38 Geary

38 Geary is a bus line operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). Together with the limited service routes that share the number, the 38R Geary Rapid, 38AX Geary 'A' Express, and 38BX Geary 'B' Express, the Geary Boulevard corridor makes up Muni's busiest thoroughfare.

38 Geary
38R Geary Rapid bus in the Richmond District in 2021
Overview
OperatorSan Francisco Municipal Railway
VehicleNew Flyer XDE60
Began serviceDecember 29, 1956
PredecessorsB Geary, C Geary–California
Route
LocaleSan Francisco, California
StartTransbay Transit Center
ViaGeary Boulevard
End32nd Avenue and Balboa (daytime)

Fort Miley Hospital (daytime)

48th Avenue and Point Lobos (evenings/Sunday)
Length6.5 miles (10.5 km)
Other routes38R, 38AX, 38BX
Service
Frequency8–10m
Weekend frequency10m
Daily ridership38: 21,500 (2019)
38R: 29,500 (2019)[1]
Map38 Geary / 38R Geary Rapid Map
← 37 Corbett  List of San Francisco Municipal Railway lines  39 Coit →

Route description
See also: Geary Bus Rapid Transit

The route operates between the Transbay Transit Center and the Richmond District almost exclusively via Geary Boulevard.[2] Much of the route features side-running bus lanes to speed travel times.[3][4] The route operates 24 hours with less frequent Owl service overnight as part of the All Nighter network.

38R Geary Rapid

The 38R Geary Rapid skips several stops along the route east of 33rd Avenue in order to provide a faster service through the corridor. The line has previously been known as the 38 Limited.[5] Ridership just on this line was 29,500 daily boardings in 2019 — higher than the local line.[1]

38AX / 38BX Geary Express services

Geary is additionally served by two special express bus services. Both lines originate inbound at Davis Street and Pine Street near Embarcadero station and reach Geary Boulevard via Pine Street with only a few stops in the Financial District. Inbound trips run on Bush Street and California Street. The 38AX Geary 'A' Express continues nonstop to Masonic Avenue and Geary Avenue until 25th Avenue where it begins making local stops until terminating at 48th Avenue. The 38BX Geary 'B' Express turns off Pine at Presidio Avenue and makes local stops on Geary between Presidio and 25th. Buses run during peak hours on weekdays. Express buses were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

The Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railway began operating cable cars on Geary starting in 1880.[6] San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) acquired the corridor as its first streetcar line, opening in 1912. Service was initially provided by the A Geary–10th Avenue, B Geary, and C Geary–California. The A was reduced to a shuttle service in June 1913 and the B Geary, itself previously a shuttle between 10th and 33rd Avenues, was lengthened to run from Downtown to the beach.[7][8] Rail service was replaced with buses on December 29, 1956, with the B Geary becoming the 38 Geary.[9][10][5]

During construction of the Transbay Transit Center, the inbound terminus was moved to the Temporary Transbay Terminal. Much of the Geary Bus Rapid Transit project was implemented between 2019 and 2021. Part of the final design was influenced by emergency measures made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Ridership

By 2014, over 54,000 daily trips were made along the corridor, more than the entirety of Caltrain.[11] This makes it one of the most heavily-ridden bus lines in North America, slightly behind Vancouver's 99 B-Line, which has the highest ridership of any bus line in America north of Mexico.

See also

References
  1. "Short Range Transit Plan" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. December 3, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 5, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  2. Keeling, Brock (September 19, 2017). "I thought riding the 38 Geary would be horrible—I was wrong". Curbed SF. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  3. "SFMTA transit lanes to support the 38 Geary route in Richmond". Mass Transit. February 8, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  4. "Geary Boulevard Transit Lanes" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. July 20, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2021.
  5. Elinson, Zusha (March 31, 2012). "After 100 Years, Muni Has Gotten Slower". New York Times. The Bay Citizen. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. "Cable Car Company - Geary Street Park & Ocean Railroad". Cable Car Museum. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  7. Perles, Anthony; McKane, John (1982). Inside Muni: The Properties and Operations of the Municipal Railway of San Francisco. Interurban Press. ISBN 0-916374-49-1.
  8. Bialick, Aaron (December 7, 2015). "How Muni's Streetcar Lines Got Their Letters". SFMTA. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  9. "San Francisco Transit Routes". Chicago Transit & Railfan Website. 2009. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  10. "End of the line - The last days of the B & C". Museums in Motion. Streetcar.org. 2007. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  11. Chinn, Jerold (December 18, 2014). "Geary transit improvements set to arrive early". SFBay.ca. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
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