E Union
| Company type | Public transit route |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Predecessor | Presidio & Ferries Railway (streetcar line) |
| Founded | December 1881 (as Presidio & Ferries Railway) |
| Fate | Renamed and reorganized over time; operations suspended in 2020 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | San Francisco, California |
| Owner | San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) |
| Website | www |
41 Union represents a trolleybus route managed by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni). This line connects several prominent San Francisco districts, such as South of Market, the Financial District, Chinatown, North Beach, Russian Hill, and Cow Hollow.
Route description
Starting at the outbound terminus located at Lyon and Greenwich, the buses proceed eastward along Union Street until reaching Columbus Avenue, where they then head south. A brief outbound section operates on Stockton Street between Columbus and Union. Near Columbus Avenue's base, the route navigates a series of one-way streets to arrive at the inbound terminal situated at Main and Howard before looping back to Columbus via additional one-way streets.
Presidio & Ferries Railway
The Presidio & Ferries Railway was an early San Francisco streetcar operator that commenced operations in December 1881, featuring cable car, horse-drawn, and steam-powered segments.
Horse-drawn cars started at the Ferry Building, transporting passengers to the intersection of Columbus and Montgomery. The cable car portion ran along Columbus from Montgomery to Union Street, then westward to Steiner Street. Steam-powered trains continued along Steiner, Greenwich, and Baker Streets, ultimately reaching the Presidio of San Francisco. In 1892, the cable line expanded with new tracks laid on Union and Baker Streets.
Following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, this line transitioned to electric-powered vehicles.
Municipal ownership
In 1913, the city took ownership of the Presidio & Ferries Railway’s Union Street Line as part of four routes designated for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The E Union streetcar route began service ten days prior to the exposition, running from the Ferry Building to the Presidio via The Embarcadero, Washington/Jackson Streets, Columbus, Union, Larkin, Vallejo, Franklin, Union again, Baker, and Greenwich.
Streetcar operations ceased on July 20, 1947, when the E Union line merged with the R Howard trolleybus route to form E Union–Howard. This was renamed 41 Union/Howard in February 1949.
After Howard Street was converted to one-way traffic in 1970, the route was divided: the northern portion kept the 41 Union name while the southern segment became 12 Folsom/Pacific. On October 1, 1988, service on the 41 was limited to peak hours only. Operations were suspended in 2020 due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bibliography
External links
- 41 Union — SFMTA official page