Climb ‘halfway to the stars’ and back in 25 minutes. Clamber up and down the steepest cable car hill in the world. Pass Crooked Lombard twice, swing through Chinatown, and roll smoothly through Russian Hill. Start and finish outside the Buena Vista Cafe, a block from Ghirardelli Square and interesting shops and restaurants in Fisherman’s Wharf on Jefferson Street. Meet people from all around the world while you’re doing it.
For a single cable car fare.
This is the Hyde Ride, special summertime cable car service offered by Muni, with strong support from our nonprofit, Market Street Railway. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 11 am – 6 pm, through October 4, one of four unique, double-ended cable cars that almost never run on Hyde Street will make these special trips to delight riders. Each one has a docent on board from Market Street Railway in a red vest to tell a bit about the history of the car you’re riding and share other tidbits of information.
As a special bonus, most days your gripman will be Muni’s Val Lupiz, with decades of experience, serious bell-ringing skills, and encyclopedic knowledge of cable car history. (Val is also a board member of Market Street Railway and for years has led a team of volunteer ‘cable car elves’ who decorate cars for holidays and special occasions.
You don’t need a reservation for this special ride. Just show up at the Hyde Street cable car terminal at Beach Street in Aquatic Park during Hyde Ride operating hours, buy a single-ride ticket for $9, and join the regular queue. When the special Hyde Ride car switches back (they’re too long for the turntable), our docents will call those who aren’t going all the way to Union Square and Market Street via Powell to step forward in the order they are in line.
If you stay on the car all the way, you’ll only pay a single fare, $9. But you can get off anywhere along the way, including the free Cable Car Museum, or Chinatown, where the car heads back to Aquatic Park. Many riders choose to make that loop and then get off near the end of the return trip, at the “Crookedest Street”, Lombard, with its stunning views of Coit Tower and the Bay. Remember, though, if you get off, you’ll have to pay another fare to resume a cable car ride.
That’s a great reason to buy Muni’s 1-Day Passport: for $15, you can take as many cable car rides as you want, ride the F-line historic streetcars from the Wharf to the Castro via the waterfront and Market Street, and/or take a Muni bus just a block from Aquatic Park on North Point Street direct to the Golden Gate Bridge (28-line) or Crissy Field and the fabulous Tunnel Tops Park in the Presidio (30-line). It’s one of the best transit bargains in the country.
This special Hyde Ride service is for everyone. It is a great day out for local folks as well as a special experience for visitors. And it serves a practical purpose. Each segment of the cable car system is powered by its own underground cable. The cable segment under Powell Street carries both the regular Mason and Hyde lines and is at capacity. But the Hyde cable has room for this special extra service. This increases the overall capacity of the cable car system at peak days and hours during summers and shortens the wait for all riders at Aquatic Park, which gives them more time in the day to shop and dine, helping our City’s economy.
On Saturdays, the longest and oldest operating cable car in the world, “Big 19”, built for Market Street in 1883 and first retired in 1942 after decades on the disappeared Sacramento-Clay line, is scheduled to service the Hyde Ride. The first Sunday of each month, it’ll be restored 1907 Car 42 from the O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde line, which was replaced by the Powell-Hyde line almost 70 years ago. Other Sundays and every Friday, the Hyde Ride will be served by a cable car that normally operates on California Street: Car 53, dedicated to Tony Bennett, or Car 55, just restored to its unique 1956 Muni green and cream paint scheme.
The Hyde Ride: Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, 11-6. Also operating on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, but not on July 4. Whether you’re coming from Fremont or Frankfurt, Dogpatch or Delhi, take the time for this great experience.
