San Francisco Streetcars 'Too Popular'

The F-Market is a streetcar line in San Francisco that features restored historic streetcars. When it was built in 1995, many saw it as a novelty, but today it is so popular and crowded that it has become an inefficient means of transportation.

1 minute read

August 7, 2008, 10:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


"Twenty-five years ago, San Francisco put a fleet of quaint vintage streetcars on the train tracks along Market Street. Today those cars are still running on the F-line, which rolls down Market, past the Ferry Building, and up the Embarcadero to Fisherman's Wharf. They are beautifully restored, eye-catching tourist attractions, and a lot of fun.

Unless you are actually trying to get somewhere.

"In the afternoon when I am trying to go home, they get so packed they don't even stop," said Tamela Lamboglia, who has been working at Pier 39 for more than 24 years. "I've started to walk all the way to the Ferry Building."

The streetcars, sometimes called "museums in motion," have committed the cardinal sin of public transportation: They have become too popular."

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 in The San Francisco Chronicle

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

October 28, 2026 - Zachary Whalen

A car drives through a puddle, making a large splash. Rain pours down.

California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour

If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.

October 28, 2026 - Grist

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

: Construction of massive Samsung semiconductor fabrication plant

In Texas, data centers are swallowing promised parkland

Residents who moved to Taylor, Texas for a rural community now have to contend with three data centers in their backyard.

November 3 - Inside Climate News

A construction crew working on SunZia.

How a Chicago-sized wind farm beat the odds and powered on

The project spanned five presidential administrations and a standoff with a U.S. military base.

November 3 - Grist

A rendering of the basketball court, a green court under a blue sky.

MTA gives itself 30 days to transform pit into basketball court

The site has been under construction since 2022; the city originally estimated it would finish the court in 2024.

November 3 - Gothamist