The 49 Van Ness-Mission is one of the busiest routes we maintain at Potrero Yard.
On Feb. 14, we’re taking two major steps to keep Muni fast and reliable.
First, we’ll be making several changes to bus stops and routes to:
- Improve reliability
- Provide better connections to regional transit
- Avoid delays
And to improve Muni for years to come, we are working to replace Potrero Yard with a modern bus maintenance facility through the Potrero Yard Modernization Project.
For crews to prepare for future construction, we need to close Potrero Yard in February 2026.
We’ll move existing bus operations and maintenance work from Potrero Yard to other facilities. That’s a major, complex effort. We’re busy making sure this transition is as smooth as possible for SFMTA staff and our riders. We aim to keep your Muni rides fast, frequent and reliable.
Learn how a new bus maintenance facility will improve your rides on Muni. And see how the changes we’re making on Feb. 14 will help make your trips more reliable.
Why we’re rebuilding Potrero Yard
Potrero Yard was built in 1915 and does not meet modern seismic safety and maintenance standards. As a result, yard staff are challenged by an outdated facility with space and equipment constraints. For example, the ceiling above maintenance bays is too low to administer roof repairs indoors or lift buses to repair them from below. That slows down maintenance work and makes it difficult to get buses back into service. Fewer buses in service means longer waits and more crowded buses.
A new bus yard will:
- Create safer working conditions for our staff
- Preserve essential transit service for San Francisco residents
- Make maintenance work more efficient, which makes your Muni ride more reliable
- Improve earthquake safety at one of our most vulnerable facilities
- Allow Muni’s fleet to grow as ridership recovers
At Potrero Yard, trolley buses connect to overhead lines to charge.
How we’ll keep your bus on time, clean and running well
When Potrero Yard closes, our operators, maintenance workers and vehicles will move to other Muni divisions across the city.
For our riders, our goal is to maintain our current service capacities to minimize the impact of this change. Since we’ll have fewer longer buses available, that means adding more frequent service with shorter buses, when it’s possible. When it’s not possible, we’ll be monitoring crowding so we can make adjustments. It also means changing how we do things at other bus yards so that we can keep using some of the longer trolley buses.
The 22 Fillmore buses will be based out of a different Muni facility after the move.
For operators, it will mean some new ways of keeping our buses and infrastructure working. Some operators will help by driving buses between divisions. Others will operate trolley buses along overhead lines near Potrero Yard to make sure our vehicles and overhead infrastructure stay in working order.
Closing Potrero Yard for construction will bring many short-term changes. But its legacy will be a modernized, efficient, new Potrero Yard. Potrero has served us well for the past 111 years. We look forward to the next hundred.
To stay updated on the Potrero Yard Modernization Project, sign up for project updates.
Changes to Muni routes and stops
We will also implement changes to some Muni routes and stops starting Feb. 14. We’re doing this to improve service and better match rider demand.
More reliable schedules
- 1 X California: The buses that currently leave the first stop at 33rd Ave & Geary Blvd at 7:45 a.m. and 8 a.m. will leave five minutes earlier at 7:40 a.m. and 7:55 a.m., respectively. This change will allow for better spacing with 1 California buses.
- 54 Felton and 57 Parkmerced: We are making slight adjustments to the schedules for these routes. This way, your trips can better connect with BART.
- Late-night Owl service: We are updating these schedules to more accurately reflect trip times.
Changes to bus frequency
- 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid: With the closure of the Potrero Division, there will now be a mix of 40’ and 60’ buses on the 5 Fulton and 5R Fulton Rapid. To provide enough Muni service to meet ridership demand, the 5 Fulton will arrive every 7 minutes on weekends instead of every 10 minutes. The 5R Fulton Rapid will now arrive every 8 minutes instead of every 10 minutes during busy times. We will monitor this frequency change and address crowding as needed.
- 14 Mission: To allocate resources where they are needed most, the 14 Mission will run every 8 minutes instead of every 7 minutes on weekends. We’re making this change since more riders are choosing to ride the 14R Mission Rapid at these times. We will also monitor this change to address crowding, if needed.
Bus stop changes
- 48 Quintara-24th Street: The outbound route (toward Ocean Beach) will match the inbound route through West Portal. That means the 48 will travel on Ulloa Street instead of Vicente Street and West Portal Avenue. It will no longer stop at Vicente St & West Portal Ave. This change avoids congestion on Vicente Street.
- 15 Hunters Point Express: We are adding a new stop at Stockton St & Geary St in Union Square for trips heading toward the Bayview. This will improve transfers to Union Square/Market Street Station.
- 58 Parkmerced: The 58 Parkmerced will move three stops to use new boarding islands on Lake Merced Boulevard:
- In the inbound direction (toward Stonestown), the Lake Merced Blvd & Lake Merced Hills Blvd stop will move from the sidewalk to a new boarding island in the street.
- The inbound (toward Stonestown) 1100 Lake Merced Blvd stop will move about 350 feet south to a new boarding island near the crosswalk at John Muir Drive.
- The outbound (toward Daly City BART) 1100 Lake Merced Blvd stop will also move about 350 feet south to a new boarding island near John Muir Drive.
These boarding islands will improve bus reliability and travel times.
- 1 California and 1X California Express: The inbound (toward downtown) stop on the 1 California and 1X California Express at California St & 4th Ave will move across the intersection. This way, buses will stop at a new transit bulb after the traffic light. The change will help improve reliability and traffic safety.
- 6 Hayes-Parnassus: On days when Hayes Street is closed to cars between Gough and Laguna Streets, the 6 Hayes-Parnassus will continue to use Grove Street. This may not be reflected on trip-planning apps (e.g. Google Maps). This change will make trip-planning apps more accurate on weekends when Hayes Street is open to traffic.
Before Feb. 14, we’ll get the word out to riders about these changes to their routes. We'll be sharing this information through ways like sending email and text message alerts, posting signs at bus stops and updating community groups.
Sign up for alerts for your Muni routes to stay informed.