Free Rides on SF’s Open-Air Boat Tram

Muni Summer Heritage Service includes:

Vintage Streetcars on the Embarcadero

• Where you can ride: Serving the Embarcadero, the heritage streetcars make stops on the F Market & Wharves Line between the Ferry Building and Pier 39.
• When you can ride: Sundays and Mondays through October 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Fare: free!

Historic cable cars on the special “Hyde Ride”

• Where you can ride: On the steepest part of Hyde Street with the best views of San Francisco, the “Hyde Ride” runs between Aquatic Park and Chinatown. The first stop is Hyde St & Beach St by Aquatic Park, and the last stop is at Washington St & Powell St.
• When you can ride: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Fare: standard $8 cable car fare for the entire 30-minute loop, or you can buy a 1-day passport. For more information, visit the SFMTA Fares webpage (SFMTA.com/Fares).

The Boat Tram is one of three open-air streetcars in Muni’s roster. They were built in the 1930s for the seaside resort of Blackpool, England. They provided tours along its coast for decades (and some still do, occasionally, during the summer). We just refurbished Car Number 233, and it will operate on the F Market Line between the Ferry Building and Fisherman’s Wharf.

The Boat Tram won’t be alone. It joins Car 496, also known as the “Melbourne Car,” because it’s a 1928 streetcar from Melbourne, Australia. Keep an eye out for Car 1, Muni’s first electric streetcar dating from 1912 and the first publicly owned streetcar in the U.S., on the route. And “Milan Car” number 1895, a 1928 Peter Witt-style streetcar from Milan, Italy, also will run this summer.

Peter Witt streetcars were designed to board from the front, with a conductor collecting fares in the center of the car. Fun fact: Peter Witt was the Cleveland, Ohio, street railway commissioner who designed this system in 1915. We started running our Melbourne and Milan Cars on June 3.

But that’s not all! Muni’s world-famous cable cars are also part of the Summer Heritage Service. On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, you can take the “Hyde Ride.” It’s a 30-minute roundtrip along some of the steepest hills in San Francisco. And, of course, it features breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Coit Tower, Lombard Street and Ghirardelli Square.

The “Hyde Ride,” which our partner the Market Street Railway calls “the perfect cable car cocktail,” starts in Aquatic Park and turns back in Chinatown. The first stop is Hyde St & Beach St by Aquatic Park, and it turns around at Washington St & Powell St. This route features special guest appearances by two of our most historic cable cars: “Big 19,” which formerly ran the Sacramento & Clay Streets route, and Car 42, of the O’Farrell, Jones & Hyde route.

Cars 19 and 42 are double-ended cars that are longer than the single-ended cars that normally run on the Powell-Hyde and Powell-Mason lines. These cars can’t use the turntable at the end of Powell Street. This is why the Hyde Ride ends in Chinatown, where there’s a switch that allows the cars to change direction for the return trip to Aquatic Park.

You can read more about the special route on this Market Street Railway “Hyde Ride” webpage. We hope to see you on heritage vehicles this summer.