San Francisco Cable Cars Explained

For the visitor, San Francisco cable cars are not a means of transportation but a destination, one of the things one has to "see" if they go to the City by the Bay. They also provide transportation to many of the city’s most popular areas, and you can even use them to take your own tour of San Francisco.

See Them Now: Cable Car Photo Tour

The Routes

The San Francisco cable cars run on three routes. Two of them start from the same place at Powell and Market, so be sure you check the sign on the end and get on the right one.

• Powell-Hyde (brown signs): This route, marked in blue on the map, goes from Market and Powell to Aquatic Park. Goes past Union Square, the Cable Car Barn Museum, Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Lombard (crookedest) Street, ends at Ghirardelli Square

• Powell-Mason (yellow signs): This route is marked in yellow on the map and goes from Market and Powell to Bay and Taylor Streets. Goes through North Beach. Ends near Fisherman's Wharf.

• California Street: Marked in black on the map, runs Drumm to Van Ness on California. Goes through the Financial District, Chinatown, Nob Hill.

Use our handy map to find what attractions the San Francisco cable cars go near.

Fares

Buy tickets for the San Francisco cable cars at the turnarounds or from the conductor as you board. There are no transfers. You have to pay again every time you ride. If you plan to make more than two rides a day, buy a Muni PASSPORT instead of paying every time you ride. It's good for the San Francisco cable cars, Market Street F-Line streetcar and all the buses, and it's also good for discounts to many local attractions.

You can get tickets and PASSPORTS at the attended booths at the turnarounds at Powell and Market or Hyde at Beach. If you're buying tickets at these popular spots where lines can be long, put one person in line while another gets the tickets to save time.

Getting On and Off

Don't despair when you get into a long line waiting to get on. The cable cars look like they don't hold very many people, but in fact they hold about sixty when they're completely packed, so the lines go faster than you might expect.

You can board cable cars at the turnarounds or anywhere you see a brown-and-white Cable Car Stop sign. They do not stop where the signs say not to board. If you are boarding from a stop, wait on the sidewalk and wave to alert the gripman to stop. Wait for the car to come to a complete stop and board from either side.

To get off, don't pull the rope (that's the bell rope, exclusively for the gripman's use). Just yell "next stop, please" about a block before you want to get off. If you wait too long to ask, cable cars can't make sudden stops, and you may have to go to the next stop.

Hours

The cable cars run from about 6:00 a.m. to about 1:00 a.m.

Accessibility

According to a friendly gripman who took time from eating his lunch to answer my question, people in wheelchairs ride the cable cars frequently. You just need someone along to help you.

History of San Francisco Cable Cars

On August 2, 1873, the first person to ride the San Francisco cable cars down Clay Street was Andrew Hallidie, its inventor. He got the idea after witnessing an accident. A horse-drawn carriage was going up a steep hill when the team faltered and the carriage rolled backward downhill, dragging the horses behind it.

Hallidie's invention changed the way people in San Francisco lived, creating a vital link in the San Francisco transportation system and opening the door for building on steep hills, which until then was impossible. The cable cars were an immediate success and by the 1890s, eight transit companies operated 600 cars on 21 routes covering over 50 miles.

Cable cars remained the primary mode of transportation until the 1906 earthquake. Most of system was destroyed and a municipal railway replaced most lines afterward. Today, they're the only vehicles of their kind still in operation and they are designated National Landmarks.

To learn more, visit the Cable Car Barn Museum.

Review

We rate San Francisco's cable cars 5 stars out of 5. They're an icon of the city, tourist-filled but fun. Stand outside for the best ride.

Others may disagree. You can see what other people just like you think about it, then bookmark this page and after you've been there, come back and tell us what you think.

What do you think of San Francisco's cable cars as a tourist attraction???

• 0 = Yuck! Just say no to this flea-bitten hole of a tourist trap
• 1 = So-So More fun than a night in jail, but you might enjoy a good nap more
• 2 = OK Some people find it interesting, but I didn't
• 3 = Good Go if you have time, but it's not a big deal if you miss it
• 4 = Great I really liked it, and I think you will, too
• 5 = Awesome! It's a must-see sight that I recommend to everyone