New Muni transfers: Here’s what they look like

Beginning this week, Muni will unroll new on-board fare machines, which will replace the old ones that have been around for more 25-plus years.

The good news is that the new machines will make for easier boarding and swifter rides.

The new tickets won’t be dispensed by drivers, who would sometimes hand them over unripped, giving lucky riders a full day of Muni rides. Instead the new boxes will print a paper Muni transfer ticket featuring the time of purchase, type of fare and amount paid, Muni route, and the time the transfer expires. And that 90-minute transfer limit will be strictly enforced.

“The new fare machines will print transaction details on tickets, which will help us keep better track of fare payments and understand how people use Muni,” says SFMTA. “.This more secure transaction method will also prevent the theft of Muni transfers and help keep operators safe.”

The first of the new fareboxes will first appear on the 60-foot buses at Muni’s Flynn Division yard serving the following routes:

• 1AX / 1BX California Express
• 7 Haight/Noriega (on weekends only) and 7X Noriega Express
• 8 Bayshore and 8AX / 8BX Bayshore Express
• 14R Mission Rapid and 14X Mission Express
• 30X Marina Express
• 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid
• 49 Van Ness/Mission

Photo via Genfare

The bad news is that the current wispy, colorful transfers will be a thing of the past. The smarter fareboxes will dispense a stripped-down type of Muni ticket on buses and trains.

The new proof of payments won’t be as signature San Francisco as the former tickets, which varied huesof different days. So classically San Francisco were the tickets that they’ve often been featured on murals and emblazoned on t-shirts.

Old transfer will join Fast Pass in transit heaven.

• Meet Your New On-Board Muni Fare Machines [SFMTA]
• Megan’s DIY Fast Art [Muni Diaries]
• Muni switches to less colorful transfers, allows late-night rides on Clipper [SFGate]