38R Geary Rapid
| Company type | Bus route |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | San Francisco, California |
| Products | Bus transit service |
38 Geary is a bus route managed by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). Together with its limited variants—the 38R Geary Rapid, 38AX Geary 'A' Express, and 38BX Geary 'B' Express—the corridor along Geary Boulevard constitutes Muni's most heavily utilized transit line.
Route description
This line connects the Salesforce Transit Center with the Richmond District, primarily following Geary Boulevard. To enhance travel efficiency, many segments include side-running bus lanes. The service operates continuously throughout the day and night, offering reduced-frequency overnight Owl service as part of the All Nighter network.
38R Geary Rapid
The 38R Geary Rapid provides expedited transit by bypassing numerous stops east of 33rd Avenue. Formerly called the 38 Limited, this service recorded 29,500 daily boardings in 2019, exceeding ridership on the local counterpart.
38AX / 38BX Geary Express services
Operating during weekday peak periods, two express lines—the 38AX and 38BX—originate near Embarcadero station. Both make limited stops within the Financial District before continuing along Geary Boulevard. The 38AX travels nonstop to Masonic Avenue before serving local stops up to 48th Avenue, whereas the 38BX covers local stops between Presidio Avenue and 25th Avenue. These express routes were suspended amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
History
Cable car operations along Geary began in 1880 under the Geary Street, Park and Ocean Railway. The corridor was Muni’s inaugural streetcar line after its acquisition, launching in 1912 with routes labeled A, B, and C Geary. The B Geary route extended from downtown to the oceanfront, replacing earlier shuttle services. Rail transit ceased on December 29, 1956, transitioning to bus service with the B Geary becoming today’s 38 Geary.
While construction of the Salesforce Transit Center was underway, the inbound endpoint temporarily shifted to the Temporary Transbay Terminal. The implementation of the Geary Bus Rapid Transit initiative occurred mainly between 2019 and 2021, with design modifications influenced by emergency measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ridership
By 2014, daily trips along this corridor exceeded 54,000, surpassing ridership levels on the entire Caltrain network. This positions it among North America’s busiest bus routes, second only to Vancouver’s 99 B-Line, which holds the highest ridership in both the U.S. and Canada.
See also
External links
- 38 Geary — provided by SFMTA