See the City's Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco's Future.
Downtown San Francisco is coming back to life, and the SFMTA is helping you get there. We are working to make trips downtown efficient and safe, and to offer riders as many options as possible. You might even try something you hadn’t considered before, such as taking a cable car, and discover that you love it. Here are just some of the ways you can get downtown easily and leave the hassle of driving behind.
Regular Muni service: Most routes serving downtown are more reliable and less crowded than before the pandemic. All San Franciscans are within two or three blocks of a Muni stop, so it’s easy to hop on board and experience the convenience yourself. Use the Trip Planner or call 511 to plan your Muni trip downtown.
Rapid service delivers “express” travel times: Rapid bus service along the 38 Geary and 14 Mission lines offers riders heading downtown from the Richmond, Western Addition, Mission, Bernal Heights, Crocker Amazon, and Excelsior neighborhoods convenient and speedy options in lieu of the 38AX and 38BX Geary and 14X Mission. Thanks to Muni Forward improvements including 15 miles of new transit lanes installed in response to the pandemic, 38R Geary Rapid and 14R Mission Rapid travel times are comparable to express service along those routes, and the rapid buses run all day, not just during rush hour.
1X California Express pilot: Buses heading downtown from the Richmond District and Pacific Heights are getting crowded again, so the SFMTA is launching a pilot program to bring express service to the 1 California line during the morning and evening rush hours. This pilot is expected to begin rolling in early 2023, once the first operator class of the year graduates, and the service will be similar to the 1AX and 1BX California lines. If the express service has strong ridership and reduces crowding on the 1 California local route, the pilot may be extended or even made permanent!
Golden Gate Transit partnership: People in Cow Hollow and the Marina now can take Golden Gate Transit downtown while the 41 Union and 30X Marina lines are temporarily not running. Golden Gate Transit Routes 101, 130 and 150 run from Lombard Street to Van Ness Avenue to Mission Street and end at the Salesforce Tower. The SFMTA maintains shared Golden Gate Transit stops, and the Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit corridor has cut down travel times on these routes by several minutes. Just remember to tag off at your last Golden Gate Transit stop, like you would on BART and Caltrain, so you are only charged for the length of your trip. Learn more at the Golden Gate Transit website.
California Street Cable Car All-Day Muni pass: Cable cars aren’t just for tourists, and the California Street Cable Car line offers direct, scenic service to downtown from Nob Hill, Chinatown and Polk Street. For six months beginning in the spring of 2023, the SFMTA will offer special one-day California Street Cable Car unlimited passes, making it even easier to get up and down San Francisco’s iconic hills. The more you use the pass throughout the day, the more you’ll save.
Clean transit stops and shelters: No one wants to wait for Muni at a grimy stop, so the SFMTA is increasing our cleaning schedule. All transit shelters will be cleaned at least three times a week, and all high-level boarding platforms will be cleaned at least five times a week. We also are repairing transit shelters across the city, including full shelter replacement. If necessary, this will include graffiti removal, replacing glass, benches, and map cases, and installing the next generation of real-transit information systems. These newer transit displays include destinations, wait times and how crowded vehicles may be.
Safety at stops and stations: Safety is the SFMTA’s highest priority. All forms of gender-based and race-based harassment, assault and sexual violence are strictly prohibited throughout the SFMTA network including on vehicles and at stops and facilities. Threatening, harming or harassing passengers or SFMTA employees is illegal and will not be tolerated. Report harassment - call 311 or use the Muni Feedback form.
We’ve taken a lot of steps to increase safety across our system. We also work with the San Francisco Police Department, BART, the Department of Emergency Management and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development to increase safety staffing in our downtown stations. Riders have someone to turn to for help easily for any issue while the stations are open.