A new on-demand shuttle in one of San Francisco’s most transit-starved neighborhoods has seen dramatic growth in ridership, completing nearly 5,000 trips in its first three months of service.
The Bayview Community Shuttle, which provides shared rides within Bayview-Hunters Point in the southeastern corner of the city, completed 4,921 trips from its Nov. 12 launch to mid-January. The number of daily rides grew from 16 on launch day to a peak of 168 on Jan. 15.
The service — which offered free rides through mid-December and now costs as much as a regular Muni trip — maintains an average user rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars, according to San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency spokesperson Michael Roccaforte.
The purple-and-yellow electric shuttles are part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions and strengthening the economy — particularly in disadvantaged communities, Roccaforte said.
“Bayview-Hunters Point has faced disproportionate health impacts because of the industries that have historically been there and the large amounts of carbon emissions that have been hazardous to people’s respiratory health,” he said. “So this is also part of an effort to improve public health.”
While Muni ridership has yet to catch up to pre-pandemic levels, people apparently can’t get enough of it in the Bayview — a working-class neighborhood historically under-served by public transit.
Muni’s T line, the only train in the neighborhood, is one of the most consistently delayed routes in the city. For most of 2024, according to Muni data, the line was late more than 70% of the time.
The pilot shuttle service, which is available via an app through at least 2026, has attracted 1,719 registered users and 903 unique riders. By January, two-thirds of riders were repeat users, taking an average of 4.1 trips per week.
Most trips, 55% to 65%, occur within Bayview-Hunters Point. The 24th Street Mission stop represents 25% to 30% of pickups and dropoffs. The average ride spans 2.2 miles and takes 11 minutes.
The app’s suggested destinations include the Southeast Community Center, the Alemany Farmers Market, the Bayview Linda Brooks-Burton Library, the Bayview Opera House, and India Basin Shoreline Park.
Efficiency has improved steadily, with rides per vehicle hour increasing from 1.9 in November to 2.8 in December and 3.3 in January. About a third of rides are shared among multiple passengers.
Olton Rensch of Tallio’s Coffee & Tea on Third Street and Craftsman & Wolves co-owner Lawrence Lai said they have seen the shuttle out and about and hope to see ridership rise.
“We just noticed the vans have started appearing in the neighborhood,” Lai said. “We actually have seen the shuttle going up and down Yosemite, in front of our cafe.”
Rensch, who participated in community discussions that shaped the service, said he hopes the shuttles translate to more foot traffic and, ultimately, more business.
Jennifer Wadsworth contributed to this report.