire or until Jan. 15, whichever comes first.   However, as of today (Dec. 4, 2023), customers using the previous MuniMobile® app will not be able to buy new tickets. In order to ensure an easy transition before your next Muni trip, please take a mo