Keeping San Francisco Moving in Challenging Times

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Three SFMTA staff take a fun selfie on a downtown street.

Our teams worked around the clock to keep San Francisco moving during the widespread power outage.

When a third of the city lost power this weekend, teams across the SFMTA moved quickly and decisively to support local communities.

We are really proud of the work they did to keep Muni running and city streets safe.

Together, our staff made it possible for people to get food, batteries and other critical supplies. They helped residents reach family and friends in need.

We are thrilled to share how our teams worked together to keep San Francisco moving in a crisis.

Transit teams maintain Muni service and share real-time alerts

Bus shuttles drive down a street with train tracks in the dark.

Bus shuttles are one way we support riders when something affects Muni Metro service.

Early on, the massive outage knocked out power to Van Ness Station. Our teams in Transit moved fast to replace subway service, protect Muni staff and give riders options.

Transit staff:

Provided bus shuttles from Castro to Embarcadero stations

Provided train shuttles from Embarcadero to Caltrain stations

Combined the N and J lines to preserve service in several neighborhoods

Shared real-time alerts on multiple channels

Many Muni operators had to drive in areas where the city lost power. Our transit management center staff kept their safety top of mind. They made announcements telling operators to proceed with caution and report anything hazardous.

“When there’s a disruption, we always work to make things as easy as possible for people,” says SFMTA Transit Operations Manager Terrill King. “We move really fast to make decisions and always make sure it’s safe when we have buses running on different routes than normal.”

Thanks to our dedicated teams in Transit, residents and visitors had an affordable way to keep moving during the outage.

Signal Shop finds creative way to support complex intersections

Yellow truck near electrical boxes on a downtown street.

Our Signal Shop staff helped bring back power to several challenging intersections.

The recent outage affected traffic signals at many intersections. These included locations where navigating an all-way stop could be especially confusing or hazardous.

That’s where our Signal Shop got creative.

Staff were able to “back feed” electricity to keep signals running at several locations north of Market. They used generators to bring power back and stayed on site to monitor deployment.

Thanks to the creativity and commitment of our staff, these San Francisco streets were safer for everyone.

Parking control officers direct traffic to keep streets safe

Parking control officer guides traffic during an outage.

A parking control officer keeps traffic flowing during an outage.

Our parking control officers also played a critical role keeping streets safe during the outage. They directed traffic at intersections where signals were disrupted.

That meant working in shifts, day and night, from Saturday to Monday in dark and rainy conditions.

Their work made streets safer for people walking, driving and taking transit. We want to thank them for showing up across the city to support communities in need.