Trains and Trolleys of San Francisco 2018 (6 Different Modes of Transit!!)

San Francisco has the greatest variety of transit in the United States! Woah! Trolleybuses, buses, cable cars, streetcars, subways, and light rail!!!
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Thank you for your support. Comment below so all of us can have a productive and insightful conversation about transportation!

[@andrewtwynham8794]

Visited San Francisco a few years ago. It’s a most amazing city, nowhere else like it. Rode the old trams including the old Blackpool tram from my home in the UK that I remember from a child. The cable cars are terrific. For anyone visiting the USA, San Francisco is a must.

[@brtv3058]

No it’s not it’s dirty and disgusting. The trains are cool but the city is terrible

[@scoobycarr5558]

Greetings to you dear sir from the 🇬🇧 from Scooby in the 🇺🇸! 😀

[@globial5329]

@@brtv3058 cope

[@AlCatSplat]

@@globial5329 you need to cope with facts

[@automation7295]

@@brtv3058 How would you feel if someone say the same about your city or even your own house?

[@davidnissim589]

Fun fact: the E and F heritage trolley lines were the result of a trolley festival held in the mid-80s, when the cable cars were out of service for renovation. It was supposed to be a one-off event, but the trolleys ended up being so popular that they were turned into a full-time service, even after the cable cars were restored.

[@chromebomb]

SF is so special because of the SOUNDS! The electric trolleys! BART! All have special sounds unlike Metros in other cities. The sound of a Muni electric bus going up hill will be with me forever.

[@RaymondHng]

@A E www.wired.com/2016/09/three-year-fight-make-san-franciscos-subway-stop-screaming/

[@kimifan06]

i like the sounds of the wire passing over connections and the sparks it sometimes makes;)

[@leandrodominic5822]

i know Im asking randomly but does anybody know a trick to log back into an instagram account? I was dumb forgot my login password. I would love any assistance you can give me.

[@hayesharlan1592]

@Leandro Dominic Instablaster :)

[@leandrodominic5822]

@Hayes Harlan thanks for your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff now. Takes a while so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@gruberti1811]

This brings back some really great memories. I lived in San Francisco for 18 years. I miss it every day. If you live and work in the city you almost don't need a car.

[@user-zv6ww2ex7j]

Almost European City ))

[@jamesspathis1283]

Well I'm an oakboy and to tell you the truth the city is still as amazing and some times as shitty as ever

[@ladder3257]

@@jamesspathis1283 true.

[@PawsAndToeBeansSituation]

You do NOT need a car in Frisco

[@TohaBgood2]

@@user-zv6ww2ex7j Depends on where you live in the City, but yes. Most neighborhoods are basically European neighborhoods plopped in an American city for some reason. But it does have its unique vibe that you don't get anywhere else.

[@nicolasgoldring7128]

I absolutely love San Francisco. The culture, the atmosphere, the scenery. It's such an amazing city. The last time I went here I was very young. I wasn't a cultural enthusiast, especially an East Asian lingual and cultural enthusiast, like I am now at that time, so I barely enjoyed it. But now, I really wish to travel to this amazing city. Much love from Dallas, Texas.

[@Steven_Rowe]

If there is one city I want to visit in the US it is San Francisco. Perhaps it is the terrain, the architecture or the golden gate bridge . It is really lovely that some old heritage trams are running.

[@chrisbradshaw5352]

Do it! I highly recommend a visit. Avoid the Tenderloins, as it is the rough area, Polk Street for some good bars

[@dalekenbeek1009]

I went last year love it....

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@dalekenbeek1009 we were there in May 2019

[@ajs11201]

Bring a pair (or two!) of really good walking shoes. Some of the hills are absolutely lethal on foot!

[@davidpomeroy7594]

@@chrisbradshaw5352 I work in the tenderloin, bad area but hey I can now tell the difference between dog and human feces

[@cadmadero]

I was there recently.....what a lovely city ! I fell in love with SF.

[@bobparsons77]

Such a diversity of transport.

[@stormgirl09]

The old fashioned cable cars lool the coolest. Its also cool how open they are. I wish more public transportation was opened instead of enclosed. Old school vehicles seemed more open in general. Train windows opened up for example. Wonder why its now like being cooped up in a tin can...

[@alexi-divasskinner960]

girlstorm09 air conditioning, sis

[@VazDraeStudios]

because it wouldnt work most places. Like here in WI that would be the worst in winter...

[@calif1mc]

VazDrae Studios SF has a temperate climate, thank goodness 😉 Of course, we also have the snowiest place in the US, the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

[@MrTheaternut]

Public safety. To many idiots hanging out the windows being beheaded

[@ericjamieson]

Cable cars are slow. IIRC the cable runs at around 9 mph, so they're less likely to cause serious injury. Even at that they're somewhat dangerous. SF has paid millions of dollars in compensation to people who got injured falling off or trying to board them. It kind of gets swept under the rug; I think the SF Weekly at one point had to file a Freedom of Information Act request to get the data from the city. I love them just like everybody else does, but if a modern system had the safety record the cable cars do, there would a a public outcry and govt. regulators would be on them like flies on shit.

[@Sacto1654]

A reason why the trolley buses still exist in San Francisco is that on many routes, the hill grade is too much for a regular bus. And those PCC's on the F Market line are actually extensively rebuilt from the original, likely with more modern controls and the ability to better accommodate disabled passengers.

[@CityLifeinAmerica]

Sacto1654 Some of the PCCs have the clever device system in them like the regular buses, and talk.

[@scoobycarr5558]

How about that ziggy zaggy street in San Francisco's Russian Hill district? Rumor has it that the street's ruling grade without the ziggy zaggys is 20 percent - far too steep for any vehicle to encounter.

[@RRansomSmith]

Controls are still the same. Only the motors were Updated

[@gruberti1811]

I used to live on a hill in San Francisco on a diesel bus route. Often during rush hour the crowed bus couldn't make the grade and passengers would have to disembark and walk up to the next intersection.

[@TohaBgood2]

@@RRansomSmith Theoretically, they also have a bunch of modern equipment hidden behind panels, including signal priority and other goodies.

[@safeatthird6060]

Real transit what a way to get around with all those different modes form 1873 to 2018 DAMN all in one fishbowl great. Later

[@DarPower1]

You forgot Caltrain!

[@lb5712petelemonade]

Love San Francisco been quite a while since last there though so one way to get to see it again

[@TwoWholeWorms]

Oy, the BART. Noisest subterranean train system I've ever been on.

[@danielcarroll3358]

There is a long story behind that and a solution was finally found, but it requires regrinding the wheels and the rails in two steps (passes) to change the profiles. It will still take a couple of years to implement. Also the new cars have plug doors so the cars are quieter - at least inside.

[@michaelw.458]

Nice to see antique trolleys in service. Just wondering where they managed to get them.

[@ericjamieson]

There's a whole organization that sources them from all over the world. Most of the PCCs were surplus from various US streetcar systems. A lot of the rest came from Europe, e.g. the orange one in the video is a Peter Witt car from Milan.

[@DTD110865]

@@ericjamieson This is true. The PCC Streetcars are inherited both from cities that had light rail in the past, and some that still do.

[@ericjamieson]

@DTD110865 A lot of them came from SEPTA but they're painted in various paint schemes of different cities that historically ran them, regardless of where the individual car actually came from.

[@DTD110865]

@@ericjamieson You also have some from Newark (New Jersey) , who sold off a lot of their old Newark City Subway cars from back in the days of the New Jersey Public Service Corporation.

[@Bim_Chicken]

There's a W-class Melbourne tram running there too.

[@richardmarcdenton2325]

I think if Los Angeles politicians were insightful enough they would bring back surface street cars like the Yellow Cars, Red Cars, and PCCs to the densest parts of this city. One suggestion would be along Broadway from East Los Angeles to San Pedro. Yes, there are cultural challenges to be overcome, but street cars would definitely help "re-humanize" this city, as well as provide more adequate "environmentally friendly" public transformation without all the construction trauma of underground systems. Subways would still provide the backbone of "the system," yes we need those hugely expensive systems, but we also need "block to block" cars so local people could shop, tourists could recreate, and workers could commute to home and work in a safer and comfortable manner. If it can be done in Lisbon and San Francisco then it can be accomplished here in Los Angeles.

[@jacobwoods8738]

Richard Marc Denton Sadly it doesn’t seem likely. Red cars were brought back on a small scale in San Pedro, and waterfront developers have shut them down now.

[@MrStevenjv]

I believe LA had the largest street railway system in the world at one time. In the last 15 years or so a lot has been done in an impressively short period of time to bring back rail. Five or six new light rail lines?

[@timosha21]

What an insightful comment! Agreed!!We need to humanize the cities again improving quality of life rather than just being a slow moving parking lot for cars that hardly interact with the city!

[@Yevgeshik]

I agree 100%.

[@morris19721]

If LA Metro bring back of PCC ans Hollywood cars people will use them

[@awood1604]

Aww, Nice to see the old PCC Streetcar from Toronto. We have the new Flex ones now. (Air conditioned too) I'm pleased to see Streetcars making a comeback in the States. Good form of public transit.

[@RRansomSmith]

It's not from Toronto. It's just painted in the TTC scheme. It's from Philly.

[@derekantill3721]

A really great public transport video, and all filmed in one great city. Fantastic.

[@urbanviii6557]

What a fantastic series of transport videos you have produced!

[@joaogoncalves1097]

PCC streetcars are very charming, my favourites. It's very interesting to see the way they share the electric wires from trolleybusses...Very nice filming, thanks for sharing, greetings from Brazil.

[@marvinwatkins8889]

Thanks for the varied variety of transit views. SF: one of the great transit cities. In a state where car culture is king, here's a town where you should only rent a car when you need one.

[@paulcartlidge751]

Great video a big like from the UK

[@metropolitantransit7276]

In Toronto: People: Subways Other people and politicians: LRT Me: San Francisco!

[@allyreneepenny9447]

Love the,, Cable Cars'' this is true San Francisco 😍 Like the ,, Golden Gate Bridge'' And the Pullman Tram 👌Few Trains remember me a little bit on German Streetcars in Cologne ( DUEWAG today Siemens Mobility)

[@calif1mc]

Great video! I live 120 miles northwest of San Francisco, in Redwood Valley in beautiful Mendocino County.

[@robert3302]

When I was younger I rode the green and yellow PCC cars every day, and the trolley buses. I also remember when most of the people on the cable cars were city residents going to work or shopping, before they became amusement rides. Those were the "Good old days".

[@pdxrailtransit]

Very nicely done, thanks.

[@scoobycarr5558]

Cable cars in San Francisco along with light rail, subways and a PCC trolley? How marvelous! BTW I'm from near Chicago.

[@jpathak6227]

San Francisco’s public transportation is great. Remember when the BART system was introduced in the early seventies. Who needs a car when you can get from one place to another on public transportation. Cable cars make San Francisco unique of any city in the world.

[@vincentm614]

I loved those F market trolleys alot! I did not realise San Francisco had so many modes of public transportation. Old Trolleys, New Trolleys, Trolley Busses, Tourist Rice a Roni Trolleys, Regular Busses and of course The Bart Rapid Transit. Im from New York and all we have are Subways and Regular Busses.

[@RaymondHng]

They are not "Tourist Rice a Roni Trolleys" and they are not "trolleys". They are cable cars. They do not have trolley poles.

[@jimpern]

The last time I was there, the F-line (vintage streetcars) was not in service yet, and the Muni Metro (light rail) was still using its first generation Boeing-Vertol cars, now retired. What's a bit different is that the BART subway and the Muni Metro both run both above and below ground. And of course the cable cars are completely unique.

[@TohaBgood2]

BART is a pretty crazy system too. Extremely lightweight and very wide Indian gauge 10-car trains, that can go up 80mph.

[@TravelingwiththeJones3s]

I've been to the Bay a few times love it out there feels like the east coast even though your in cali

[@scottyerkes1867]

Amazing assortment of transit vehicles

[@jurjanmeskisvili7897]

6:37 old TTC (Toronto) streetcar 😄

[@RRansomSmith]

Nope, just the paint of one. That car was from Philly built in 1947.

[@Zenas521]

I lived their and visited the city by the bay often when I was young. The silver buses look new to me.

[@ebtmikado]

Nice variety.

[@josemessiasrosa8856]

Great video! 👏🏿👏🏿

[@lb5712petelemonade]

I used to go to San Francisco alot had some friends there and I remember it before BART I have many memories there

[@aldofhister6859]

Before Bart ? Jesus how old are you

[@TuukkaVarjoranta]

Interesting video! :-)

[@user-mh2hv9mm1u]

Прекрасное познавательное видео!

[@twinvideoproduction9662]

Awesome video.

[@jakebluethunder]

Good video. Thanks.

[@timstrainvideos142]

excellent video!

[@MJofLakelandX]

Example of why Baltimore is so deprived. If it wasn't for GM and city council in the 1960s stripping the railways, we wouldn't be in a predicament of building railways. Especially when some are still in-existence under the pavement throughout many of the streets.

[@westernmaryland1928]

It happened everywhere, look what happened to D.C.'s trolley's as the last one ran in 1962. Of course GM wanted to sell cars and look at traffic now, bad in every city.

[@yogaMRTA]

Poland has 15 cities with different trams!!! US is really sad in terms of public transport

[@CityLifeinAmerica]

yogaMRTA It’s getting better, many cities are rebuilding the trams they took out. Now we get newer trams because of it.

[@TravelingwiththeJones3s]

MJofLakeland1 same thing here in Nashville. And the city just voted down a light rail transit plan

[@CityLifeinAmerica]

will jones lame! I’m glad Phoenix has a light rail

[@KARTAVIDEO2TRAINS]

Trlleys and Trains are beautiful.

[@FrankGutowski-ls8jt]

Good video! Would love to see designs of newer stations and especially intermodal nodes.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Skodas surprisingly enough, those trolleybuses aren't they?

[@michaelsandford1015]

Very good filming and like your network

[@MervynPartin]

Enjoyable video with such a wide variety of transit. Might be worth a few small captions to identify the different systems for viewers who are less familiar with SF?

[@aasim8]

It would be fun and interesting to ride the different modes of transportation. Some of those trolleys are like the ones in Brooklyn in the 1940s.

[@johnnyarmendieusebio]

That is so cool! My dad is in San Francisco and he has a.... Like a business meeting and he was gone for 4 days😢 But my dad is coming back on Thursday that is nice.

[@johnnyarmendieusebio]

This bring back memories when I was small I think I rode a trolley or maybe not. Like if YOU rode a train in San Francisco!!!! I would like to know!😊

[@DevynCairns]

The catenary wire that serves trolleybuses and trams at the same time is very interesting

[@jorasaveminiaturas]

Woah! so this is where Rockstar got inspiration for the buses and transit of Los Santos from GTA 5 Awesome!

[@alainterieur4837]

jorasave Actually, they got it from some busses in LA (search "LA local bus") as Los Santos is Los Angeles in real life

[@middletransport]

Yeah, and the tram is from LA as well... Search LA Metro Green Line.

[@byronchavarria4954]

Los Angeles USA 🇺🇸 And Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺

[@davidlang1125]

Hey the Muni at West Portal station at 1:00! My SF hood!

[@AndreiTupolev]

Power heels 10:00!

[@optecio]

The metros (not BART) were really weird since some places would see them act like trams!

[@electrostaticat]

The red/cream coloured streetcar is the old red rocket from the TTC, Toronto Transit Commission.

[@robfriedrich2822]

One question, is the day ticket valid for all kinds of public transport in San Francisco or are there different tickets for the different kinds of vehicles? Think about a trip and would know, what will I see.

[@peteralbert1485]

You can load value on a Clipper Card that will work for just about all 27 different transit operators in the Bay Area. They automatically figure a discount to transfer between them, and the Muni system (cable cars, buses, light rail, streetcars) has a day pass.

[@Tilak-Chatterjee]

Well mantain Nice vintage transportation system Gritting from India

[@scoobycarr5558]

Greetings to you from 🇮🇳 from Scooby in the 🇺🇸! 😀

[@SoumyaChowdhury24081995]

Same from india

[@AggrarFarmer]

Subway trains looks so cool and they are realy fast.

[@antoniojose8606]

Muito bom o sistema de transporte bastante variado e opcional. Aqui no Brasil infelizmente não é o mesmo.

[@aliaksandranikovich6300]

nice view/ like

[@RyanHanna]

I'm from Toronto, Canada and at 6:36 you can see there's a TTC (the Toronto transit agency) logo on the side of the streetcar.

[@ThomasJM]

Ryan Hanna the line it's on useses pcc streetcars and they painted them in all of the colours for the cities that used them

[@nanaokyere7141]

I guess they were doing a tour or something in that city. That's what our trollies use to look like before the current CLRV's were built.

[@bryfii]

@hanselxy yikes who pissed in your cereal

[@scoobycarr5558]

Greetings to you dear sir from 🇨🇦 from Scooby in the 🇺🇸! 😀

[@RRansomSmith]

@@nanaokyere7141 read the first comment again

[@michaelsandford1015]

Good video

[@milakhairu9743]

Hay.. In San Francisco all in one day pass for public transportation???

[@A.A.Love7]

Please note: I am not a negative person. I try to see the good in most everything. And I have been to San Fran and think it's a beautiful city, but the wire system has always been an eye sore to me. It's intriguing but gaudy.

[@dawgcanjumphigh]

One thing SF has that LA doesn't. Metro here in Los Angeles County works but SF has the best public transit system in California. Both of these cities are expensive places to live in.

[@lol-ug2ry]

Cool!!!

[@middletransport]

Awww, no Caltrain or AC Transit Transbay buses.

[@paulapower3253]

9:31 what nice and deadly spikes on the front of the train!

[@danielcarroll3358]

Those are to keep people from falling between the cars at station platforms. They are actually a safety item.

[@paulapower3253]

Okay, never seen something like that in Europe.

[@middletransport]

@@paulapower3253 Because those cars are often used as middle cars, not always at the front. The "spikes" are a barrier between cars so people don't fall and get stuck between cars. Japan has similar barriers although theirs are covers instead of spikes.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Wonderful old PCC trams or streetcars. "Entering the K Talkgroup"?

[@danielcarroll3358]

The radio channel to talk to central control in this area.

[@deputykirsanov7314]

BART, my favorite

[@domingorivera2371]

we need the same in orlando florida ,but just like orlando and other cities throughout the country are far behind

[@syarheianop]

my suggestion. in the old trams a lot of tourists. )

[@cyborgsheep6077]

6:36 what's that ttc logo doing there?

[@transitfan954]

1:44 and 5:04 BART "A" cars ❤️ My favorite rapid transit cars. Alas, their time will be ending soon 😕 (they are almost 50 years old, so time for them to go)

[@charlessayle4521]

Every Bus, Trolley or Rail Vehicle shown, except BART, is Owned by The City and County of San Francisco. There are bus Systems owned Owned by Other County’s and The Golden Gate Bridge District that bring Passengers in and out of San Francisco.

[@davidviktora]

Ha, Skoda 14TrSF trolleybuses :).

[@LuffyRL]

I live there! :)

[@justpf]

I used to live in SF for a couple of years. What i don't get about MUNI's design--why so much metal and so little "glass" in comparison--just look at those small windows? One can always distinguish US transit design from European by the amounts of metal used... Any idea why is it so?

[@internetperson9813]

6:37 Why does that PCC have TTC livery?

[@jeronwhite3113]

I’m from mobile Alabama 2hrs from New Orleans I’ve experienced riding a cable car there

[@ElliottDuster]

They have the old streetcars from Toronto!

[@jg-7780]

IMO, the Philadelphia metro area has a comparable variety of transit options, with subways, streetcars, light rail, whatever you want to call the Norristown high speed line, Amtrak, and the Septa commuter lines.

[@RRansomSmith]

NHSL is interurban.

[@michaelboccino5251]

Wow- Feel Like Going Back For Awhile ' Really Miss it ' I Used to Walk & Ride A lot Out There ' Here in Jersey ' You Just Veggetate in the Winter- Uber Please '

[@munkyman77]

4:13 I spy a Leyland Olympian!

[@WebSoak]

I lived there for 2 1/2 years and moved back to New York. I like New york better aswell as their transit. I also noticed Street Trams in SF sound like the R179s in New York. If the manufacturers is bombardiar this will confirm it.

[@britishcorndog6079]

It's Breda

[@robfriedrich2822]

Interesting concept to make trams ready for wheel chair users.

[@MrStevenjv]

The American Disability Act requires all US transit systems to be handicapped accessible. All the busses as well as E and F line historic streetcars have lifts for wheelchairs or disabled people. The Metro lines are fully accessible in subway stations (via elevators to and from platform/street level). Where Metro trains run at street level in the neighborhoods ramps were built at key transfer intersections to satisfy the ADA. The only mode of transit in SF not wheelchair accessible are cable cars.

[@robfriedrich2822]

In Germany we have both kinds of tram. Low floor trams that ensures every station is wheel chair compatible and the older system of higher platforms to make sure the same in older technology

[@kilodeltaeight]

​@@robfriedrich2822 San Francisco's Tram network (Known as Muni Metro) largely boards in the middle of the street - a quirk from the surface network's age. Along most of the surface lines, it's impossible to build a high-level platform that would accommodate mobility devices and meet modern safety codes without substantially redesigning the street and curbing auto use. That is happening, slowly, but it's opposed at every step by older residents who don't want to give up their free parking space.

[@lb5712petelemonade]

I used to ride the F market alot

[@evanstonbalce9588]

I like the line because it operates different classic trolleys.

[@ItsIdaho]

What if Trolleys/Trams are the new cars? It might be a possibility where trams rule the roads

[@FrostyAUT]

Everything is possible. I'd love to see my dream of a car-less city become a reality in my lifetime. A city that is pedestrian-friendly, where noise levels are low and where the air is clean.

[@profil7]

Over in Stockholm, Sweden we have also got a lot of different modes of transportation. We have got: Trams, Subway, Commuter trains, A Narrow-gauge railway, a railway using ex Subway trains, buses, Electric buses a lot of ferries. So I think Stockholm beats this......

[@FrankGutowski-ls8jt]

Finn Rudebeck I’m a fan of all types of public transportation.

[@r_of_]

Now tell us about the transportation in the twelfth biggest city you have there in Sweden

[@profil7]

@@r_of_ lol why?

[@r_of_]

Well, since SF is only the 12th biggest city in the US this would make more sense than comparing it to your capital and biggest city

[@r_of_]

It actually simply makes no sense to compare the transportation systems of a country with such an insignificant population like Sweden and a country with a gigantic population like the US. Stockholm metro area have a little more than 2 million people and it’s your biggest city. This is the size of Sacramento which is only the fourth biggest city in the state of California where San Francisco is located and the 27th biggest in the country. My point being that your comment was completely out of context.

[@metropolitantransit7276]

They actually got 6:20 from the TTC!

[@zhl5806]

woow it looks like Europe!!

[@lohphat]

You should go back to video the new Siemens LRV replacing the troublesome Breda LRV. I moved to SF just as the old Boeing LRVs were being replaced and the Breda cars just made things worse. I left SF just as the Siemens models were being tested.

[@ajs11201]

Although not a tiny city, SF isn't that large, either. It has always amazed me that a city of its size can maintain so many kinds of rolling stock. Although, to be fair, BART isn't owned by San Francisco. Still, that leaves all the other varieties you filmed--and that's quite a lot of variety!

[@automation7295]

What is BART owned by then? Oakland?

[@ajs11201]

@@automation7295 It's its own government entity, officially the Bay Area Rapid Transit District.

[@michaelwakeham3404]

Wait the electric trolly buses use the same overhead wire as the muni trams ?? That’s interesting

[@dewrow]

If tram has pantograph like a trolleybus, why can't it use trolleybus overhead wire? I saw the same thing in Riga Lithuania.

[@GamerRobYT]

I think bart is the only rapid transit with all forms of transit Light rail ✅ Trolley ✅ Bus ✅ Trolleybus ✅ Metro ✅ Monorail ✅

[@Staticlyy]

If u are going back to New Jersey,Can u do Buses of Jersey City cause I live in Jersey City

[@urirozenblit3823]

HBLR and PATH as well

[@Staticlyy]

Uri Rozenblit yep

[@jamesparson]

No love for CalTrain or the ferries?