31 Balboa
| Company type | Public transit route |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Predecessor | Streetcar line |
| Founded | 1932-05-15 |
| Defunct | 1949-07-02 (streetcar service) |
| Fate | Converted to trolleybus service in 1994; express routes discontinued in 2020 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | San Francisco, California |
| Owner | San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency |
| Website | www |
31 Balboa is a trolleybus route managed by the San Francisco Municipal Railway. It functions as a vital connection between the Financial District and the Richmond District.
Route description
The line's outbound endpoint is located at Cabrillo and La Playa, a stop it shares with the 5 Fulton. From there, it travels inbound along Cabrillo to 45th Avenue, then proceeds one block north to Balboa Street. Beyond Arguello Boulevard, the route follows Turk Boulevard eastward, turns onto Divisadero, then onto Eddy Street. The route diverges between Larkin and Mason streets: inbound buses continue on Eddy, while outbound buses use Turk Street. The service navigates on and off Market Street via Turk and Mason, traveling inbound to the Market terminus before looping around via Spear and Mission streets to conclude at Steuart.
, weekday service deviates from Market Street, instead running down 5th Street to provide access to the Caltrain Depot, ending at Townsend and 4th. On weekends, the route turns around at Cyril Magnin and Market near Hallidie Plaza and Powell Street station.
31X Balboa Express services
Two express limited routes operated along this corridor.[1] The 31AX Balboa 'A' Express traveled from La Playa to Park Presidio Boulevard, then proceeded express to Embarcadero station via Park Presidio, Geary Boulevard, Masonic, Bush, Sansome, and California, with outbound buses running on Pine Street. Meanwhile, the 31BX Balboa 'B' Express ran local inbound from Park Presidio along Balboa, Turk, Masonic, and Geary before joining the express segment of the A Express route.[2] These express services were discontinued in 2020 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
History
The 31 Balboa line was inaugurated as a streetcar route on May 15, 1932 by the Market Street Railway. It represented the last completely new streetcar line constructed in San Francisco until 1995.[3] Its introduction likely contributed to the discontinuation of Muni's A Geary–10th Avenue line six months afterward.[4] Rail operations ceased on July 2, 1949 and were replaced by motor coach service,[4] with the streetcar’s final terminal shortened to Market and Eddy during its last months.[5]
In 1979, service was extended from Balboa and 30th Avenue out to Ocean Beach.[3] The express routes were divided into "A" and "B" variants in 1982.[1] Overnight (owl) service was eliminated in 1992.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content By May of that year, trolleybus infrastructure had been installed; limited electrified trolleybus operations began July 5, 1993 due to ADA-related vehicle availability issues.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content The full conversion to trolleybus service was completed on March 12, 1994.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content
Service was suspended in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A shortened route terminating at Powell Street station resumed operations on August 14, 2021.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content On August 19, 2023, weekday trips were extended to serve Caltrain Depot while weekend service continued to end at Powell Street station.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; refs with no name must have content Due to fiscal limitations, weekday service will be cut back to Powell Street station starting June 21, 2025 as part of the Summer 2025 Muni Service Cuts.[6]
Bibliography
External links
- 31 Balboa — Official page of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedCallwell61 - ↑ Template:Cite map
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Callwell 1999, p. 39
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedOutsideLands - ↑ Smallwood 1978, p. 130
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedJun2025