Tapia feels that the F-line is a real working line, where operators deal with every passenger, the city’s traffic, the pedestrians on one of the City’s busiest streets, and the equipment. Despite these demands, working on the F-line has given Tapia a new dimension to her work for Muni.

“Each one of these cars has its own personality, and each one you forge a different relationship with. You get to know the car personally.” Tapia remarks. She has been trained on all the cars on the line. She is experienced on the PCCs, the Milan cars, and the vintage cars, which she confides are her favorites.

Surprisingly, Tapia was not interested in historic transit before working the F-line. She originally wanted to work on the Metro, but found that her low seniority did not afford her that chance. Now, she loves the F-line, and with its increasing popularity, more and more Muni drivers are trying to sign up for the line.

“It was something that just happened, and now I’m having a lot of fun. It’s like a vacation, and I get paid to do it.” Some other operators don’t stick with the F-line, finding it too much work. But, Tapia has a passion for the line, and all the work that goes with it.

“I wish I could handpick the operators for the F-line. Whenever I meet an operator that really likes to work with people and is a really hard working person, I encourage them to go and work for the F-line.”

On the F-line, Tapia feels that operators are able to forge relationships with the riding public directly: something that does not occur on the Metro. The F-line takes public transit to a more personal level.

With its increasing popularity, the F-line is not only crowded by tourists, but by the locals as well. “The beauty of it is that locals get to use it during rush hour. A lot of them will just ride a car that’s new to them, and most of them make time just to ride the F-line to work.” Local commuters that fill the F-line mostly come from between Castro and Church streets, according to Tapia.

Tourists have begun to ride the F-line due to their frustration with the cable cars’ long lines. “A lot of tourists take the line as an alternative to the cable car, but more of them simply take it as a tour. The word gets passed around. Where else can they get a tour of the city for a dollar?”

Tapia has also had memorable experiences on the line. Once, when working as a conductor on the Embarcadero shuttle, she watched a family get on at the Ferry Building, walked up to the father, “and I said, ’You look so much like Michael Dukakis.’ And he replied, ’Maybe that’s because I am Michael Dukakis.’”

Patience is one of Tapia’s virtues, especially with tourists. “Sometimes I get three to five people asking the same questions, and because they’re focused on how to ask their question they don’t realize that the prior person already had the same question answered.”

Tapia believes the F-line’s importance is comparable to the cable cars’. “It’s as if the F-line was meant to be. It adds so much color and character to the streets. It always should have been there.”

For now, she feels confident that she will stay on the line. She hopes that with her experience and growing seniority she will continue to have this privilege. “I will definitely stay on the line for as long as they let me.” With her experience, she is qualified to train operators for the line, and she hopes this will help her when it’s time to sign up again.

“I feel fortunate to be involved in the F-line from the very beginning, from its earliest stages. I feel honored helping passengers, and learning from rail fans and from the job itself. It’s very rewarding and that is something that seniority can’t take away from me.”