Powell St & Market St — Local services in San Francisco

We've done this twice, once last year and on our trip this year.

It's one of those things that you feel like you should do when in San Francisco. If you plan on riding this the first time here are some things to keep in mind.

A majority of the cable car riders during the day at tourists. This is based on what I've been told by the workers.

If you want to try to get a seat, you need to be at the beginning or end of the line.

Wait times can be upwards of at least 90 minutes or more if you are going during the day.

The quietest times are really early in the morning or late at night. If you're going past 9pm, chances are you won't wait.

It's frustrating to see many cable cars parked while everyone waits for one to begin loading. Supposedly, the cable cars run on a schedule of 10 to 12 minutes.

If you plan on riding near union square, walk one stop away from the beginning (by H&M). You won't be getting a seat and it's standing room or you have to hang for dear life on one of the poles!

Even if you do get a seat inside, your view will be obstructed as they pack people on. This makes for a rather unpleasant experience.

Others have noted, if you're sitting outside, they'll load people so that someone will be standing directly in front of you (blocking your view).

You can pay for single rides with cash on the cable car.

If you plan on riding the cable car at least 3 times then get the day pass. For $22 you can ride the cable car unlimited times and I think it also includes MUNI (the bus and streetcar).

We got the day pass last year and didn't get much value as the wait was so long that we rode it for the sake of it late at night just to get our money's worth. Be warned, if you plan on getting on near fisherman's wharf at night, it's VERY chilly and windy. ...

Bucket list item for SF - hang off the side if you're able! Get on at the second stop; don't stand in line at the starting point (Powell St).

Okay, this was awesome. I originally thought, "Geez, a $7 per person ticket just to ride once up one street?" But as a visitor to SF, hubs and I had to give it a try, and it was way fun. He insisted that we hang off the side and for me, that was the difference. We started out just standing inside the car, but when enough people got off, we hung off the outside. If you're able to do this safely, DO IT. And get as close to the front as you can. I was right up at the front of the car, hanging off the side, grinning like an idiot, getting the best views. I was even able to get a few selfies of us hanging off the side while the car was stopped at lights as well. Highly recommend for the experience!

Note: If there's a line to board the cable car at the Powell St origin point, buy your ticket at the kiosk nearby and just walk up the road a block to the next stop. Boarding at the initial entry point is not efficient, and there are often empty seats on the cable car upon its departure. (Unsure why this is - probably because there are 2 different routes, but only one queue of passengers. So if the people in front don't want the route that's leaving now, the operators just take off with empty seats, knowing they'll fill up quickly...

We made a special trip in to SF for lunch to be followed by a cable car ride. At first the cable cars were out of order. No problem, we just did some shopping. We ended up near china town. Corner of market and Powell I think. We were honestly a little confused about where the cable car would take us. We wanted to be able to ride a while. When the cable car stopped I wanted to ask "how much further does this car go". My friend was behind me waiting to see if we wanted to get on this car. The "driver" said "get on the car!! No questions yet. First things first. Let that lady on behind you!! Do you know her? Don't be rude. Let her on". 😳. We basically had no choice. Got on and unfortunately only got to ride a few blocks as it was near the end of the line. $14 bucks waisted on a short trip. Something we really wanted to experience. He could have answered our one question and we could have went elsewhere to fact the cable car ride. And he called ME rude. Very disappointed. Took his picture. Would love to share it with someone who...