107-410: The Orion VII is a line of low-floor transit buses available in 30' rigid, 35' rigid, and 40' rigid lengths manufactured by Daimler Buses North America 's subsidiary Orion Bus Industries between 2001 and 2013 in three generations. The conventional powered buses, either with longitudinally-mounted diesel or natural gas engines, used a T-drive transmission coupling. A series hybrid variant powered by
214-554: A 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (2.4 km) race: one took the train, and the other walked along Market from Civic Center to Embarcadero. The two reporters tied as both completed their trips in 23 minutes; this was an improvement compared to the previous week, at the height of the Meltdown, when the same trip on Muni Metro could take three times as long. Mayor Brown re-enacted the race as the pedestrian on September 3; this time, Muni Metro service had improved and train passengers completed
321-507: A heritage streetcar line , which is also standard gauge, is also present here, at street level on Market Street. The rail lines, however, do not physically intersect. Muni operates about 1,200 vehicles: 550 diesel-electric hybrid buses , 300 electric trolleybuses , 250 modern light rail vehicles , 50 historic streetcars and 40 cable cars . All vehicles, except for cable cars, are wheelchair accessible . The electricity to run all of Muni's trolleybuses, light rail vehicles, streetcars, and
428-409: A hydraulic or pneumatic 'kneeling device', which can be used when the bus is not in motion, tilting it or lowering it at the front axle even further, often down to normal curb height. Depending on how close to the curb the bus is parked and wheelchair design, this can allow wheelchair users to board unaided. Though such technology has been available and in use on high-floor buses since the 1970s, it
535-629: A T-drive transmission coupling driving the rear axle. Lockheed Martin Control Systems (later acquired by BAE Systems ) developed the HybriDrive™ series hybrid propulsion system used in the Orion VII. In this system, the diesel engine is mounted transversely and drives a generator, and an electric motor drives the wheels directly. A roof-mounted battery pack supplies additional power for acceleration and hill-climbing. The traction motor
642-557: A connector downtown to transfer between the Bayshore, Geary, and North Beach corridors. These have since been implemented as a combination of light rail ( T Third and Central Subway ) and bus rapid transit ( Geary and Van Ness ) services. During the late 1990s, with aging equipment and poor management, Muni developed a reputation for poor and erratic service. In 1996 a group called Rescue Muni representing transit riders formed to organize concerns and press for change, advocating for
749-477: A cost of $ 70 million, three times the original estimate. Riders angry over delays confronted one driver during the Monday afternoon commute on August 24; he responded by locking himself in the driver's compartment and refused to move the train, halting all service for half an hour. Otherwise, no delays were attributable to the new automatic control system that Monday. However, by August 26, Mayor Willie Brown
856-422: A diesel-driven generator was also available. The Orion VII replaced the fully low-floor Orion VI and high-floor Orion V buses, and was manufactured until its parent company DaimlerChrysler withdrew from the transit bus market in 2013. The two-piece windshield of the original Orion VII has the driver's windshield canted towards the back of the bus to reduce reflections; the second and third generations also had
963-785: A high floor bus where the floor is flat in order to align with the high platforms in certain Bus Rapid Transit systems. Thereby, referring to it as a non-step high floor bus. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) mandates the use of low-floor or low-entry buses on city bus routes in the Philippines since 2016. Low-floor buses are used on city bus networks in Metro Manila , Metro Cebu and Davao City , and on some provincial routes, and most Point-to-Point Bus services, although older coaches are still largely used for such services. Buses used on
1070-538: A larger network of manually operated cable cars . The first city-owned line was acquired in 1906, although the current configuration is an amalgamation of several former lines and has operated as such since in 1952. The system was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. There are three cable car lines being the Mason-Powell line,
1177-525: A legacy of the inadequate 38-Geary bus serving these neighborhoods. Construction on BART's Market street tunnel started in 1967, with two decks tracks – the upper intended to provide local service. Major cost overruns in the BART project forced the state legislature to rescue the project in 1969: curtailing local service in San Francisco and converting the partially constructed stations into the basis of
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#17327839727561284-464: A low-floor bus "no-step bus (ノーステップバス)". At Enshu Railway Company in Hamamatsu Area, a low-floor bus is called "omnibus (オムニバス)", " cho-teisho bus (超低床バス; very low-floor bus)" and " cho-teisho omnibus (超低床オムニバス; very low-floor omnibus)". Japanese government calls a low-floor bus " cho-teisho non-step bus (超低床ノンステップバス; very low-floor non-step bus)". The term non-step bus may also refer to
1391-492: A low-floor bus therefore requires careful design. Low floor configuration is also known to have poor side to side dead load distribution within the chassis due to the asymmetrical off-centre placement of driveline components - mainly engine and transmission. As a result, many of such buses require electronically controlled air suspension to compensate the lopsided configuration. Low-floor buses usually include an area without seating (or seating that folds up) next to at least one of
1498-600: A low-floor design. A small number of higher capacity articulated low-floor buses are used to service the city's southern busways. In Sydney , routes may be operated by both high-floor buses and low-entry ones. Selected routes can be set aside specifically for low-entry buses which are considered to be wheelchair-accessible routes. A recent all-low-entry bus network is the Metrobus system. San Francisco Municipal Railway The San Francisco Municipal Railway ( / ˈ m juː n i / MEW -nee ; SF Muni or Muni ),
1605-430: A municipal rail line down Geary. Three years later in 1912, the city declined to renew the franchise that bestowed cable car operator Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway the privilege of operating on Geary Street. The route was converted into a municipal electric streetcar line, the first line of Muni. (In 1912, the average speed of the city's public transit was approximately 8.5 miles per hour – slightly faster than
1712-595: A new light-rail subway called the Muni Metro to connect the downtown stations to the Twin Peaks Tunnel and continuing along reserved tracks to St. Francis Circle. Construction on the metro began in 1970, but the project suffered from further cuts and design changes throughout the 1970s. The Muni Metro finally opened in February 1980, for one line (N-Judah), with other lines following later in 1980, but
1819-482: A small pilot program starting in 1998, the first major deployment of hybrid buses were the 125 Orion VII HybriDrive buses ordered in 2001/02. In 2013, New York MTA announced plans to convert approximately 1 ⁄ 4 of their hybrid fleet to solely conventional diesel power; after the warranty expired, the agency was not willing to bear the cost of traction motor replacement. However, only two buses, both now retired have been converted. The Toronto Transit Commission
1926-413: A smaller low floor area with a small underfloor bin for some luggage. Whilst these buses do not provide a full amount of luggage space, they can be used to house more luggage than what can be held inside the bus itself. Another drawback is the arrangement means the section of the bus that is at curb height is very short—consisting of enough space to house the wheelchair area and then rising up, to accommodate
2033-489: A two-piece windshield, but both panes are curved similarly and collectively resemble a single piece. Externally, the three generations may also be distinguished by the position of the top of the doors. In the original Orion VII, the top of both the front and rear doors is at the same level as the top of the side windows. In the Orion VII Next Generation (VIING), the top of the front door is at the level as
2140-627: Is 23.1% by a diesel-electric hybrid bus on the 67 line, 22.8% by a trolleybus on the 24 line and 21% by a cable car on the Powell-Hyde line. The busiest Muni bus corridor is the Geary corridor . The two major routes that operate on the corridor, the 38 and 38R , travel 6.5 miles (10.5 km) in the east–west direction along the Geary corridor, and has an average speed of only 8 miles per hour (13 km/h), taking over 50 minutes to travel from
2247-437: Is a stylized, trademarked "worm" version of the word muni . This logo was designed by San Francisco-based graphic designer Walter Landor in the mid-1970s. To cater to the large Hispanic and Latino American and Asian American populations in San Francisco, bus announcements are in four languages: English , Spanish , Cantonese and Tagalog . Bus and trolleybus lines have number designations, rail lines have letters and
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#17327839727562354-669: Is a very low or non-existent availability of high-floor electric buses. The majority of standard and truncated vehicles were and are the Caio Millennium and Millennium BRT "toco" models, on Mercedes-Benz O500U, Scania K270 and K310, Volvo B7RLE and B290RLE and Volkswagen 17.240 and 17.260 chassis. For articulated vehicles, Caio Mondego HA and Millennium BRT vehicles with Mercedes-Benz O500UA and O500UDA chassis were and are used. The Biarticulates were made with Caio TopBus PB and Millennium BRT TopBus bodies on Volvo B360S and B9Salf chassis. In Brisbane , all Translink buses are of
2461-526: Is another notable operator of the Orion VII, having purchased buses in both diesel and series hybrid diesel-electric propulsion configurations between 2002 and 2012. As of 2024, the Orion VII buses remain in service and maintained at Arrow Road, Malvern, Mount Dennis, Queensway and Wilson garages. At 879 diesel buses ordered, they were the largest operator of Orion VII diesel buses in North America. The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni) announced
2568-444: Is either a Clipper card, MuniMobile, Muni Passport, or paper transfer. One fare entitles a rider to unlimited vehicle transfers for the next 120 minutes. Cable cars are $ 8 one way, with no transfers, unless the rider has a Muni Passport or a Muni monthly pass. As of July 2019 monthly passes cost $ 81 for adults ($ 98 with BART privileges within city limits), $ 40 for low-income residents ("Life Line Pass"), or $ 40 for youth, seniors and
2675-495: Is of significant utility on low-floor vehicles only where it enables less-mobile passengers to board and leave the vehicle without help from others. Many vehicles are also equipped with wheel-chair lifts, or ramps which, when combined with a low floor, can provide a nearly level entry. An implementation of the low floor design exists in Australia where custom coaches make a "hybrid" variant of its CB60 bodywork. These buses combine
2782-466: Is one of the first cities in India that introduced Low Floor buses. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, BMTC operates many services using the premium Volvo 8400LE Low-floor buses. These buses are air-conditioned, and offer features such as automatic transmission, kneeling and wheel-chair ramp, typical of modern city buses. They are also fitted with LED display boards as well as ITS to announce
2889-583: Is rated at 250 hp (190 kW) continuous and 320 hp (240 kW) peak, offering a stall torque of 2,700 lb⋅ft (3,700 N⋅m). The traction motor also operates as a generator for regenerative braking , with the power returned to the battery pack. According to a 2008 paper, the Orion VII hybrid buses, in service with New York City Transit since 2002, had per-mile maintenance costs comparable to CNG-fueled buses, with improved overall operating costs per mile mainly due to better fuel economy (3.00 to 3.22 mpg ‑US (0.78 to 0.73 L/km) for
2996-789: Is the primary public transit system within San Francisco , California . It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses ), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic cable car lines , and two historic streetcar lines. Previously an independent agency, the San Francisco Municipal Railway merged with two other agencies in 1999 to become the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). In 2018, Muni served 46.7 square miles (121 km ) with an operating budget of about $ 1.2 billion. Muni
3103-673: Is the seventh-highest-ridership transit system in the United States , with 142,168,200 rides in 2023, and the second-highest in California after the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority . Most bus lines are scheduled to operate every five to fifteen minutes during peak hours, every five to twenty minutes middays, about every ten to twenty minutes from 9 pm to midnight, and roughly every half-hour for
3210-580: Is to allow better placement for the powertrain and other technical equipment in the raised floor section, in addition to allowing a more comfortable ride on rough roads. Some manufacturers use the initials LF or L in their model designations for fully low-floor models (or in the case of German manufacturers, NF or N , based on the German word Niederflur , which means low floor), and in North America buses that are partially low-floor are often also designated LF. In some countries, LE , short for Low Entry ,
3317-496: Is underground in the lower level of the Market Street subway), Muni Metro 's 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge (also underground in the upper level of the subway), and the San Francisco cable car system 's 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ) narrow gauge (at street level a few hundred feet away to the north of Market Street in both cases). The F Market and Wharves ,
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3424-403: Is used by some manufacturers in their model designations for low-entry buses. Most bus manufacturers achieve a low floor height by making rear-engined rear-wheel drive buses with independent front suspension , so that no axle is needed to pass under the floor of the front part of passenger compartment, or a lowered front axle. Some full low-floor buses also have a lowered rear axle, while
3531-725: The Den Oudsten B85/B86 [ nl ] . Other competitors followed suit, with the Orion VI (1995), Nova Bus LF Series (1996, also derived from the Den Oudsten B85), Gillig Low Floor (1997, derived from a shuttle bus design for the Hertz rental car agency), and Neoplan AN440L (1990/94/99). By 2008, most new bus orders in the United States were for low-floor buses. In the capital of this country,
3638-871: The EDSA Busway are usually equipped with 1-2 doors on the left side for boarding at the median stations, although not all units currently have them installed. Low-floor buses often use upholstered coach-style seating in a 2-3, or 2-2 configuration, although plastic seats may be found in some buses. Low-floor wheelchair-accessible buses were first introduced in Singapore in 2006 with 150 Volvo B9TL CDGE buses procured by SBS Transit . These buses were registered SBS7300P - SBS7499A. Volvo B9TL CDGE buses were fully retired in 2023. In 2007, SBS Transit procured 1101 units of low-entry Scania K230UB buses bodied by Gemilang Coachworks of Senai , Malaysia . Afterwards, all new city buses procured by SBS Transit, SMRT Buses and
3745-564: The Land Transport Authority are low-floor. Low-floor buses are first adopted in Germany in 1989, and to make them easier to use for wheelchairs and strollers, the minimum ground clearance of the entire vehicle is lowered and the floor is proportionately raised by 30 centimetres (12 in) above the road surface. The Dennis Dart SLF (Super Low Floor) marked the wholesale introduction of single-deck low floor buses in
3852-474: The Optare Alero and Hino Poncho . Accessibility was previously achieved in paratransit type applications, which use small vehicles with the fitment of special lifts. The inception of small low-floor buses has allowed the development of several accessible demand-responsive transport schemes using standard 'off-the-shelf' buses. A disadvantage of the low floor is accommodating the bus's own wheels. With
3959-789: The Richmond District to the Transbay Terminal when operating on schedule. As of 2015, the corridor has a total of 55,270 average daily boardings, making it the second busiest transit corridor west of the Mississippi after the Los Angeles Metro Wilshire transit corridor. At Powell and Market Streets and California and Market Streets, three types of rail gauges come within a few hundred feet of each other: Bay Area Rapid Transit 's 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) broad gauge (which
4066-565: The 1950s and 1960s, the regional BART system was conceived as a much more extensive system than was eventually built, with plans for express trains through San Francisco and local service within San Francisco. Because it was assumed BART would provide local rail service, investment in Muni infrastructure failed to keep pace with major urban redevelopment projects. For example, BART was intended to provide Richmond district and Western Addition service as part of its Golden Gate Bridge/Marin line. This leaves
4173-623: The AC volvo bus and MW series are served by the Tata Marcopolo buses operated by WBSTC. AC Marcopolo buses serve the MH series route operated by WBHIDCO and the MB series route operated by BHBL. Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC) also run AC Volvo Bus & Ashok Leylan JanBus. In Japan , a low-floor bus is called "non-step bus (ノンステップバス)". Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation used to calling
4280-809: The Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, since 1997 the legislation governs that all buses of lines of "national" jurisdiction (bus lines that circulate within the capital district and/or cross from here to the suburbs). The first low-floor bus produced in Argentina and marketed in this country was the El Detalle OA105, and the first low-floor bus imported by Argentina was the Marcopolo Torino GV Low-Entry brought from Brazil in 1998. Within Paraguay's public transit system, it
4387-592: The California State line, and the Powell- Hyde line. Popular areas from the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf are served by cable cars. In the system, there are 62 allocated stations. The system accrues five million annual riders and has always been a tourist destination as well as a convenient means for travel around the city. Additionally, Muni operates two heritage streetcar lines distinct from
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4494-891: The Clipper system. Fares can also be paid with a mobile app called MuniMobile since 2015. The app is developed by moovel, who have built mobile ticketing apps for a number of other transit agencies such as Caltrain and TriMet. The app is planned to be deployed until around 2021 when the next generation Clipper card mobile app is planned to launch and replace agency-specific ticketing apps. Muni operates 14 express lines, 5 Rapid lines, and 12 Owl lines, which run between 1 am and 5 am. For San Francisco Giants games, additional "baseball shuttles" supplement N Judah and T Third service to Oracle Park . Express lines only run during peak hours ; during mornings they run towards downtown (the Financial District ) and during
4601-668: The Muni Meltdown had passed and service was uneventful, albeit with fewer LRVs than normal and with drivers onboard each train. Muni officials apologized for the rough transition and promised to continue to improve service; privately they called the Meltdown "the biggest fiasco in the railway's history." In an effort to improve service, Muni began to replace its troublesome fleet of Boeing-Vertol light rail vehicles with newer Italian Breda light rail vehicles in late 1996. The two-decade-old fleet of Flyer trolleybuses were replaced with Electric Transit, Inc. (ETI) trolleybuses in
4708-649: The Muni Metro: the E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves , however the former has been suspended since April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Formerly run for the Historic Trolley Festival , in the 1980s, regular service of heritage equipment began in 1995. Streetcars do not utilize tunnel segments and the F line utilizes infrastructure optimized for trolleybuses along Market Street (the former routing of all downtown streetcar lines before
4815-724: The R-Howard line. Trolleybuses had been running in San Francisco since 1935, but operated only by the Market Street Railway Company (MSRy), successor to the URR. By 1944, the MSR was in financial difficulties. Thus, at 5 am on September 29, 1944, Muni acquired its commercial competitor. Along with the routes and equipment, Muni adopted its competitor's more expensive seven-cent fare. Following national trends, Muni replaced most of its rail lines with trolleybus service in
4922-616: The SFMTA since August 15, 2019 has been Thomas Maguire, appointed by the SFMTA Board as the interim replacement for Director of Transportation Edward Reiskin. On April 29, 2019, Director Reiskin announced that he would step down at the end of his contract in August 2019. On November 13, 2019, the agency announced that Jeffrey Tumlin would take over as the new director on December 16, 2019. The day-to-day operations of Muni are overseen by
5029-585: The San Francisco County Transportation Authority released The Four Corridor Plan , a vision to extend Muni Metro service along four major routes in the city: Bayshore (north-south along Third from the county line to California), Geary (east-west along Geary from 48th to Market/Kearny), North Beach (extending the new north-south Bayshore line along Kearny and Columbus to Fisherman's Wharf), and Van Ness (north-south along Van Ness from 16th and Mission to Aquatic Park), with
5136-544: The Transit division of the SFMTA, which is currently headed by Director of Transit Julie Kirschbaum. Muni has its origins in the period following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . Until then the city had been served by several commercial horsecar , cable car and electric streetcar operators. Many of these had been amalgamated into the United Railroads of San Francisco (URR) company. In 1909, voters approved
5243-559: The United Kingdom in 1995, after many small-scale demonstrator usages. Low floor buses were rapidly introduced on high-profile routes, notably becoming a requirement for London Buses contracts. The Optare Solo introduced in 1997 marked another step change with inroads into smaller usages traditionally served by minibuses . The final phase came with low floor double-deckers the Dennis Trident 2 and Volvo B7TL entering
5350-898: The WBSTC. These buses connects places like the Kolkata Airport , Barasat (Capital Town of North Suburb), New Town , Salt Lake , Howrah , Santragachi (a station on the Howrah-Kharagpur railway line), Kudghat and Tollygunge . The road network in Kolkata is vast. Under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, air conditioned buses have been included as a part of travel comfort to commuters. Air-conditioned buses are operated by West Bengal Surface Transport Corporation (WBSTC) directly & through outsourcing. These buses are served by Tata Marcopolo Buses and Volvo Low Floor Buses. The V Series and VS series bus routes are served by
5457-523: The acquisition of 86 series hybrid Orion VII buses in 2004, delivered in the last half of 2007; however, the hybrid buses proved to be unreliable. Two Orion VII Hybrids are also operated by the Edmonton Transit System . Both buses were built in 2006. Low-floor bus A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of
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#17327839727565564-556: The average speed of 8.1 in 2007.) Muni soon started on a large building program. On December 29, 1914, the new Stockton Street Tunnel under Nob Hill opened, allowing streetcars from downtown to go to North Beach . The new line also served the Marina District , the site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition . On February 3, 1918, the Twin Peaks Tunnel opened, making the southwestern quarter of
5671-565: The bottom of the standee windows. In the Orion VII EPA10, the tops of both doors are at the height of the bottom of the standee windows. The Orion VII uses a monocoque stainless steel frame clad with aluminum and fiberglass panels. The interior floor height is 15.5 inches (390 mm) except for the portion starting at the rear wheels, which is elevated to provide mechanical clearance for the engine and transmission. All conventional (diesel/CNG) buses use longitudinally-mounted engines with
5778-812: The cable car powerhouse comes from the hydroelectric dam at the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park . All of Muni's current internal combustion buses use diesel-electric hybrid powertrains, fueled with renewable diesel fuel made from bio-feedstock sources, including fats, oils and greases. The combination of hybrid technology and renewable diesel fuel helps reduce fuel consumption and cut vehicle emissions. Weekday mode share on Muni services in 2019 In November 1999 San Francisco voters passed Proposition E setting standards for performance of having at least an 85% on-time record In July 2012 Muni vehicles were on-time 60% of
5885-570: The city available for development. On October 21, 1928, the Sunset Tunnel opened, bringing the N Judah streetcar line to the Sunset District . These improvements plunged Muni into direct competition with the URR on the entire length of Market Street. The two operators each operated their own pair of tracks down that thoroughfare, which came to be known as the "roar of the four". In 1941, Muni introduced its first trolleybus line,
5992-542: The city center. Low-floor buses have become popular on the Structural and Regional Articulation lines, and have been a mandatory model to be purchased for these since 2015. Until then, exceptions for local lines with low-floor buses were rare, but this has been changing since 2019 and especially since 2023. In 2023, the city banned the purchase of new diesel buses. With the mandatory use of electric buses, new buses on local lines are also being made with low floors, as there
6099-456: The city vary from Metro stations with raised platforms in the subway and at the more heavily used surface stops, to small shelters to signposts to simply a yellow stripe on a utility pole or on the road surface. 70% of stops are spaced closer than recommended range of 800–1,000 feet (240–300 m) apart. The system is popularly known as "Muni", a shortening of the "Municipal" in "San Francisco Municipal Railway" (and not an acronym). Muni's logo
6206-586: The city; they are good on all regular-service lines without surcharge, including cable cars. As of September 2018, Passports cost $ 23 for a 1-day pass, $ 34 for a 3-day pass, or $ 45 for a 7-day pass, with discounts for using Clipper card or MuniMobile. Muni has implemented a dual-mode smart card payment system known as Clipper (formerly TransLink). The transponders have been in use since at least 2004, and replaced most paper monthly passes in 2010. BART , Caltrain , Golden Gate Transit , VTA , AC Transit , SamTrans , SMART and San Francisco Bay Ferry also utilize
6313-502: The conventional buses. A revamp plan is underway to improve bus-shelters in the city and to integrate GPS systems in DTC buses and bus stops so as to provide reliable information about bus arrivals. The Delhi Government decided to expedite this process and procured 6,600 low floor buses for the DTC before commonwealth games in 2010. Kolkata has an extensive network of government run buses. Recently air-conditioned buses have been introduced by
6420-673: The delays frustrated many commuters. On Friday, August 28, 67 of the 131 LRVs (55 Boeing and 12 Breda) in the Muni Metro fleet were out of service for the morning commute; Mayor Brown personally rode from Civic Center to Embarcadero in the afternoon to experience the chaos for himself. Muni riders abandoned the underground system for carpools, taxis, buses, and F-Market streetcars after LRVs were delayed and stopped with no communication as to when they would resume service; transit times from 4th and Irving to Powell swelled to 120 minutes. On August 31, two San Francisco Chronicle reporters staged
6527-507: The disabled. Passes are valid on all Muni lines—including cable cars—and the $ 98 adult pass allows BART transit entirely within San Francisco (between Embarcadero and Balboa Park ). Other passes and stickers are valid on all Muni lines, including cable cars, but not on BART (with the exception of BART-Plus ticket types). Cable car fare is $ 8 per trip, with no transfers issued or accepted. "Passports" are folding scratch-off passes that can be purchased by mail, or at various places throughout
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#17327839727566634-445: The doors, where wheelchairs , walkers , strollers/prams, and where allowed even bicycles, can be parked. This is sometimes not the only purpose of this area, though, as many operators employ larger standee areas for high occupancy at peak times. Despite the space existing, operators may also insist that only one or two wheelchairs or pushchairs can be accommodated unfolded, due to space/safety concerns. Low floors can be complemented by
6741-459: The end of 2005, 10 years ahead of the national requirement. London was one of the first major cities in the world to have a fully accessible bus fleet. Due to the deregulated nature of the public transport system in the UK, adoption of the higher cost low floor buses was usually in conjunction with some sort of grant or quality partnership with a local authority , as the profitability of many routes
6848-446: The enforced sale of non-compliant existing vehicles, allowing operators to retain a high floor vehicle until "the end of their economic life". In reality, as the prevalence of low floor buses spreads, combined with grants/incentives, it is likely that the prevalence of high floor vehicles in the national fleet will markedly reduce before all buses were de-registered by 27 October 2014. In the past, in times of reduced economic investment, it
6955-406: The evening they run away from downtown. All express lines have an "X", "AX", or "BX" following the line's number. Some lines are divided into A and B Expresses. The B Express line is shorter and has stops that are closer to downtown, while the A Express makes stops further away from downtown and will make few or no stops in the area where the B Express stops. The 8 Bayshore, as the 8X Bayshore Express,
7062-625: The exception of several lines serving locations in the northern part of neighboring Daly City , and the 76X Marin Headlands Express line to the Marin Headlands area on weekends and major holidays. Most intercity connections are provided by BART and Caltrain heavy rail, AC Transit buses at the Salesforce Transit Center , and Golden Gate Transit and SamTrans downtown. Bus and car stops throughout
7169-507: The fleet. In September 1982, the cable car system was shut down for 21 months for rebuilding, and there were massive line reorganizations as Muni restructured their route network to provide stronger cross-town services. In 1983, Muni temporarily ran streetcars down Market Street as part of the San Francisco Historic Trolley Festival, initially conceived of as a substitute attraction for tourists during
7276-439: The formation of Muni Metro). The longest Muni line is the 24.1-mile (38.8 km) 91 Owl a nighttime-only route that blends several other routes together, while the longest daytime route is the 17.4-mile (28.0 km) 29 . The shortest route is the peak-hour only 88 BART Shuttle at 1.4 miles (2.3 km), while the shortest off-peak route is the 39 Coit at 1.6 miles (2.6 km). The steepest grade climbed by Muni vehicle
7383-747: The halts. The corporation also had tried Mercedes-Benz Low-Floor buses as well as Ashok Leyland ULE coaches, but chose to stick to the Volvo offering. In order to keep the bus ticket prices low, the BMTC operates the majority of their services using Non-Airconditioned Semi-Low Floor (SLF) buses that have a floor height of 650mm as against the 400mm floor height of the true Low-Floor buses. These buses are from Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors, with future procurements planned to be from Eicher (VECV). These cheaper alternative to low-floor buses do not have kneeling or wheel-chair accessible ramps, but they have air suspension and use
7490-496: The hybrids evaluated, compared to 2.33 mpg ‑US (1.01 L/km) diesel equivalent for the CNG buses). In 2008, it was reported that Toronto Transit Commission's Orion hybrid bus fleet suffered from early failure of lead-acid batteries in roof-mounted battery pack and much lower fuel savings than expected. Orion announced the Allison Hybrid H 40 EP two-mode parallel/series hybrid system would be offered starting in 2011. A demonstration unit with this powertrain
7597-401: The interior floor that is placed at a higher height. Being low-floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities , including those using wheelchairs and walkers . Almost all are rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout . Low-floor buses are generally divided into two major types: fully low-floor buses with a low floor throughout
7704-402: The lack of steps, studies have found the opposite effect in the UK. This is apparently due to the prevailing system of operation where passengers enter and exit through one single front door. It has been suggested that the previous 1980s/90s high floor step entrance buses which featured a centre rail, encouraged a bi-directional flow of entering and exiting passengers simultaneously. The removal of
7811-416: The late night "owl" routes. On weekends, most Muni bus lines are scheduled to run every ten to twenty minutes. However, complaints of unreliability, especially on less-often-served lines and older (pre-battery backup) trolleybus lines, are a system-wide problem. Muni has had some difficulty meeting a stated goal of 85% voter-demanded on-time service. All Muni lines run inside San Francisco city limits, with
7918-516: The length of the bus (more popular in Europe ), and low-entry buses with step-free access to only a part of the bus, most commonly between the front door and the middle door (more popular in North America). In North America, both types are commonly called low-floor, as the majority of the vehicle has a low floor, without steps at the doors. The main reason for choosing a low-entry configuration
8025-423: The low floor, the wheels protrude into the passenger cabin, and need to be contained in wheel pockets of waist height, and this occupies space which would otherwise be used for seating. To allow space for technical equipment, many low-floor buses have the seats mounted on podiums, making a small step up from the floor, while others are able to mount the seats directly to the floor, avoiding the step. Seating layout for
8132-698: The luggage bin. These buses also lack the ability to have a center door. Many bus rapid transit systems employ a level boarding by using high-floor buses stopping at "station" style bus stops. Specially raised sections of curb may also be used to achieve accessibility with lesser low floor models, although this is more expensive for the operator, and only attractive for regular busy scheduled routes. For infrequent routes or routes with hail and ride sections, or demand responsive transport , raised curbs would only be feasible in terminuses . Some transit agencies refused to order low-floor buses altogether, such as New Jersey Transit and MUNI owing to terrain conditions in
8239-422: The many design compromises and piecemeal planning led to long-term operational challenges and inefficiencies. In 1970, Muni also suffered a severe diesel bus crisis. Muni experienced a diesel bus availability crisis in 1981–1982 when most of their diesel buses, 401 GMC and Flxible "New Looks" purchases in 1969, reached the end of their 12-year design life and funds for their replacement were not available. Most of
8346-547: The mass market, even though they were introduced after the Optare Spectra . London Buses was one of the earliest major users of low-floor buses, with the first low-floor single decker vehicles entering service in 1993 and the first low-floor double decker vehicles entering service in 1998. Following withdrawal of older, high-floor vehicles such as the AEC Routemaster , the bus fleet became fully accessible at
8453-517: The one summer when no cable cars would be in operation. The service became so popular that the festival was repeated for several years following. Anticipating the return of permanent streetcar service on Market Street, Muni began rehabilitating tracks in 1987, a process that culminated in the opening of the F line in 1995. The first modern Muni shelter was installed in front of the War Memorial Opera House in 1987. The F line
8560-745: The passage of Proposition E in November 1999, Muni has been part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), a semi-independent city agency created by that ballot measure. The agency, into which Muni, the Department of Parking and Traffic, and the Taxicab Commission were merged, is governed by a seven-member Board of Directors appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Board of Supervisors. The acting Director of Transportation of
8667-473: The passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a low-entry bus or seldom a flat-floor bus in some locations. Low floor refers to a bus deck that is accessible from the sidewalk with only a single step with a small height difference, caused solely by the difference between the bus deck and sidewalk. This is distinct from high-floor , a bus deck design that requires climbing one or more steps (now known as step entrance) to access
8774-436: The pole to allow wheelchair/buggy access created the situation where the quintessentially polite British bus passenger would wait for all passengers to alight before boarding, leading to an increase in dwell times . Moscow was the first city to introduce low floor as the compulsory requirement for the suppliers of the city buses. By 2005 a few hundreds of low-floor buses started intra-metropolitan service. At first, PAZ-3237
8881-535: The rear axle is not an issue on a low-entry bus. Many low-floor buses, including the Irisbus Citelis (also in Skoda 24Tr trolleybus version), have the engine in a vertical cabinet at the rear of the bus. Van Hool have a series of "side-engine mid-drive" buses that puts the engine off to one side of the cabin longitudinally between the first and the second axle, to maximize usable cabin space. The same concept
8988-506: The rear end of the bus. The same applies to trolley buses that are mostly of low-floor design. Other cities that use low-floor buses on the regular routes are Kazan , Sochi , Tyumen , Pskov and more. Most of these vehicles are domestically manufactured by LiAZ , GAZ , KAMAZ and Volgabus . In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act is credited with motivating the development of low-floor buses, directly affecting
9095-408: The regions to the center, or connect two large terminals of two regions passing through the center Regional Articulation, which connect distant neighborhoods to the center without passing through large terminals, or connect two distant neighborhoods passing through important regions. Locations/distributors, which connect neighborhoods to large terminals or stations. None of these lines pass through
9202-416: The rest of the fleet were undersized 36-foot AM Generals purchased for neighborhood routes, and their use on heavier lines exacerbated conditions. The trolley bus fleet was in good order and had excess capacity at the time so Muni improvised a few temporary services with them to help out. One such service was a trolley 14-Limited that used the abandoned trolley overhead on South Van Ness. The diesel 82-Chinatown
9309-561: The role of diesels in the total operation. Three trunk diesel lines were converted to trolley bus service in the next twelve years. But these efforts have not been as successful as hoped. Out of necessity most of the fleet, 330 standard bus equivalents out of 506, were replaced in just two years in 1985–1986. (Standard bus equivalents factor the 30-foot and 60-foot into their equivalent capacity in 40-foot buses). And seven years passed without any new buses coming on board before Muni started its next full diesel fleet replacement cycle in 1999. This
9416-566: The same or better seats as those found in the Volvo buses. They also feature manual transmission as against automatic transmission With the introduction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the development of dedicated corridors for the service, bus service is set to improve. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has started introducing air-conditioned buses and brand new low-floor buses (with floor height of 400 mm (15.75 in) and even higher on one third area as against 230 mm (9.06 in) available internationally) on city streets to replace
9523-558: The same year, the first low floor bus specification was drafted by DPTAC. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 provided for the completion of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000, which specified that all new public service vehicles over 22 seats should be low floor from 31 December 2000, with smaller vehicles mandated from 1 January 2005. The 2000 regulations do not require retro-fitting of pre-existing vehicles or
9630-558: The service area. DART still has a preference for high floor buses. Although New York City Transit runs some 40-foot low-floors, it originally refused to order low-floor buses, namely D60LFs from New Flyer , after the D60HF, a high floor model, was discontinued mid-delivery. However, they have demonstrated both the D60LF and NovaBus LFSA, the latter of which they have decided to order. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation Bangalore
9737-613: The standardized design of the Transbus Program , which concluded with the introduction of so-called 'interim' Advanced Design Buses with a lower floor height but which required lifts to board passengers in wheelchairs. The first low-floor (low-entry) buses to be delivered were the New Flyer Low Floor D40LF, to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1991. The New Flyer LF was derived from
9844-525: The succeeding decades. A few lines with dedicated rights-of-way (including those serving the Twin Peaks and Sunset tunnels) continued as rail lines running 1940s-era PCC streetcars through the 1970s. These lines became the foundation of the Muni Metro. During World War II, because male employees had been called to serve in the military, both MSRy and Muni hired female 'motorettes' and conductors, including poet and author Maya Angelou in 1943. In
9951-665: The successful 1999 Proposition E that formed the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and set service standards for Muni. In August 1998, San Francisco residents witnessed a protracted malfunction of Muni Metro after switching to an automatic train control implemented by Alcatel Transport Automation , culminating in an event that is now known as the Muni Meltdown . Automatic control of Muni Metro light rail vehicles began on Saturday, August 22, three years behind schedule and at
10058-552: The three cable car lines are typically referred to by name only (Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde and California). Except for cable cars, cash fares are $ 3.00 for adults; $ 1.50 for seniors over 65, people with disabilities, and Medicare card holders; and free for low- and moderate-income seniors, youth aged 18 and under, and people with disabilities residing in San Francisco. Clipper card and MuniMobile fares are $ 2.50 for adults and $ 1.25 for seniors, and people with disabilities. Proof-of-payment , which fare inspectors may demand at any time,
10165-733: The time and in August 2012, they were on-time 57% of the time. A report conducted by the San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency in early 2013 noted that Muni was on time only 58% of the time. It delayed its customers a total of 172,195 hours and reduced the city's economic activity by US$ 50 million per year. In 2013 the performance hit an all-time low of 57%, the on-time performance improved to 60% in January 2014, 60% in February 2014, and 60% in March 2014. Muni Metro on-time performance as of June 2022: Since
10272-595: The trip in just seven minutes. At the request of the San Francisco Examiner , a member of the executive committee for Rescue Muni tracked the length of each ride on her eight-stop daily commute to the Financial District from the Sunset that week. Four of the ten trips took longer than 40 minutes, and the best time was 15 minutes. By the third week of operation under automatic train control,
10379-436: Was also utilized by Volvo on their B9S articulated chassis. For smaller buses, such as midibuses , the low-floor capability is achieved by placing the front wheels ahead of the entrance. One of the last types of buses to gain low-floor accessibility as standard was the minibus , where a similar front-wheel arrangement allows around 12 seats and a wheelchair space to be accommodated in very small low-floor minibuses , such as
10486-539: Was delivered to DART. The first operator of the Orion VII was Mississauga Transit (MiWay) for the first 14 production models powered by the Detroit Diesel Series 50 diesel engine. These buses were retired in 2013. MiWay also ordered 15 hybrid models and 35 diesel BRT models in 2010 and 2012, both of which are EPA10 models. Although New York City had previously evaluated ten Orion VI and five NovaBus RTS buses equipped with series hybrid propulsion as
10593-428: Was fourteen years after the previous cycle instead of the twelve years that buses are designed to last. Muni is now aware that they must expect to keep diesel buses past their design life and have also found that funds granted for mid-life rebuilds require that the buses be kept longer still. As the fleet replacement cycle begins again in 2013, Muni has arranged for life-extending rebuilds of 142 buses, by count over 30% of
10700-574: Was not high enough to justify conversion based purely on increased revenue. It has been reported however that adoption of so-called Easy Access buses does have a positive effect of ridership and revenue levels. Under the Transport Act 1985 the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) (or commonly DiPTAC) was established to provide independent consultation on accessibility issues. In
10807-439: Was not uncommon for service buses to be used for 15 to 20 years. While some coaches have been produced with a small front low floor section at the driver's level, most coaches in the UK are being made accessible through the use of wheelchair lifts , with the 2005 Caetano Levante being one of the largest introductions. While another widely stated benefit of low floor buses is quicker boarding for able-bodied passengers due to
10914-459: Was not until 2012 that the first low-floor bus in the country were added to its fleet, being a 1999 Marcopolo Viale imported used from Argentina. In São Paulo, low-floor buses began to become popular in the 2000s with the creation of the so-called Sistema Interligado (Interconnected System, in English) which divided bus routes into so-called lines: Structural, which connect the large terminals of
11021-486: Was reintroduced in 1995 as a heritage streetcar service. Initially designed as a temporary tourist attraction to make up for the suspension of cable car service for rebuilding, the F has become a permanent fixture. E line service, initially known as the Muni Metro Extension, started in January 1998 initially as a shuttle between Embarcadero station and Caltrain's 4th and Townsend station. In June 1995,
11128-424: Was replaced with short runs of the 30-Stockton. But the trolleys could only go where their wires went. Muni adopted some policies to alleviate future service issues due to an aged fleet. They would stagger bus purchases so not as large a portion of the fleet would hit retirement age at once. They would arrange for mid-life rebuilds to keep the buses more serviceable in their final years. And they would work to reduce
11235-532: Was selected for the city centre, while LiAZ-5292 were chosen to serve city outskirts. Later the articulated version of the latter, specifically designed for Moscow, the LiAZ-6213 was introduced. In St.Petersburg the transition to low-floor-only city bus services was completed only by 2021. Besides LiAZ-5292 and LiAZ-6213 and other full low-floor models that account for 85% of the city buses, there are also semi low-floor buses in service, with elevated floor in
11342-438: Was the only Express route that ran daily until April 25, 2015, the date when it was no longer an Express route. Rapid lines (having an R following their route number) are limited-stop services. They stop at only a subset of the stops of their corresponding "standard" line—typically every third stop and at transfer points. Muni also operates the San Francisco cable car system , a heritage streetcar system descendant of
11449-543: Was threatening to sue Alcatel. Alcatel and Muni instead blamed delays on malfunctioning train cars. In addition, a proof-of-payment fare enforcement system went into effect that week, compounding rider confusion. Finally, riders who had previously been able to secure a seat by riding in the opposite direction (outbound) to Embarcadero station were forced to disembark there because of the E/Muni Metro Extension service that had begun in January; these changes and
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