Key Takeaway: Elevator outages significantly impact the accessibility of the fixed route system, especially at stations with only one elevator between station levels. The agency requires funding to ensure the reliability and cleanliness of elevators and escalators serving Muni Metro stations.
Escalator and Elevator Reliability
All underground Muni stations are accessible by elevator and escalator. Reliability of Muni Metro station elevators and escalators is a critical goal to ensure access and is a key measure of Muni service accessibility. For this reason, it is the agency’s goal to achieve 98% operational availability of elevators and escalators at Muni stations at any time.
The Muni Metro Elevator status page shows the current status of all Muni Metro elevators. Customers can sign up to receive updates when the status of elevators are changed. We also maintain a public dashboard measuring the operational availability of elevators & escalators at Muni stations.
When a station opens in the morning, elevators and escalators are turned on and tested. If they are non-functional, a technician is called to evaluate and repair the equipment. Most issues are resolved quickly in the very early morning, but the escalators and elevators are still recorded as having been non-operational for the day.
Even with these strict standards in place, in FY22, the agency achieved the 98% operational availability goal for six months of the year for elevators and two months of the year for escalators. Overall, the agency achieved better than 90% up-time for elevators and escalators in FY 22.
The SFMTA is working with service partners on strategies to improve the service of units that see the most traffic and those that receive the most abuse. Staff are working to deploy a real-time monitoring system that will allow staff to diagnose problems remotely and more quickly alert service technicians when there is an issue.
Vandalism and misuse (i.e. transporting heavy objects) are challenges to escalator reliability. Difficulty sourcing parts for preventative maintenance and the performance of escalator maintenance contractors also have an impact. Elevator reliability is similarly impacted by the availability of parts and maintenance contractors, and subject to unplanned downtime when cleaning staff encounter biowaste or dangerous drug paraphernalia, such as used needles.
Figure 1. Percent of time Muni elevators and escalators are in service (July 2022-July 2023)
Escalators
The Muni Metro Escalator Rehabilitation Project replaced five escalators at Church, Powell and Van Ness Station during Phase One work, completed in 2014, and rehabilitated 17 escalators at Montgomery, Powell, Hallidie Plaza, Civic Center, Van Ness, Church and Castro stations during Phase Two work, completed in 2019. Prior to this project, most of the escalators serving Muni stations had been in service since 1973. They were old, outdated and frequently broke down. The upgraded escalators are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and, while still subject to some ongoing maintenance needs, have improved the safety and reliability of Muni system.
BART is currently implementing the Market Street Escalators Renovation Project. This project will install and replace 41 escalators at four BART/Muni shared stations. Of the escalators to be replaced, 22 connect the street to the concourse level. At Civic Center Station, a street level escalator will be relocated to the entrance nearest to the Orpheum Theatre which currently only has stairs. These escalator improvements will improve rider access to Muni platforms. As of October 2023, nine escalators have been upgraded, while 4 are under construction.
Elevators
To ensure reliable station access for people who use wheelchairs, the SFMTA aims to both modernize elevators serving underground Metro stations to improve reliability and construct new ADA-compliant redundant elevators, which provide reliable access in case one elevator is out of service. In coordination with BART, the SFMTA also supports an elevator attendant program to ensure elevators at the four downtown San Francisco stations, shared by Muni and BART, consistently remain safe, clean and in working order for all customers.
Launched in 2018, the Elevator Attendant Program, provides a staff member to monitor each elevator at four BART/Muni shared stations: Civic Center/UN Plaza, Powell St., Montgomery St., and Embarcadero. The attendants help to improve safety, mobility, and accessibility for customers who rely on elevators to access the transit systems. The attendants also discourage undesirable behaviors, decrease fare evasion, improve elevator cleanliness and performance, and reduce maintenance costs.
The program is funded by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority's (SFCTA) State Transit Assistance (STA) County Block Grants. STA revenues come from the state sales tax on diesel fuel. At the recommendation of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the SFCTA funded the Elevator Attendant Program with $2,600,000 in FY18/19 and FY19/20, $1,035,626 in FY 21/22 and $2,227,224 through April 2024. The MTC recommended that the SFCTA continue to fund the elevator attendant program with an additional $356,901 for FY 24/25. [1]
The elevator modernization effort aims to upgrade 12 Metro elevators with modern, state-of-the-art technology. This includes installing new stainless-steel cabs, new doors, hardware, hydraulics and operating panels that connect to an electronic monitoring system that tracks operating issues 24 hours a day. As of 2024, eight of the 12 elevators have been rehabilitated.
The elevator expansion project aims to provide redundant street and platform elevators at all Muni stations that do not have them, beginning with stations that are not shared with BART:
- Castro Station: For the first elevator expansion project, the Castro Station Accessibility Improvements Project will construct a new 4-stop elevator serving Market St, Harvey Milk Plaza, the station concourse, and the inbound platform. We began construction in 2023 and the project is projected to be completed early 2026.
- Van Ness Station: A new elevator for Van Ness Station will be constructed in conjunction with the redevelopment of the Honda dealership building at 10 S. Van Ness Avenue. The timeline for the development is not yet definite.
- Church Street Station: The SFMTA is also seeking funding to construct a new street elevator at Church Station. The amount needed for planning, construction and project management is $27 million.
It is also a goal of the SFMTA to install redundant elevators at all stations shared with BART (Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, and Civic Center). A planning effort was undertaken by BART in 2019 to identify locations for new street elevators and new BART and Muni platform elevators at shared downtown stations but was put on hold due to funding challenges.
Despite the pause in the study, Muni and BART will construct a new platform elevator at Powell Station in 2024-25. The new elevator will be compliant with current ADA standards and will be located near the outbound boarding area. The new elevator will provide redundancy for both Muni and BART patrons to by providing a second elevator serving both platforms.
Figure 2. Summary of Elevator Types and Needs by Station
| Underground Station | Elevator Types | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Embarcadero |
Single elevators shared by Muni and BART between each level
|
Redundant street elevator. Continued funding for elevator attendant program. |
| Montgomery | Single elevators shared by Muni and BART between each level |
Redundant street and platform elevators. Continued funding for elevator attendant program. |
| Powell | Single elevator shared by Muni and BART. Plans to install a second shared elevator in FY26. Hallidie Plaza elevator between Market Street and concourse not functional and in DPW jurisdiction. |
Redundant street elevator (redundant platform elevator to be constructed in 2024). Continued funding for elevator attendant program. |
| Civic Center | Single elevators shared by Muni and BART between each level |
Redundant street and platform elevators. Continued funding for elevator attendant program. |
| Van Ness | Single elevator between each level |
Redundant street and platform elevators. Developer of 10 S Van Ness will construct new street elevator on site. Address frequent maintenance concerns of existing elevator. |
| Church | Single street elevator; 2 side platform elevators | Redundant street elevator and platform elevators. |
| Castro | Single street elevator; 2 side platform elevators. A 4-stop elevator currently under construction will serve the inbound platform. | Redundant street elevator; redundant outbound platform elevator. |
| Forest Hill | Two elevators serving each platform, each serving one direction of travel. Main entrance is accessible by ramp. | No additional elevators needed. |
| Chinatown | Two elevators between each level | No additional elevators needed. |
| Union Square – Market Street | Two elevators between each level | No additional elevators needed. |
| Yerba Buena | Two elevators between each level | No additional elevators needed. |