San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) today celebrated 100 years of M Ocean View service in San Francisco. Named after the Oceanview neighborhood in 1925, the line brings over 18,000 people every day to San Francisco’s city center.
The M Ocean View runs from Oceanview to downtown San Francisco via the Twin Peaks Tunnel and the Balboa Park BART station. It serves as a connection between iconic San Francisco neighborhoods like Oceanview, Balboa Park, West Portal, Forest Hill and the Castro.
“We know how much this line matters to the OMI neighborhood and we’re proud to celebrate 100 years of service,” said SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum. “We’re working hard to keep the M reliable for everyone who uses it. For OMI residents, SF State students, and visitors of Stonestown and West Portal, the M keeps our city thriving.”
Muni opened the M Ocean View streetcar line on October 6, 1925, as a shuttle between Broad & Plymouth to Saint Francis Circle. At the time, the area was mostly farmland. The opening of the M helped spark development of what would become the Lakeside, Stonestown, Parkmerced, and Oceanview neighborhoods.
It has long been one of SFMTA’s most beloved rail lines, even inspiring a halal deli to open in its honor: The M Stop in Oceanview. The M Stop serves transit-themed sandwiches and celebrates the storied history of the M Ocean View in the neighborhood.
Now, the line serves a variety of riders from early morning to late night. The morning rush hour includes workers enjoying a fast, one-seat ride from the westside to downtown’s increasingly bustling offices. Office commuters sit next to students and educators, as the route connects the Oceanview neighborhood to the city’s biggest campuses, including San Francisco State University, City College of San Francisco, as well as many schools in the San Francisco Unified School District.
The train also connects San Francisco’s busiest shopping centers. Downtown, it stops near the Ferry Building and Union Square, which is seeing new openings announced every week. On the westside, it’s a direct route to Stonestown Galleria, where shoppers flock to popular restaurants, retailers and grocery stores. In between, there are beloved commercial strips like West Portal Avenue and beloved neighborhood spots on Randolph and Broad Street. And thousands more residents will enjoy a short walk to the train in the coming years with planned developments at Stonestown and Parkmerced.
“The M has always been a reliable presence in San Francisco that so many people depend on,” said SFMTA Director of Transit Brent Jones. “By reducing wait times and creating safer and more accessible spaces to board the train, we’re improving service on the M where it matters most for our customers. It’s been 100 years of service for OMI and West Portal, and we look forward to making the M even better for the decades to come.”
History of the M Ocean View
In the 1860s, the area near San Jose Avenue and Sagamore Street was served by steam trains traveling to the peninsula. Beginning in the 1890s, electric streetcar lines skirted today’s Oceanview on San Jose and Ocean Avenues.
After the M Ocean View was launched in 1925, it ran as a streetcar through 1939. Due to slow development, low ridership, and economic troubles in the Depression Era, streetcar service was substituted with buses in August 1939. Streetcar service was restored in 1944, reconnecting the area to downtown.
In the post-war era, the areas along the M Line saw major increases in development and population. Entire neighborhoods were built and existing ones expanded. With SF State and Stonestown Mall opening in the early 1950s, the M quickly became a staple for shoppers and students. The Stonestown Mall has continued to thrive even as malls have struggled post-pandemic, thanks in part to its connections to transit.
In 1980, the M Line was extended along San Jose Avenue to Balboa Park as part of the opening of the Muni Metro system. This extension provided a vital regional connection to BART. In 1995, new boarding stations were built at Stonestown and SF State to improve safety, accessibility and comfort for the thousands of people who ride the M.
Today, the M Line is seeing another round of improvements to reliability and safety along its route through the OMI.
M Ocean View Transit and Safety Project: Transit Safety and Reliability Are Key
In 2018, the Muni Service Equity Strategy identified the M Ocean View line as a priority for improvements in the Ocean View neighborhood. Since then, the SFMTA has been working to continue to improve the line.
We heard from community members they wanted to reduce wait and travel times on the M Ocean View and also improve safety for people walking to stops.
Since then, we’ve added:
- A transit lane on San Jose Avenue between Niagara Avenue and Broad Street to help calm traffic speeds and improve reliability on the train.
- A new boarding island at San Jose and Niagara avenues. This allows riders to step directly from the train to the island – instead of into the street.
- One stop removal at the low ridership stop at Mt. Vernon Avenue in both directions. This reduces train delays and improves reliability.
“The new outbound M stop at San Jose and Niagara is an improvement,” said David Hooper, president of the New Mission Terrace Improvement Association. He also retired from Muni in 2010 after more than 30 years. “Staff has consistently tried to work with the community.”
In the coming months and into 2026, M riders can look forward to seeing:
- More longer boarding islands at other San Jose Avenue M Ocean View stops and a new boarding platform at Capitol Avenue and Broad Street. These improved stops will make it more comfortable and safer for people getting on and off the train.
- New wheelchair-accessible ramps. At four stops, riders will be able to board while using a wheelchair, stroller or cart.
- New traffic signals. Randolph Street will get two new traffic signals. They’ll help the train stop less often and improve traffic safety for people walking.
- More traffic safety improvements, like pedestrian bulbouts, refuge islands and painted crosswalks. These changes make people walking more visible and protected and calm traffic speeds.
Looking Ahead: Muni Metro Modernization
In addition to upgrades to the M Ocean View, the SFMTA’s Train Control Upgrade Project will completely overhaul, upgrade and expand train control technology to Muni Metro citywide.
The new technology will improve subway efficiency by an estimated 20%. On Muni Metro street segments, where today there is no train control technology, riders will experience improvements including:
- Greater safety with features like driver assist prompts, speed management, and automatic breaking in case the train operator is unresponsive
- Better traffic signal integration and continuous communication for more green lights for Muni Metro – which means faster trips with less wait time for riders
- Constant communication with our Transportation Management Center so Transit Managers can identify issues and take proactive steps in advance
###