As the photo makes plain, that was one wild first ride on Muni. Emblematic, we think, of the past 20 months, with constant adjustments made to Muni’s network during the pandemic to meet unprecedented challenges.
On this 109th anniversary of that first ride, we salute all those at SFMTA who have kept service operating. And we join them in hoping for a smoother ride in 2022 and beyond.
Meanwhile, it’s worth remembering that on this date in 1912, 50,000 San Franciscans (not a typo) came out to cheer “the People’s Road” as Mayor Rolph called it: the first publicly-owned big city transit system in America. And it’s worth celebrating the fact that Muni’s very first streetcar (at the front of the line in the photo, on Geary between Grant and Stockton) is still in Muni’s fleet, fully restored for the Railway’s 2012 centennial.
Want to learn more about Muni’s history, decade by decade? We’ll publish several articles as 2022 begins, one every week, to fill you in. So watch this space!
Happy New Year to everyone at SFMTA/Muni, and to our members, donors and friends around the world. IMPORTANT NOTE: Through December 31, donations you make to our nonprofit are matched dollar for dollar (up to $8.000 total) thanks to generous challenge grants from members of our board of directors and leadership. Donate here!
