San Francisco Muni Light Rail, Streetcar, and Trolley Buses

San Francisco has so many cool trains and buses running around the city!

[@InterRegios]

It's great to see how the ex-Milan streetcars are running in that Mint condition, despite being almost 100 years old!

[@pippocalzelunghee]

in milan there are a lot still in service

[@lohphat]

The metro system is 600V at 400A. On shared bus and trolley routes the left wire is power but the right is ground for the buses since they can't discharge via running rails like the trolleys can. Metro trains can't run these routes due to the double wires as the pantograph would short across both wires. When they do run above ground they only run on street routes with a single wire, no electric buses can.

[@TohaBgood2]

Just one correction. Muni has a separate modern light metro called the Muni Metro. These historic streetcars are a separate Muni service. They can share some of the tracks in some places with the Muni Metro, but for the most part the two systems stay separate. The Muni Metro runs like light rail in the farther out suburbs and in subways through the dense city center. So through downtown SF you have the option of taking the longer and more scenic route on the streetcars or the fast route via the subway Muni Metro.

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

It's nice to see that San Francisco is still running their vintage trolleys and streetcars

[@wjohn9778]

The streetcar ride in San Francisco, is one of the biggest bargains in town. Great video, thanks for sharing!

[@woodedlane]

Countless times, back in the 80s with the old buses - going up a steep hill and the transmission goes out. We all pile out, walk back down the street, catch another bus and hope this one makes it. lol

[@aureliafrazier5927]

Great story! 😊

[@Speedbird1FLY]

Such a great variety of colours and models. I can't wait to return to San Francisco to enjoy such sights. Thanks for sharing

[@LEONIDA1899]

From 0:40 to 1:03 tramway milanese (from Milan, Italy)

[@samuelbeep]

San Fransisco uses streetcars from all around the world. You can find more info on the fleet here: www.streetcar.org/streetcars/

[@LEONIDA1899]

@@samuelbeep the San Francisco city council is very clever

[@LEONIDA1899]

@K yes, it's mine too . The interior is very classic

[@HenrikSweden1]

Ah yes i knew i had seen them somewhere else. In 1978 i rode some of these orange trolleys in Milan. At that time there where many in Milan. The green one could be from Rome ?

[@LEONIDA1899]

@@HenrikSweden1 no, it's from Milan too. At 1:10 you can see on the side of the tramway the coat of arms of the city of Milan: red cross over white shield

[@heronimousbrapson863]

The trolley busses and the streetcars can share the same "hot" wire (provided they operate at the same voltage). The difference is that the neutral for the trolley busses constitutes a parallell overhead wire while for the street cars the neutral side of the circuit is provided by the rails.

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

Thanks, I had not thought about this before. I knew that's why trolleybuses need two wires, because they have rubber tires instead of steel on street rails. I just didn't put them together. Someone else commented that the Muni light rail has a pantograph bar and the streetcars have a pole. The two can't share the same tracks.

[@wolfgangmcq]

@@Luke_Starkenburg I believe that the streetcars can run where the light rail would (at least, the share the same voltage and track gauge); rather it's the light rail and trolleybuses that can't share an overhead line since the former's pantograph would short out the neutral wire needed by the latter.

[@MrBnsftrain]

0:43 I always thought all Trolleybuses shared streetcar wires for part of their routes if the city had both I find it neat that the historic F Market line intersects a modern MUNI line

[@blue9multimediagroup]

F is a modern line. It's only from '95.

[@CaseysTrains]

The Muni Subway is probably my favorite thing about San Fran. It really feels like a true subway system until you leave the tunnel and go out on the street giving it a streetcar vibe. The Green Line in Boston, Metro Rail in Buffalo and The Subway-Surface Line in Philadelphia run in the same vein. Hybrid systems like that or "stadtbahn" as the Germans call it, just tickles my fancy. Where I'm from, subways were just subways and stood underground or ran on Elevated tracks over the street. When I came to Philly and later SF, I really grew fond of the subway trams.

[@montblanc3133]

This video was thoroughly enjoyable, I hope one day you can show Toronto's modes of public transportation. 🍁

[@casual_boredom7195]

If he did I think we'd be a lot happier given the CLRV streetcars have gone, at least someone would care about Toronto's transport.

[@chuckoneill2023]

I was in Toronto recently, still plenty of streetcars. Which system do you mean?

[@casual_boredom7195]

@@chuckoneill2023 Same system, but I mean the types of streetcars, the large older ones, (CLRV's , and the older bendy ones, ALRV's) have all been retired and don't operate normally anymore. (but there are a few for heritage service) All the other streetcars are now Bombardier Flexity streetcars.

[@colormedubious4747]

I'm surprised that you didn't show the steps moving from platform mode to street mode. It's pretty cool. I got a series of stills of that in 2003 but it'd look so much cooler in motion. I'm also shocked that you included no gratuitous cable-car footage. Yes, it's primarily a tourist attraction but it IS actual rail transit.

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

I also didn’t show any BART or Oakland airport train. That’s coming in a later video. I really wish I had gotten footage of the stairs raising and lowering. I should have waited to make the video until I went back and got some of those shots. Maybe someday soon I’ll make a San Francisco compilation video of all their trains and buses.

[@colormedubious4747]

@@Luke_Starkenburg Don't forget the SFO AirTrain, CalTrain, ACE, and VTA while you're at it. Ferries optional. :) The Bay area has just about every transit mode that exists except monorail, funicular, and MagLev. Seattle also had at least one combined streetcar/trolleybus line in 2003 (I think they're just single-mode lines, now). I wish I'd shot video on that trip but my cameras didn't have the memory for it and -- even just shooting stills -- I burned through 2 batteries daily on my primary rig and 1 or 2 on my backup. I have better gear now with a dozen 64GB cards and 4 batteries plus 2 chargers per rig but haven't had the time to do a follow-up. Looks like 2020 won't be the year for that. :( Keep up your fine work!

[@usmale4915]

Very interesting and entertaining video. Thank you for sharing!

[@SpandauJerry]

Very nice video. Thanks for sharing these beautiful sights of an impressive transportation system. W/ love from Berlin, Germany.

[@tadeslok]

The surprising thing is that most of the trolleybuses are old Škoda 14Tr, only after a major overhaul. They have not been running in Kyiv, Ukraine for about 10 years, here local authorities considered them too outdated and bought newer models such as LAZ E301 or Bogdan T701. It turns out that Kyiv has money to update the rolling stock, and San Francisco, which is at least 5 times richer, has no money and it uses transportation that is long overdue to be scrapped.

[@RRansomSmith]

That Hill at Mission Dolores is steeper on the street hence why the trolleys go through the less steep incline through the park.

[@eating100]

Nice video, I visited San Francisco last year.

[@ThermoMan]

Thanks for this. Now I really want to visit SF

[@timelordtardis]

What a wonderful video. I've traveled on a number of the trolley buses, etc. in SF. The historical ones are great. Please do another one when all this virus business is over. Thanks for such brilliant views.

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

I would love to! Thanks for the kind words!

[@jeremymuther8656]

Great video i grew up in SF 1989 live in Boston now I have seen all of the changes in muni pretty amazing

[@TohaBgood2]

Wait until you see the new Central Subway that dips under the Market street BART/Muni subway! Despite all the naysayers, SF is making meaningful progress on rail transit!

[@chuckoneill2023]

Chicago had the electric trolley busses also, the last ones were discontinued in the early 1960s. They looked almost exactly like these. Do the different liveries of the street cars indicate different origins? I’ve seen something similar in Kenosha, Wisconsin. They have old street cars in different colors, with some interesting back stories.

[@wolfgangmcq]

The PCC streetcars (eg 1:24) came from Philadelphia and Newark but have the livery of various PCC operators; other models mostly retain the livery of their original operators.

[@fluff86d]

West Portal Station would have been cool to see in this video p, as well as the very long staircase leading down to Forest Hill Station, which feels deep enough to double as a bomb shelter.

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

There is a lot that I wish I would have included in this video, including the portal and also the stairs raising and lowering. I try to keep the videos short and I was only in San Francisco briefly when I shot this video last year. When I make it back to SF, I'll definitely do more filming!

[@bobduvar]

And the skyscrapers from Embarcadero Center.... OMG !! I miss San Francisco i knew and where i studied in the 80's....

[@cantbeatthebay4765]

This city is the best America has to offer.

[@user-yi8iu9pm7y]

Вот это уровень жизни 👍👍👍😀😀😀

[@anton27067]

@user-yi8iu9pm7y привет.Тут и уровень жизни и просто шикарная работа общественного транспорта.Хотелось бы там побывать.

[@justus8040]

You've got to give it to S.F. when it's public transportation (muni)is on time and hitting on all cylinder its a thing of beauty

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

I love all the variety of transportation in San Francisco. They have everything except for monorail and maglev. Eventually, some day hopefully, they will even have high speed rail!

[@davidnissim589]

@@Luke_Starkenburg Subway, light rail, streetcar, and commuter rail. Quite a selection!

[@TohaBgood2]

@@Luke_Starkenburg I dunno, maglev and monorail are too gagetbahny for my taste. I'd rather SF build another BART line along Geary!

[@jangenzer424]

Wow! There are trolleybuses Škoda from my country. (Czech Republic)

[@kubilius11]

Those were cool to see and the sound makes me nostalgic, the Škodas are also still used in Vilnius

[@mmbmbmbmb]

A vigorous video of a City with a lot of vigor. Impressive diversity of transportation. Thanks!

[@Thomas1980]

L👍I👍K👍E ...great Video!

[@RRansomSmith]

The Trackless-Trolleys only reach like that so they can stay in the transit lanes.

[@wolfgangmcq]

Also, in places where there's no dedicated transit lane, so they can go around stalled cars and other obstructions.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@@wolfgangmcq yup

[@JoseCampos-zr4te]

Excelente vídeo! Parabéns!

[@malcolmnicholls2893]

Fantastic.

[@edisoneladiosanchezluarte633]

QUE BELLEZA MODERNOS TRANVÍA Y ALGUNOS RESTAURADO Y COMO TAMBIÉN LOS TROLEBUSES ES LO QUE NESECITAN EN SANTIAGO DE CHILE LA CAPITAL MUY CONTAMINADA

[@aureliafrazier5927]

Hi still watching your beautiful videos luke. Keep up the great work! Have you ever worked on any movie sets? 💕💕

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

Thank you so much! This is just a fun hobby for me. I've never been on any movie sets or worked for tv or movies.

[@aureliafrazier5927]

Wel,l you do an awesome job, it is nice when you do things that you enjoy, and take your viewers on your journeys! God bless and continue on your path. Tyfs and for your reply! 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♀️💕

[@OutdoorsWithShawn]

I wonder how much voltage and amps is used to operate one of those trolleys and/or busses?

[@Dusolo]

600 volts on the over head power line before it transmits and becomes 24 volts to supply the interior lighting and others ., I believe the motor will needs the higher voltage

[@MigoNL]

750V = About 250A full throttle

[@chriswalker1993]

Excellent video.

[@MrSquareart]

very very nice video!!!!!!

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

Thank you!

[@lifesoframadhangaming7364]

If only Cities Skylines make Tram and Trolleybus like this

[@QuarioQuario54321]

Would it be possible to run trains in the street automatically?

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

There are companies working on automatic control in streets, which I don't think is a very good idea. There are self driving cars, and buses coming, but they don't have the weight and stopping distance that a light rail vehicle does.

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

“Germany's Self-Driving Streetcar Puts Autonomous Tech on Track”. www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/story/siemens-potsdam-self-driving-street-car-tram/amp

[@Dusolo]

No right of way is no way automatic on the street

[@davidnissim589]

No, traffic on Market Street is too unpredictable for the system to be automatic. Besides, I think it might be fun to learn how to drive one of those streetcars.

[@georgechlada4868]

No 2 trolley cars are alike, it seems, in San Francisco.

[@user-jb2qq6ql8c]

It's great that you also have an underground tram in the form of a subway in San Francisco. Just in Rossi in the city of Volgograd there is a high-speed Metrotram.

[@michaelboccino5251]

I Really Miss the Muni When I Lived in S.F From Gavin Newsom to Mayor Lee ' I Left to Come Back Home to Jersey ' I Still Have Many Friends in S.F ' To Many Homeless People

[@michaelboccino5251]

I First Lived in the Castro at 17th and Diamond ' Then I Moved to Sacramento St and Polk ' I Used to Take the Cable Car or the No One '

[@user-vo4yj6lk7f]

Great video 📹

[@seeng_]

@로드뷰 여기서 뵙네요. 안녕하세용.

[@user-vo4yj6lk7f]

@@seeng_ 안녕하세요 ^^ 반갑습니다.

[@seeng_]

5:24 None stop??

[@user-pc4md9jw5s]

Not in service

[@chrismohlmann2961]

Trolleys bussen rijden ook in Nederland Arnhem

[@gardenman3]

It would b interesting if you could post a video of the same spots now.

[@wolfgangmcq]

The only thing that's running is core bus routes; all the rail routes have been shut down and some have replacement buses instead. Otherwise the city looks pretty much normal; it's just a little quieter and everyone's avoiding each other. But you wouldn't necessarily notice anything amiss on the streets at first glance; everyone would be inside most of the workday anyway.

[@eddietwele224]

I rode Baltimore streetcars until Nov.3,1963. I was very sad and crying. 😓😓😓😭😭😭😭

[@Takeo.8827]

When did u film these videos?

[@LvdensArcturus]

how about riding one of theses lines in First Person ? full line 4k ?

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

Maybe I'll do this the next time I'm in SF!

[@b.b.b.k]

ステキな動画をありがとうございます。 とても懐かしいです。

[@nocnymarek7645]

What means Green paths (at the begining od movie?)

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

The green path is a bike lane for bicycles.

[@nocnymarek7645]

@@Luke_Starkenburg THANKS for answer. Looks nice, we have red in Europe.

[@danielsamuels5857]

5:47-6:17, so it's like CBTC for streetcars, I mean light rail trolleys?

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

I'm not sure I understand. I have no clue what CBTC is.

[@wolfgangmcq]

@@Luke_Starkenburg It stands for Communications-Based Train Control. To answer Daniel's question, Muni tunnels currently use a CBTC system known as the "Automatic Train Control System" (ATCS), with a communications loop embedded iirc in the trackway.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@@wolfgangmcq that's not CBTC. It's ATC.

[@wolfgangmcq]

@@blue9multimediagroup Muni says "ATCS is a type of Communications-based Train Control (CBTC) system": www.sfmta.com/projects/train-control-upgrade-program I'm not an expert on this, I was just going by what they said when they were explaining the system.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@@wolfgangmcq They don't know what they're talking about then. They're 2 different systems albeit both forms of control systems. CBTC calculates the position of one vehicle and determines how close another vehicle can get to it. ATC is a block based system. It only allows movement up to a certain distance and then restricted beyond that.

[@matthew.maduli]

Been home away from SFSU. cause of the pandemic. Missin riding these babies for free :((((

[@eileensweeney2500]

When was this filmed?

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

Last year, in 2019.

[@michaelboccino5251]

I First Visited S.f When Diane Fienstien' Was Mayor and Owned Half of South of Market 🤣👍

[@rishi7629]

This is emptier than a Sunday at Kolkata!.. How the fuq?

[@worldwidebear1967]

I like SF

[@Gordon705]

How do you ride it? Do you have to buy a ticket or pass ahead of time? Is there a fare box for cash? How much?

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

I haven't done it in w while, but you can pay $2:50 cash onboard. But if you want to ride the cable cars also, and also the Muni buses and Light Rail, I would purchase a day pass ($21), but you can't buy this onboard. I would go to a MUNI Underground station and buy it from a machine or the ticket counter.

[@Gordon705]

@@Luke_Starkenburg thank you !

[@royalakhdar8678]

buses are just streetcars without rail or wire on top

[@michaelboccino5251]

When I Was There New Jersey Sent A Car to Be Put on the F line- Public Service '

[@ericyt4465]

U have to try LRT in jakarta also

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

I would love to go and check it out!

[@paulbielen9233]

And they all have been pulled from service until this epidemic is under control.

[@18_himanshurawat45]

I like ling electrice bus with pantogram

[@RRansomSmith]

Anyone notice that LRV arcing as it left the station? Not good, Muni. Fix it.

[@OperatorLogan]

Great video! I work on the type of cars they use on the F line. If you like them you should definitely take a look at my channel.

[@Bella955478]

Is it true that the quarantine is over or not yet?🤔🤔🤔🤔 when will the covid 19 ends?🤔🤔🤔🤔 I hoped not to wait until summer come back around😕😕😕😕 I just don't want to ruin my special day when it comes in the summer, I just hoped that it would turn back to normal of being busy in the city 🙏🙏🙏🙏😇😇😇😇 please father in heaven, I am begging you in the name of Jesus I pray, and so I hoped to go back to school, work, church and other activities of beinging activate again by moving around again. Please father in heaven, in the blood of Jesus cover you blood to cleanse the whole world to all be back to normal again forever & always🌇🌁 amen🕆🕆🕆🕆⛪🏩🏭🏥

[@SUNNY-Z8]

How about virus???!!!...nothing changed

[@jeanpierredevos3137]

This material belongs in a museum. The infrastructure and the whole transportation system is decades behind. Poor US

[@AML2000]

The street cars that run on Market Street are all museum pieces that come from various places in the world. Some of them, you'll notice, come from Milan, Italy. This is deliberate, not because of infrastructure problems.

[@danielsamuels5857]

On the other hand, some areas of the United States like New Orleans and Philadelphia would kill to keep historic modes of transportation like this. Don't ever say this one is bad again!

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

Yes, these are old, slow, and inefficient, but they are rolling museum pieces and pleasing to locals and residence. They are usually full of high paying tourists and a few locals. I believe most of the manpower to restore these streetcars is volunteer.

[@wolfgangmcq]

@@Luke_Starkenburg To add to that, the F line is running with traffic at grade anyway, so modernization wouldn't make it go any faster since it'd still have to wait at stoplights.

[@danielcarroll3358]

There are *two* more levels of track directly below the F line. The upper level is used by the other six tram lines in the city center. They run on streets or separate rights of way in the more residential areas. The lower level has the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) trains. These run at up to 70 mph, although on occasion up to 80 mph (128 kph). They run to the airport and to the cities on the east side of San Francisco Bay with ten car trains.

[@josephcarlbreil5380]

The Yanks aren't practicing social distancing, which is why Corovid-19 cases are soaring.

[@Luke_Starkenburg]

This video was shot in 2019.