Muniverse

Sometimes it takes an avoidable tragedy to make what should be commonsense changes. SFMTA added protective bollards and made minor turn and traffic restrictions where West Portal Avenue meets the West Portal at Ulloa Street, scaled back from a more extensive safety and Muni improvement plan including transit-only lanes. 

But even downsized, it seems to be working. 

Early data suggests that the traffic-safety measures made after a drive killed a family of four waiting for a bus outside the West Portal branch library in March 2024 have been effective at making the streets around the intersection safer. Since changes were completed in September last year, according to a new report from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, speeding is down, traffic collisions are down, and injuries are down — and sales tax revenue is up. 

San Francisco District Supervisors Matt Dorsey proposed a resolution to expand the speed camera program after a successful first year of enforcement.

The SFMTA reported nearly an 80-percent reduction in drivers traveling at least 10 miles per hour over the speed limit at camera locations after the program launched in March 2025. San Francisco was the first city to implement the pilot authorized under Assembly Bill 645.

San Francisco Muni streetcar no. 1040 is the very last of 5,000+ PCC-type streetcars built in the United States from the 1930s through 1952.

It was part of an order for 25 single-ended PCC streetcars, numbered 1016-1040. It's the only one of its class restored for regular daily service on the F-Market & Wharves historic streetcar line.

School service is troublesome and buses often bunches up.

Teenagers swarm the sidewalks outside San Francisco’s Lowell High School after the final bell. They’re hoping to board the 29-Sunset, affectionately known as the city’s school bus — if they can catch a ride. Lowell junior Kaito Glaub watched as several packed buses came by and picked up a handful of students, leaving dozens behind. “A lot of people use the 29,” he said. “Sometimes it’ll take like 30 minutes before you can get on.”

It should not take a war and spiking gas priced to make people ride transit.

Unsurprisingly, the most significant shift has come in the state with the highest gas prices. While the national average is over $4.50 per gallon, California's average is around $6.14 per gallon. According to climate website Grist, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego have all seen jumps in public transit ridership. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System had a 6.5% increase. Metrolink, an LA-focused commuter rail system, saw a 4% jump. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency had its highest monthly ridership total since 2020. Outside the Golden State, the D.C. Metro and Amtrak have also reported increases.