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San Francisco Municipal Railway fleet

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With five different modes of transport from many different vendors, the San Francisco Municipal Railway, or Muni as it is commonly known, runs one of the most diverse fleets of vehicles in the United States. Roughly 1,000 buses, 200 streetcars, and 40 cable cars see active duty. Muni's forty cable cars represent one of the oldest, last remaining public transportation fleets of cable cars remaining in service around the world. Muni's fleet of diesel-electric hybrid buses is the third largest in the nation, and there are plans in place to replace the existing diesel fleet with hybrid buses. Continuing the trend, Muni's fleet of electric trolleybuses is one of the oldest and largest remaining in the United States. A summary of the current and historic vehicles follows below.

Summary

Current fleet

An Orion VII bus operating in San Francisco. These vehicles entered service in 2006.
Type Model Ordered Quantity [1] Type of Floor Wheelchair access?
40ft. Diesel Bus NABI 416 1999 45 High Yes
Neoplan AN440 2000-2003 206 High Yes
40ft. Diesel-Electric Hybrid Bus Orion Bus VII 2007 56 Semi-low Yes
30ft. Diesel-Electric Hybrid Bus Orion Bus VII 2007 30 Semi-low Yes
60ft. Articulated Diesel Bus Neoplan AN460 2002-2003 124 High Yes
40ft. Trolleybus ETI Skoda 15Tr-SF 1999-2003 240 High Yes
60ft. Articulated Trolleybus New Flyer E60 1992-1994 60 High Yes
ETI Skoda 165Tr-SF 2003 33 High Yes
Light-Rail Vehicle Breda LRV2/LRV3 1997-2003 151 High Yes, but only at certain stops.
Historic Streetcar PCC 1948-1993 16[2] High Yes, along the F-line stops.[3]
Peter Witt 1984, 1998 11[2] High Yes, along the F-line stops.[3]
Various 1912- 7[2] High Yes, along the F-line stops.[3]
Cable Car Various 1873- 40 High No
40ft. Double-decker Diesel bus Alexander Dennis Limited[4] Enviro 500 2007 1[5] Low Yes, but only on 1st floor.

Historical fleet

Muni's Diesel Fleet.
Retired Orion Buses at the Sims Metal scrap yard in San Francisco.[6]
Manufacturer Model Date of Retirement Stored Wheelchair accessible?
New Flyer Industries (8926) D40 2007 Woods Yard Park Yes
Orion Bus Industries (9001, 9004, 9010, 9015, 9038) I Citycruiser 2007 Various Yes
Flyer Industries (5001, 5002, 5003, 5148, ...) E700-E800 2007 Potrero Division No
Flyer Industries (4574) D902 2005 Woods Yard Park Yes
MAN AG (6099) 2002 Marin Division Yes
GM (3287) Fishbowl 1995 Woods Yard Park No
Flxible (4009) Fishbowl 1995 Woods Yard Park No
AM General (4154) E800-ish model 1990 Woods Yard Park No
Twin Coach (570) 1978 Various No
Marmon-Herrington (776) 1978 Potrero Division No
White (060, 062) 1975 Various No
Mack (0163) 1982 Various No

Buses

Diesel buses

Muni's active diesel fleet contains coaches ranging from thirty to sixty feet in length. The standard 40ft vehicles include Neoplan (now defunct) AN440, NABI (the American arm of Ikarus) 416, and Orion VII models. Addtionally, there are a handful of Gillig Phantoms in reserve duty. At the small end of the scale, Muni has 30ft Orion VIIs. At the large end of the scale, Muni's articulated diesel fleet is comprised of Neoplans AN460s. The Orion VIIs (both 30ft and 40ft models) are unique in the Muni fleet in that they are powered by a hybrid diesel-electric system.

In December 2007, Muni acquied a double decker diesel bus for testing purposes.[7] Its proponents claim that the double decker makes more efficient use of Muni's limited service bays, that the lack of an articulation joint will result in a lower cost of ownership, and that the shorter length will also be a boon in congested areas. Its detractors claim that dwell time is increased because there are fewer exits than on an articulated bus, and that Muni's traditionally lax security will render the top level of the bus unsafe.[4]

Historically, Muni has run standard length buses from a wide variety of manufactures. Articulated buses were sourced from MAN (retired in 2002) and New Flyer, which were retired earlier in 2007.

All of Muni's current active diesel buses meet ADA standards.

Electric trolleybuses

A Muni New Flyer articulated trolley coach

Electric trolleybuses (ETB) were very popular in the United States throughout much of the 20th century. Today, San Francisco is one of five cities in the United States with an operational ETB fleet.[8] Muni's ETB fleet is one of the largest in the nation, and services many parts of the city. Initially the ETBs were met with resistance, as residents preferred the uncluttereed skylines that the streetcars provided.[9] However, after the 1906 earthquake, ETBs were seen as a cheaper option than rebuilding the cable car infrastructure and eventually the resistance faded. Indeed, there are plans in the works to electrify existing diesel lines.

Muni's active ETB fleet consists of articulated coaches from New Flyer and ETI Skoda, as well as standard 40ft coaches from ETI Skoda. Historically, Muni has run ETBs from Brill, the St. Louis Car Company, Twin Coach, Marmon-Herrington, and Flyer.[10]

Cable cars

Main article: San Francisco cable car system
A cable car at Lombard Street.

Around the turn of the century, there were numerous cable car lines providing service to many sections of the city. Some of those cable cars are built by Muni themselves.[11] Currently only three lines and forty cars remain.

Streetcars

Contemporary light rail vehicles

Main article: Muni Metro
A Muni Boeing Vertol car at Duboce Yard

The Muni Metro has run two types of light rail vehicles. Originally, Boeing-Vertol cars were used. However, these proved extremely troublesome and were phased out of service beginning in 1997. The Boeing cars were replaced by Italian built Breda LRV2 and LRV3 models. Initally the Breda vehicles were hailed as more reliable and easier to service than their predecessors. However, deferred maintenance and design defects have taken their toll on Muni riders.

Historic streetcars

File:Car130OnFMarketAndWharvesAtTerminalFrontQueProfessionalQueImage-1.jpg
Muni Car 130 at Jones Street terminal.

Historic streetcars are run on the F Market & Wharves line. Formally introduced in the 1990s, the F line started out as a replacement tourist attraction for the cable cars, while major cable car infrastructre maintenance took place. The F line is comprised mostly of PCC cars painted in livery from cities around the United States, as well as vintage Peter Witt cars from Milan. Streetcars from many other cities, including London round out the vintage fleet.

References

  1. ^ "Fiscal Year 2008 Short Range Transit Plan: Chapter 7" (PDF). San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b c "Museums in Motion: F-line fleet operational status". Market Street Railway. Retrieved December 27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b c "Accessibility". On the Level SF. Retrieved December 27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "Double Decker Bus Trial SFMTA Fact Sheet". San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ "SFMTA Explores Double Deck Bus Option press release". San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Scrapped Muni Buses - A Photoset on Flickr". Octoferret. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "SFMTA Explores Double Deck bus option". San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Tom's North American (Canada, USA, Mexico) Trolleybus Pix". Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "WANT CABLE CARS TO RESUME OPERATION: McAllister Street Residents Would Have Old Line Run Again.", San Francisco Chronicle, p. 14, August 3, 1906 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ^ "Tom's Trolley Bus Pictures San Francsico CA Fixed Frame". Retrieved December 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Rachel Gordon (December 3, 2007). "Elite craftsmen keep S.F. cable car in good shape". San Francisco Chronicle/SFGate. Retrieved 2007-12-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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