The 30 Stockton passing the Chinatown-Rose Pak Metro station on Stockton Street in San Francisco.
This Transit Month, we’re celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Muni Forward!
Each week, we’ll highlight one of our Muni Forward corridors to share exactly how we worked to improve your trips — and the wins riders are seeing as a result.
Today, we shine the spotlight on the 30 Stockton, one of Muni’s longest-running routes. It now has a brand-new terminal at Crissy Field thanks to our partnership with the Presidio Trust.
Muni Forward improvements on the 30 Stockton
The electric-powered 30 Stockton serves tens of thousands of riders every day. It runs from the Giants’ ballpark in SoMa all the way to Crissy Field in the Presidio.
Since 2016, we have made many improvements to the route through the 30 Stockton Transit Priority Project. These upgrades were part of our Muni Forward program, and they have increased efficiency, safety and reliability along the 30 Stockton Route.
The 30 Stockton passes the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in a dedicated transit lane.
Some of the most notable Muni Forward improvements on the 30 Stockton include:
- Longer, less-crowded buses: New 60-foot coaches make for a more comfortable ride on this very popular route.
- Dedicated transit lanes: We added red coloring to existing transit lanes on Stockton Street to improve compliance. We also added new transit lanes on 3rd and 4th streets. These changes help the 30 Stockton avoid gridlock.
- Faster and safer boarding: We added new sidewalk extensions in the Marina, known as “bulb outs.” They make for more efficient boarding and increase safety for people walking on the street.
- More efficient travel times: Thanks to strategic stop consolidations, the 30 Stockton now moves across the city faster.
- Battery-powered extension: New battery technology allows the 30 Stockton to travel “off-wire” into the Presidio, where there is no trolley wire.
30 Stockton upgrades by the numbers
Our Muni Forward upgrades along the 30 Stockton have improved travel times and made the route more predictable. Here are some noteworthy statistics:
- Travel times have dropped by 24% on 3rd Street during the morning rush hour.
- Variability in travel times has also dropped by 67% during morning rush hour — making for a much more consistent rider experience.
We made this happen by using a toolkit of proven transit improvement strategies, including:
- 1.4 miles of new or upgraded transit lanes
- 8 signals with transit priority technology that gives approaching Muni vehicles a green light
- 15 transit bulbs or islands to make boarding and exiting easier and safer
- 6 pedestrian extensions that make streets safer for people walking
Celebrating the opening of the 30 Stockton’s brand new terminal at Crissy Field made possible by our partners with the Presidio Trust.
Electricity in motion: A brief history of the 30 Stockton
The 30 Stockton has been serving San Francisco in one form or another for more than a century. It began its life as an electric streetcar, rumbling through the city on rails. Over the years, its name was changed from the F Stockton to the 30 Stockton. Eventually, it was converted into a “trolleybus.” It is now powered by electricity but rolls around San Francisco on rubber tires.
The 30 Stockton has been an essential line for generations. During the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, locals and visitors from around the world used it to travel from the Ferry Building to the Presidio.
It was also one of the very first Muni routes to travel through the Stockton Street Tunnel. This feat of civil engineering made it easier for streetcars to move from downtown to North Beach by shaving off about 50 feet of elevation change.
Today, engineering is once again helping the 30 Stockton take people to see exciting things. Muni’s recently upgraded fleet now includes trolleybuses with powerful batteries. This technology helps the 30 Stockton get from the Marina to Crissy Field and back without being connected to overhead power lines.
Thanks to the 30 Stockton Presidio Extension, locals and visitors have a direct route from the east side of the city to one of San Francisco’s most picturesque destinations. And residents of Chinatown — a neighborhood with scant public park space — have a direct line to national park lands.
The Presidio Extension has been a long time in the making. Our agency worked collaboratively with the Presidio Trust for many years to create a transit terminal at Crissy Field. The new station opened in August and a group of city leaders, stakeholders and community members celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Sept. 6 near Tunnel Tops Park.
Transit Month and the Muni Forward Passport
There are lots of ways to explore and celebrate Muni Forward corridors during Transit Month.
You can check out our special interactive map that shows upcoming events and local businesses that are part of the festivities. You can also pick up a commemorative Muni Forward Passport, which you can get stamped at participating businesses throughout September 2024. You can grab your very own limited-edition Muni Forward Passport at one of our Transit Month events or at participating businesses along the 10 Muni routes highlighted in the passport.
Since 2014, the Muni Forward initiative has made San Francisco’s public transit system faster, more reliable, easier to access and safer for people taking transit, walking, biking and rolling. More than 100 miles of Muni upgrades have been built or approved throughout the city.
To learn more about the Muni Forward Passport and see our interactive map, visit the Muni Forward Anniversary Passport webpage (SFMTA.com/Passport).