In its first hundred years, the San Francisco Municipal Railway evolved from a fragmented group of privately held ventures operated by entrepreneurial land developers to the first major transit system created as a public alternative to private transit ownership.
From its inception as “the people’s system” on December 28, 1912, the Municipal Railway operated with a singular mission: To provide safe transportation to all of the city’s diverse and disparate populations, neighborhoods, and communities.
Today, Muni serves as the transit arm of the larger San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, the organization responsible for operating and managing the city’s integrated surface transportation network. This multi-modal network includes pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, paratransit, parking, traffic and taxis.
In the course of the last 100 years, Muni’s diverse workforce, forged by men and women of innovation and dedication, has reflected the melting pot of cultures that flocked to our city; groundbreaking anti-discrimination and accessibility policies crafted through the years have guaranteed equal opportunity and mobility for all.
As we begin our second hundred years, we will continue to remain dutiful to the 200 million customers and visitors we serve annually. In addition, we must embrace the greater vision of preparing our transportation system for the generations that will follow to increase mobility options, to actively pursue multi-modal transit alternatives, to reduce our carbon footprint, and to improve the quality of life for all San Franciscans.
We invite you to join us during this centennial year as we celebrate the heralded history of San Francisco’s Municipal Railway.
Tom Nolan
Board Chairman