Resident curmudgeon and longtime Embarcadero denizen Guy Span takes "muniserable" Muni to task for its management of the colorful historic trolley cars that grace the San Francisco waterfront. In Span’s opinion, charm doesn’t trump inconvenience.
Published: September, 2003
It’s been just over a year since Bay Crossings last reported on Muni’s F- Line, which uses historical trolleys to take ferry passengers from the Ferry Building along Market St. and also up the Embarcadero to Fisherman’s Wharf. Other cities such as Kenosha, WI have copied the idea and put in their own historic lines, but Muni’s is the first and the biggest.
According to General Manger Michael Burns, it is also a success.
That, of course, depends on how you define success. If you are a hapless commuter who merely wants to get from Bay St. to the Ferry Building, then it’s unusable. In the evening, the cars are so filled with tourists that they can’t pick up any more passengers and blow off any poor commuters. That’s called running "express."
According to one local (who didn’t want his name used) the record at Bay St. is six cars in a row going "express." It took one hour for a car to stop. But according to Muni, there is service every 8 minutes until 6:00 PM (when Muni thinks rush hour ends) and then schedules service every 15 minutes. Even if a car stops, there is barely room to squeeze aboard, shoehorning yourself into a deodorant-testing crowd of irritated tourists.
So what do the tourists think of this service? John Morris, visiting from Pittsburgh, OH, called it "pretty bad" and said Muni should talk to other cities about how to run a service. Laurie Craig, a two-month resident, had just been passed at Pier 39 by many streetcars. She called the service "very bad" and went on to say, "Get more cars!" Jeff and Christy Romero of Anaheim were fairly blunt. "Stay home," they said. Janet, who declined to give her last name, said that three cars had passed her and "We’re going to get a cab."
So one year later, Muni’s F-Line still fails the functionality test. Midday at the Ferry Building, it is typical to see some thirty or forty people waiting to catch a car. Standard waits at the Ferry Building can run 35 minutes before even a full car comes by. This is where Muni advertises service APPROXIMATELY every 8 minutes. In fairness, Muni sometimes adds bus service that operates on the right-of- way, but this is an extremely rare event.
Another problem Muni has is that it puts two historic cars in shuttle service, but puts them on duty at 6:00 AM, meaning that at 3:00 PM (just before the start of the evening commute) two cars are withdrawn from service. These cars operate between the Ferry Building and Fisherman’s Wharf, but seem to have no schedule. They can be found hiding out of the way in the "Pocket Track" at the Ferry Building, while 50 people wait for a streetcar. Apparently, these shuttle cars will only operate when the "schedule" allows. And for the congenitally bored, you can find a schedule on their web site, which shows the evening reduction in shuttle services to be a part of the "plan."
Someone at Muni needs to look at this "service," perhaps ride it to see how miserable it really is, and then take corrective action. Until then, commuters and tourists continue to come away with a Muniserable impression of our fair city.
