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The San Francisco Municipal Railway, or '''Muni''' as it is commonly known, is the Public Transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California . In 2000 , it served 46.7 square miles with an operating budget of $380.9 million. In terms of ridership, Muni is the 7th largest transit agency in the United States . In 2002 , ridership amongst all forms of transit totaled 233,015,740 persons, with markedly decreased ridership on weekends. OVERVIEW Muni operates 365 days a year. Service continues 24 hours a day; between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m., most parts of the city are connected by Owl buses that usually operate with 30 minute headways. Muni routes operate on a schedule , and the ''frequency'' of service varies at various times of day. Trip planning has been made easier by the implementation of GPS monitoring for some routes through NextBus , allowing more informed ETAs. Muni does offer more frequent service than most public transit agencies in the United States. Most bus lines are scheduled to operate at 5 to 15 minute headways during peak hours, every 5 to 20 minutes mid-days, and about every 10 to 20 minutes from 9 p.m. to midnight, on weekends most Muni bus lines every 10 to 20 minutes. However, there have been complaints of unreliability, especially on less-often-served lines and older (pre-battery backup) trolleybus lines. The following is a standard headway guide for Muni routes(average wait on most lines between Muni vehicles): Muni is an integral part of public transit throughout the San Francisco Bay Area , connecting with regional services such as BART ( Bay Area Rapid Transit ) and AC Transit . Many weekday riders are commuters, as the daytime weekday population in San Francisco exceeds its normal residential population. Muni shares some stations with BART, which can lead to confusion amongst visitors. Travelers can connect to San Francisco International Airport and nearby Oakland International Airport via BART. All Muni lines run roughly inside San Francisco city limits, except for occasional Sunday and Holiday service via the 76-line to the Marin Headlands area, a popular hiking and biking destination, the 14-Mission, which runs on Mission Street , and the 28-19th Avenue, 28L-19th Avenue Limited, and the 54-Felton, which run to the Daly City BART Station . Most intercity connections are provided by BART and Caltrain heavy rail, AC Transit buses at the Transbay Terminal and Golden Gate Transit and SamTrans downtown. During the late 1990s , amid aging equipment and allegedly poor management, Muni developed a reputation for declining service. San Francisco residents responded in 1996 by organizing Rescue Muni , a transit riders association. Infrastructure has since improved. Muni's previous Boeing streetcars were criticized as being unreliable, and are now replaced by newer Italian Breda streetcars. The Muni publishes a highly detailed map of the city, which folds to pocket-size, and shows all Muni, BART, Caltrain, and connecting service routes, with extensive color coding. The same map in a slightly different form is mounted on shelters, which can be found at many bus and car stops. Bus and car stops throughout the city vary from Metro car stations with raised platforms in the subway and at the more heavily used surface stops, to small shelters, to simple signs, to nothing more than a yellow stripe across the tracks, on a utility pole, or on the roadway. FARES As of September 2005 , fares are $1.50 for adults and $0.50 for seniors over 65, youth aged 5-17, and disabled persons. Fares were increased in 2003 in the face of municipal and state budget cuts, and again in 2005 . Proof-of-payment (POP) is handled through a transfer slip, either a piece of newsprint-like paper, torn to indicate expiration time (buses and streetcar) or print on thicker, card-board-like paper (at subway stations and a few outdoor stops such as San Francisco State University ), any of which can potentially be checked by fare inspectors. Frequent riders can get a monthly pass for $45 for adults ("Fast Pass®") or $10 for youth and seniors; persons with disabilities who have obtained a Regional Transit Connection discount card may purchase a $10 disabled monthly sticker. Fast Passes are valid on all Muni lines, including cable cars, as well as on BART rides entirely inside San Francisco (between Embarcadero and Balboa Park ). Other passes and stickers are valid on all Muni lines, including cable cars, but not on BART. Cable car fare is $5 per trip, with no transfers issued or accepted, or $10 for a one-day pass good only on cable car lines. "Passports" are folding scratch-off passes that can be purchased by mail, or at various places throughout the city; they are good on all regular-service lines without surcharge, including cable cars, and cost $11 for a 1-day pass, $18 for a 3-day pass, or $24 for a 7-day pass. Special round-trip fares are set for buses going to Monster Park during football games. They are $7 for adults, $5 for children and seniors, and $3 for anyone with a pass. Riders are given a special pass once they pay the fare, which they can then use on the return-trip from the park. {Link without Title} . These fares also increased on September 1, 2005. SPECIAL SERVICE Muni operates 16 Express lines, 4 lines limited service (semi-express) lines, and 12 Owl lines. During sporting events, additional lines go to Monster Park . Most of the express lines only run during Peak Hours ; during mornings they run towards Downtown and during the evening they run away from Downtown. All express lines have an "X", "AX", or "BX" following the line's number. Longer lines are divided into A and B Expresses. The B Express line is shorter and has stops that are closer to Downtown, while the A Express makes stops further away from Downtown and will make few or no stops in the area where the B Express stops. The 14, 28, 38 and 71 lines all have buses providing limited service along their routes. They make fewer stops than the standard line in order to provide for quicker travel, but stop along the entire part route that they serve (as opposed to the expresses, which stop only in some neighborhoods). Some of them run all day long and on weekends, unlike express buses. All limited buses have an "L" following the line's number. Owl service runs from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. There is Owl service along the 5, 14, 22, 24, 38 and 108 lines, and as bus service along the L and N rail lines, along with a few bus odd trips along the K and M rail lines. Two additional lines which combine several daytime lines, the 90 and 91, only operate during Owl hours. During football games, the special routes 9X, 28X, 47X, and 86 run to Monster Park. Note that these routes are not standard express routes and that the 9X that runs during football games is not the same as the normal 9X route. The 9X, 28X, and 47X follow roughly the same routes as the 9, 28, and 47, respectively, and then continue towards Monster Park. The 86 is a shuttle service that only runs between San Bruno Avenue and the park. STATISTICS #1061, a rebuilt PCC Streetcar painted in honor of the Pacific Electric Railway , is seen in service on the F Market Heritage line in December, 2004 . This single-ended car was originally built for the City of Philadelphia in 1946 (Pacific Electric only operated double-ended PCC's).]] operating on the 1 California line]] Muni operates about 1,000 vehicles: diesel and electric Bus es, Light Rail vehicles known as Muni Metro Streetcar s that run both under and above ground, PCC Streetcar s running on the F Market Heritage line, and the San Francisco Cable Car System which is a tourist icon for the city. Many buses are Diesel powered, but more than 300 are zero- Emission s Trolleybus es powered by overhead electrical wires. All Muni lines except for Cable Cars and a few bus lines are Wheelchair Accessible . Nearly all bus lines have Bicycle racks, but streetcars, Muni Metro lines, and Cable Cars do not. The longest Muni line is the 24.1 mile 91-owl, a nighttime only route that blends several other routes together, and during the day the longest route is the 17.4 mile 29 Sunset. The shortest route is the 89 Laguna Honda at .6 miles. The steepest grade climbed by Muni vehicle is 23.1% by a diesel 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. Two interesting intersections of note: Powell and Market Streets and California and Market Streets. At these two points, three types of 's 5 feet, 6 inch (1.676 m) Broad Gauge (which is underground in the lower tunnels), Muni Metro 's Standard Gauge (also underground in the upper tunnels), and the San Francisco Cable Car System 's ( Narrow Gauge , 1067 mm (3'6"))(at street level a few hundred feet away to the north of Market Street in both cases). The F Market Heritage Railway is also present here, at street level on Market Street. The rail lines, however, do not physically intersect. The F Market and Wharves line uses the same standard gauge as the Muni Metro, and in fact uses the J Church line to travel between its regular route and the storage facility. The Muni network consists of the following lines:
See Also: List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines GOVERNANCE Since the passage of Proposition E in November 1999 , Muni has been part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA), a semi-independent city agency created by that ballot measure. The agency, which includes the Department of Parking and Traffic and the Parking Authority, is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Board of Supervisors. The executive director and CEO of the MTA is Nathaniel P. Ford, Sr., who previously served as general manager and CEO of MARTA , and before that, as a manager for BART . HISTORY Muni has its origins in the period following the great San Francisco Earthquake . Up until then the city had been served by a number of commercial Horsecar , Cable Car and electric Streetcar operators. Many of these had been amalgamated into the United Railroads Of San Francisco (URR) company. However the city acquired the still independent cable car operator Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway , and in 1912 converted its line into an electric streetcar line. The Muni soon started on a large building program. By 1914 , a new Stockton Street Tunnel under Nob Hill carried the streetcars from Downtown through North Beach and to the new Marina District . By 1918 , the Twin Peaks Tunnel opened, making the southwestern quarter of the city available for development. This plunged the Muni into direct competition with the URR the entire length of Market Street. The two operators each operated their own pair of rail tracks down that thoroughfare, which came to be known as the 'roar of the four'. By World War 2 , the Market Street Railway Company , successor to the URR, was in financial difficulties, and in 1944 the Muni acquired its commercial competitor. SYSTEM EXPANSION Construction on a Sixth Light Rail Line from the Caltrain Depot to Visitacion Valley (and Bayview/Hunter's Point ) is expected to be completed by June 2006 . The new line will consist of 19 grade-separated stations, including at least one within walking distance of Monster Park . A further underground expansion for this line is being planned. Four proposed new underground stations at Moscone Center , Market Street and Stockton Street, Union Square , and Chinatown are being studied for a possible target date of 2009 . Two more underground stations at North Beach and Fisherman's Wharf may be built in a third phase. Many activists have sharply criticized these long-term plans as catering to the needs of visitors at the expense of city residents, asserting that Muni's resources would be better spent on a seventh light rail line running along (or under) Geary Blvd. into the densely populated Richmond District . USAGE NOTES The main logo on trains and buses are a stylized, trademarked "worm" version of the word "MUNI." {Link without Title} Muni is short for "Municipal" of "San Francisco Municipal Railway," so written in plaintext, only Muni (not MUNI) is correct; however, many San Franciscans including those who work for Muni write it MUNI and so this has become widely accepted. The Muni Metro is often called: "the train," "the underground," or "the streetcar" along with many others. "Muni" in popular usage usually refers to both the underground and the busses as in "Do you know where the nearest Muni stop/station is?" Only a non-native of San Francisco would ever refer to Muni as "the Muni." Some people use the term '' Streetcar '' or '' Trolley '' for Cable Car or vice versa. The terms actually have distinct meanings; if one asks a driver for directions to the '' Trolley '' when one really wants a cable car, one may receive the wrong directions. The heritage railway (F-Market and Wharves line) is referred to by Muni as a "historic streetcar line" rather than as a "heritage railway." One could reasonably argue that the cable cars are also a "heritage railway." All Muni routes, except the cable cars, have two parts to the name, and are most often referred to by both. For example, the "1 California." The word(s) on the end refer, in general, to the street encompassing the plurality of the line. This does ''not'' mean that the line runs solely on that street (e.g., 1-California runs on Sacramento and Clay Streets east of Pacific Heights ). Bus and trolleybus lines have number designations, rail lines have letters and the three cable car lines are typically referred to by name only (California, Powell/Hyde, and Powell/Mason), but Muni maps abbreviate their names to C, PH, and PM, respectively. Most express bus lines run to downtown in the morning, and from downtown in the evening. All express bus lines have an "X" suffix to the numeric part of the line name, to identify it as an express route. If there is an additional letter before the "X," it identifies the location of the local zone, in decreasing distance from downtown (i.e., "B" will have its local stops and terminus closer to downtown than "A"). Thus, the 1BX-California "B" Express has a local stop zone along California Street in Pacific Heights and Inner Richmond , farther east than the 1AX California "A" Express's Outer Richmond local zone. Limited stop bus lines run along the most congested routes, and stop only at the major intersections and transfer points along the way, covering at least most of the route and not deviating from it. Limited buses on most lines run in both directions at commute times, and some run on weekends as well. All limited bus lines have the one-letter suffix "L" added to the numeric part of the line name as well as the word "Limited". For example, the 38L Geary Limited follows the same route as the 38 Geary, but with more widely spaced stops. BOOKS
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