San Francisco Cable Cars: Everything You Need To Know Before Your First Ride

San Francisco is home to the world’s last remaining manually operated cable car system — a moving landmark that’s both a form of transportation and a ride through history. No other city in the world operates cable cars in this traditional, mechanical way. Needless to say, it’s a must-do in the city (so much so I have an entire one day cable car itinerary!).

I’ll go over everything you need to know before you ride the San Francisco cable cars for the first time. Like which route to ride, how to buy tickets, and some general safety tips for the riding the cable cars.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

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What Are The Cable Car Lines in San Francisco

There are three cable car lines in San Francisco: Powell / Mason, Powell / Hyde, and California street.

Powell Mason Cable Car

The Powell Mason cable car travels from Fisherman’s Wharf to Union Square.

Although it’s a similar route to Powell and Hyde, it runs parallel to it at the start before becoming the same line.

It’s a good cable car to ride if you want to visit Coit Tower, North Beach, and Chinatown. It does pass the Cable Car Museum on the way as well. If you want to see a turnaround from Fisherman’s Wharf, I recommend coming to Bay St. and Taylor St. to see the Powell and Mason turnaround with way less people.

a cable car on a circular wood lazy suzan in the middle of a paved road. Two employees are on either end, manually turning the powell mason cable car around in san francisco

Powell Hyde Cable Car

The Powell Hyde cable car also goes from Fisherman’s Wharf to Union Square. The cable car turnaround is closer to Ghirardelli Square. It’s a good cable car to ride to take you to Lombard Street, Polk Street, the Cable Car Museum, Chinatown and Nob Hill.

It also has the steepest hill to go down with one of the best view of Alcatraz (between Lombard street and the turnaround). It’s very fun to take this route down to the end as it feels like you’re riding a roller coaster.

This is the most popular route (for good reason), but if you start from the turnaround, except to wait in a line and for the cable car to be FULL!

California Cable Car

California street runs perpendicular to the other two cable car lines. They all intersect on Powell, so you can transfer if you want to.

The California cable car is unique because it runs in a straight line, there are no turns. It simply goes from the Financial District to Nob Hill. This is a good cable car to ride if you want to visit the Ferry Building, Chinatown, Nob Hill, and Polk Street.

the view from van ness avenue all down california street, you can see the cable car lines down the entire street, cars are driving over them. There's an approaching red and yellow san francisco cable car. beautiful victorian homes line the street on eitehr side.

If You Can Only Ride One Cable Car, Which Route is Best?

As I said, Hyde and Mason run parallel from each other until they meet up on Powell. Along their routes, they both intersect with the California cable car.

If you book a single ride ticket, I would ride the Hyde and Powell cable car. As I mentioned, it’s the most crowded, but for good reason. You have to be a bit more strategic with where you get on. I would avoid starting in Fisherman’s Wharf, try to get on the cable car more in the middle of the route (or even from Market Street near Union Square).

I recommend taking the cable car towards Fisherman’s Wharf either way, as you’ll ride the steepest street going down (which is very fun!).

San Francisco Cable Car Tickets

Your guide to buying San Francisco cable car tickets!

How To Buy Cable Car Tickets?

You have three options for how to buy cable car tickets:

On the cable car (from the cable car operator)
At a ticket booth (usually found at turnaround stations)
On the Muni Mobile app

a large old school sign for Fisherman's Wharf San Francisco stands on the left side in some bushes at the base. On the right you can see some tracks, where there's a red and yellow nad a green and yellow cable car on either one.

If you buy your ticket directly from the operator on the cable car, you’ll need exact change.

You can buy a single ride fair at a ticket booth kiosk, which you can find a location on the SFMTA website. They are often found at turnaround stations.

But the easiest way to buy cable car tickets is through the Muni Mobile app. This is an extra app to download on your phone, but it’s worth it. You can seamlessly buy your ticket and activate when you want. And best of all, you don’t risk losing your ticket. P.S. You do have to make sure to activate it when you’re ready to use it, it’s not automatic after purchase

How Much Does it Cost to Ride a Cable Car in San Francisco?

In March 2025 it cost $8 for ONE TRIP, and it’s going up to $9 in July (see updated prices). A single ticket does not include transfers to other lines, or round trips.

Although I don’t know how they would know if you’ve transferred. I had my ticket on the Muni App and would simply show it to the cable car operator, it was never actually scanned to show that I used it. On top of that, the ticket had an expiration time… which was an hour and a half after I activated it. And the operator would never check that I had a ticket when I got on the cable car midway through the route.

the view from inside a cable car. The sun is shining on a bench facing outward, casting a beautiful rich yellow hue. There's a burgundy wall with a door behind it, separating the inside booth. On the window you can slightly make out the yellow print where it says single fare $8.00, one way, no transfers

Can you Hop On and Off San Francisco Cable Cars?

With a single ride ticket you aren’t supposed to hop on and off the cable car. It is meant for a single ride, to get from point A to Point B (and not back on again).

My Recommendation: Buy A One Day Pass To Ride For the Entire Day

A single ride ticket is quite expensive and very limiting, so I recommend getting a one day pass. This will be twice the price (the cost of two tickets) but it will last an entire day, including as many transfers and round trips as you like.

The cable cars also take you around the entire city, to all the main attractions from Fisherman’s Wharf to Union Square. You can see North Beach, Chinatown,Nob Hill and more in just one day all on the cable cars, you can see my entire route through the city in my post.

the powell hyde cable car turnaround. there's an iron black fence separating the cable car and the crowds that have already started to form a line around it.

What is the San Francisco Cable Car Schedule?

There is no actual fixed San Francisco cable car schedule. They do have a start time and a general frequency of departures. Depending on the route, and time of day, frequencies vary between 10 and 20 minutes.

You can see the frequency for each route, and where they stop here:

Cable Car Safety

This historic mode of transportation doesn’t exactly comply with todays road safety standards. The city has adapted around them though, but there are a few things to watch out for.

They Stop in the Middle of the Intersection

Please make sure it’s safe before getting off an on the cable car if you’re midway through the route because they stop in the middle of the intersection. They’re running on old tracks, that were in the middle of the road, and they can’t exactly pull over. The middle of an intersection is also the optimal place for them to stop to grab and release the cable underground.

So before getting on and off the cable car, just makes sure it’s safe to do so. Check the street for oncoming traffic. Although cars are not supposed to pass the cable car, I saw many instances of this happening. It’s not just locals driving in the bay area, there are a lot of tourists who aren’t used to the San Francisco hills and the rules of the road with cable cars.

three glasses are on a tray. They have a brown liquid in them, coffee, each mostly full. Behind the coffee tasters is a man pulling a bar on the road to stop the oncoming cable car in the san francisco streets.

Hanging Off The Rails

You can in fact hang off the side of the cable car for added fun. Of course please be safe if you choose to ride the cable car this way! The roads can be quite exhilarating as you go up and down the San Francisco hills. But you will need some arm strength to hold on, you don’t want to fall off!

Are San Francisco Cable Cars Even Worth It?

This is the only place in the world where you can ride historic cable cars like these, so yes, they are 100% worth a ride. I mean, it’s a top thing to do in the city.

Of course, a single ride is quite expensive, especially since it doesn’t include a return trip (leaving you kind of stranded). So for an additional few dollars, it is also worth it to invest in the one day pass as well and make a day out of it.

Use the San Francisco cable cars as your only mode of transportation and pretend you’re in 1900s San Francisco!

a cable car is stopped in the middle of an intersection on the streets of san francsico. Two people are hanging off the sides ,while a woman steps on to the car. It's not a full car, no one is even sitting on the benches, but they are opting to hang out on the rails instead.

Cable Car Fun Facts

All the cable cars run at 9.5 miles / hour whether they’re going uphill, downhill or have no incline at all. That’s because the cable they attach to underground is always running at that speed.

Another fun fact about San Francisco cable cars is that women weren’t allowed to stand on the outside until 1965. So if you want to take your rights as a woman, be sure to stand outside (but be careful of course!).

Need A Place To Stay in San Francisco?

I’ve stayed in three hotels in San Francisco and would really only recommend one: the Marriott in Fisherman’s Wharf. It’s by no means a luxury hotel but it gets the job done and the location could not have been better (my room actually had a view onto the In & Out Burger offering entertainment all day long!). Aside from the In & Out it was walking distance to everything, from Ghirardelli Square to Pier 39. See room rates and availability on Booking.com.

Another good area to stay in while in San Francisco is Union Square. It’s a safer, less touristy neighbourhood. But it still has a cable car running through it to bring you to Fisherman’s Wharf and all the . I stayed in both Cornell Hotel de France and the Marine’s Memorial Club Hotel… and wouldn’t recommend either other than their locations. I regret cancelling my reservation to save some money at the Beacon Grand in the same location! Looking back I think the extra cost is worth it. See room rates and availability on Booking.com.

Or see more hotel options in San Francisco.