The document proposes an aerial gondola transit system for San Francisco to make public transportation more efficient. San Francisco's current public transit system, Muni, is plagued by heavy traffic and hilly terrain, making commutes by car or Muni very different experiences. An initial prototype of an aerial gondola network with 20 stations showed promise but needed more stations for comprehensive coverage. Next steps involve further prototyping stations that can lower to sidewalk level and planning routes based on ridership and infrastructure needs. Support from the city will be needed to transform this idea into reality and address San Francisco's transportation challenges.

1. © 2018 STUART TETTIDEAS TO ACTION
AERIAL TRANSIT IN
SAN FRANCISCO

2. AERIAL TRANSIT IN
SAN FRANCISCO
© 2018 STUART TETTIDEAS TO ACTION
3.1
9.6
8.1
avg. miles per hour
700,000
people/day
3,556 stops
CURRENTLY
59 freeway miles
7,200
intersections
≈ 7 miles
≈7miles
San Francisco’s MUNI transit system consists of 859 buses, 151 light
rails, 40 cable cars, and 46 historic street cars. But as a means of
travel it’s inefficient. Heavy traffic, hilly terrain, and a lack of freeways
plague the city. During commute hours it can be even faster to walk.
Those who travel by car and those who travel by MUNI experience the
city in very different ways. In a space that’s only 7 miles squared, it
takes about the same time to get from end to end by MUNI as driving
to San Jose—47.8 miles away.
approx. 1.07M
people (daytime)
1,088 street miles
50+ hills

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GOALS
How can we change San Francisco’s public
transit so that the city is as accessible as
private transit?
In other words…
How can we speed it up?

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© 2018 STUART TETTIDEAS TO ACTION
PROTOTYPE
An ideation session led to the idea of using aerial gondolas
to tackle the hills and avoid the traffic of San Francisco.
A prototype of a network of stations and cables laid out on
a city map began a discussion of if and how a system like
this might work in San Francisco.
The prototype had 20 stations creating connections from the
neighborhoods to downtown via 6 routes. The illustration to
the left shows where those stations were placed.
Important learnings from the prototype are:
• 20 stations is not enough for a comprehensive network.
• Larger “turn-around” stations can be placed at the ends
of lines where there is more room.
• Small “stop” stations are a way to be accessible to more
riders.
• In addition to commuter routes, tourist/scenic routes
shouldbeapartofthenetworkandwillbeabigcontributer
to supporting the cost of construction/maintenance.

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NEXT STEPS
There is still a lot of questions to be answered and iteration
to be done.
The next step is to look at the feasibility of small “stop”
stations. This will determine the coverage of the network
of gondolas throughout the city. If small stations do not
suffice, the placement of stations is much more limited. San
Francisco doesn’t have much empty space.
The next prototype would look into a method to bring the
gondola down to the level of a raised platform on a sidewalk.
Small scale prototypes are great for quick iteration. A full
scale prototype is useful for answering more questions using
human participants. This will help achieve a design that will
be accessible to all.
From here we can plan the routes and station placement
based on current MUNI ridership, terrain, and the needs of
the station and cable line infrastructure.
3 pulleys
possible
“dip-down”
configuration

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RESOURCES
Reinventing how people travel through San Francisco is a
complicated task. It will require many different groups of
people, materials to build the infrastructure, space to place
the stations, and a significant source of money.
While a comprehensive network throughout the city is the
goal. A good place to start is with 1 single route. Likely,
from an connecting an under-served neighborhood with
downtown or another form of transit.
To make that a reality we’ll need the support from the SFMTA
and the city of San Francisco.
The first step in making this happen is to form a committee
with a diverse group of knowledgeable individuals including
citizens of San Francisco who are affected.

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REFERENCES
[1] https://archives.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/the-muni-death-spiral/Content?oid=2176739
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_performance
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking
[4] https://www.sfmta.com/sites/default/files/reports/2016/2015%20SFMTA%20Transportation%20Factsheet.pdf
[5] https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/CITY-OF-HILLS-With-50-plus-hills-it-s-no-2676064.php
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population_density