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S Shuttle

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This article is about the light rail service in San Francisco. For the New York City Subway shuttles labeled "S", see S (New York City Subway service).

S Shuttle
An S Shuttle train at Embarcadero station in 2017
Overview
OwnerSan Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
LocaleSan Francisco, California
Termini
Stations9
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemMuni Metro
Operator(s)San Francisco Municipal Railway
Daily ridership2,700 (January 2024)[1]
History
OpenedApril 2, 2001 (2001-04-02)
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationOverhead line, 600 V DC
Route map
Map S Shuttle highlighted in yellow
Legend
N Judah to 4th and King
Bay Area Rapid Transit to East Bay
J Church K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View S Shuttle turnback
 Embarcadero
San Francisco Ferry Building Bay Area Rapid Transit E Embarcadero F Market & Wharves
 Montgomery
Bay Area Rapid Transit F Market & Wharves
 Union Sq/​Market St
T Third Street
 Powell
Bay Area Rapid Transit F Market & Wharves
 Civic Center
Bay Area Rapid Transit F Market & Wharves
Bay Area Rapid Transit to Millbrae & SFO
 Van Ness
Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit F Market & Wharves
N Judah to Ocean Beach
 Church
F Market & Wharves
J Church to Balboa Park
 Castro
F Market & Wharves
 Forest Hill
West Portal
L Taraval to SF Zoo
K Ingleside M Ocean View to Balboa Park
This diagram:

The S Shuttle is a light rail service on the Muni Metro system in San Francisco, California. The service began in 2001 as the S Castro Shuttle, an effort to reduce crowding at Castro station. It was briefly discontinued in 2007 when the T Third Street line was opened. Service was extended to St. Francis Circle station in 2013, but cut back to West Portal station in 2016. From 2020 to 2024, the shuttle ran as a full-time service as part of a reconfiguration of Muni Metro service.[2]

The designation of S Shuttle is also given to trains at other hours and locations, most commonly to those which run service before and after San Francisco Giants and Golden State Warriors games to provide additional capacity to Oracle Park and Chase Center respectively.

History

[edit]
S Castro Shuttle rollsign on a game-day extra train in 2007.
An S Shuttle train crossing over near West Portal station in 2017.

After the installation of automatic train control in 1998, the maximum Muni Metro frequency through the Market Street subway doubled from 24 trains per hour to 48. Muni needed to increase capacity to accommodate growing ridership, but the aging Boeing LRV fleet and issues with the new Breda fleet left too few vehicles to run additional service on the branch lines. Instead, Muni introduced the S Castro Shuttle, which could relieve crowding at busy Castro station while using only a small amount of rolling stock. The service began on April 2, 2001, running only at rush hour on weekdays, with headways between 7 and 12 minutes.[3]

A variety of service changes took place with the introduction of full service on the T Third Street line on April 7, 2007. The new line was routed through the subway to Castro station, replacing the S Castro Shuttle; changes were also made to the J Church, N Judah, and several bus lines.[4] (The S Castro Shuttle designation continued to be used for extra service to AT&T Park on San Francisco Giants game days.) The changes were unpopular with the public; the Muni Metro changes caused severe delays in the Market Street subway, and forced many riders to transfer to reach the Caltrain station when they previously did not. On June 30, 2007, Muni reversed several of the changes. The J, N, and S were restored to their previous routes, while the T was interlined with the K Ingleside line.[5] The revived shuttle ran on 10-minute headways using three trains.[6][7]

On October 4, 2013, Muni began a pilot of S Shuttle service, which included the first three-car train on Muni Metro since the 1990s.[8] The three-car train and a two-car train ran between Embarcadero and St. Francis Circle station with only six morning round trips and one evening round trip; the last morning trips ran through to 23rd Street on their way to the Muni Metro East facility.[9] However, the three-car set proved unreliable, and perennial rolling stock shortages caused the shuttles to be frequently cancelled in favor of branch line service.[10]

On November 7, 2016, Muni changed the service to a pair of single-car trains running between West Portal station and Embarcadero. The revamped service, which was modeled after similar Hillway shuttles on the N Judah line, ran during weekday morning rush hours.[11] Although it nominally switched back at West Portal, service often instead used a more reliable crossover at Taraval and 19th Avenue station. By 2019, the SFMTA described the S Shuttle as an irregular route meant to supplement other Muni services.[12]

On March 30, 2020, Muni Metro service was replaced with buses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] Rail service returned on August 22, with the routes reconfigured to improve reliability in the subway. S Shuttle service frequency was increased, as three other lines no longer entered the subway; two- and three-car trains operated between West Portal and Embarcadero on 6–9 minute headways.[2] Rail service was re-replaced with buses on August 25 due to issues with malfunctioning overhead wire splices and the need to quarantine control center staff after a COVID-19 case.[14] K/T and N subway service resumed on May 15, 2021, along with supplemental S Shuttle service.[15][16] Full-time S shuttle service was replaced by full-time L service on September 28, 2024.

Since T Third Street service moved to the Central Subway in January 2023, shuttle trains signed "S Chase Center" operate between Chinatown and UCSF/Chase Center for events at Chase Center.[17]

Station listing

[edit]
Station Neighborhood Other Muni
Metro lines 		Notes and connections
Disabled access Embarcadero Financial District J Church K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah
Disabled access Montgomery J Church K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah
Disabled access Powell J Church K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah
T Third Street (at Union Square/Market St)
Disabled access Civic Center Civic Center J Church K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah
Disabled access Van Ness Civic Center,
Tenderloin		 J Church K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View N Judah
Disabled access Church Duboce Triangle J Church (Surface stop)

K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View

Disabled access Castro Castro K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View
Disabled access Forest Hill Forest Hill, Laguna Honda K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View Bus transport Muni: 36, 43, 44, 52
Disabled access West Portal West Portal K Ingleside L Taraval M Ocean View Bus transport Muni: 48, 57

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Average daily Muni boardings by route and month (pre-pandemic to present)". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. January 2024.
  2. ^ a b Maguire, Mariana (August 18, 2020). "Major Muni Service Expansion August 22" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
  3. ^ "Chapter 3: Transportation Analysis". Transbay Terminal / Caltrain Downtown Extension / Redevelopment Project EIS/EIR (PDF). Federal Transit Administration. March 2004. pp. 3–10.
  4. ^ "Discover the T-Third" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. 2007. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2007.
  5. ^ "SFMTA announces service changes effective June 30, 2007" (Press release). San Francisco Transportation Agency. June 30, 2007. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007.
  6. ^ "Chapter 3: Transportation Analysis". Central Subway Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement / Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (PDF). Vol. 1. Federal Transit Administration. September 2008. pp. 3–9.
  7. ^ "S Inbound Weekday". 511 SF Bay. Archived from the original on September 24, 2012.
  8. ^ Kwong, Jessica (October 11, 2013). "Muni's three-train shuttle service a hit with riders". The San Francisco Examiner.
  9. ^ "S Inbound Weekday". 511 SF Bay. Archived from the original on April 27, 2014.
  10. ^ "Roomier Trains: Have Muni Subway Shuttles Helped Your Commute?" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. November 7, 2016.
  11. ^ "More Muni Subway Service Coming for a Roomier Metro Ride" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. October 20, 2016.
  12. ^ "S Shuttle". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. January 4, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
  13. ^ Fowler, Amy (March 26, 2020). "Starting March 30: New Muni Service Changes" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
  14. ^ "Bus Substitution for All Rail Lines" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. August 25, 2020.
  15. ^ "Welcome Back to the Westside, K Ingleside Trains!" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. April 16, 2021.
  16. ^ "Rail Recovery". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. July 7, 2020. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021.
  17. ^ Maguire, Mariana (December 13, 2022). "New T Third Route in Central Subway Starting January 7" (Press release). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
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