San Francisco to reopen cable automobiles in August — with a twist

The sound of cable cars going up and down the roller coaster hills of San Francisco has not been heard since March 2020 when an on-site protection order closed the city at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Clickety-Clack will be back in the first week of August.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Tuesday that the cable cars will come out of hibernation in August for testing and operator training, and will operate on a near-normal schedule, according to the city.

Drivers don’t have to pay in August and are encouraged to provide feedback on customer service and help operators get used to picking up and dropping off people.

“This is an attempt at a ‘mock service’ that will run and stop the lines on which the cable cars are operating,” Eric Kato, a spokesman for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation System, said in a statement. “This bogus service will be irregular and not follow a specific schedule.”

From September the regular service is to return to the usual tariffs.

Breed stated at a news conference Tuesday morning that Muni officials said the cable cars wouldn’t be operational until the fall, and she and Muni boss Jeffrey Tumlin came up with this creative solution to get people back in cars before summer End, according to CBS News.

“At the beginning of August, the cable cars will be available to all drivers free of charge for the whole of August,” said Breed, according to CBS. “So let’s bring them back a little earlier, not as early as I would have liked, but early enough that you catch them at the end of summer, right before you send your child back to school when they open this fall, and it should better open this fall. “

A mask will be required on the cable cars, as the state and the district continue to require face coverings on public transport.