If you ride the N-Judah any time over the next two weeks, you may find yourself on a very different-looking train.
As part of a pilot program, Muni will be testing out a new seating configuration, replacing many of the double-wide seats with single-wide seats to increase floor space for standing passengers. This should let each car carry about 10 more people. Passengers will be counted and surveyed during the test period, and the results will help determine whether the new seating arrangement is made permanent.
From the SFMTA website:
"Our system is over capacity and our trains are crowded; we are consistently working to improve Muni’s speed and reliability, which will help reduce crowding. Additionally, we joined Supervisors London Breed (District 5) and Scott Wiener (District 8) to pilot a new seating configuration to see if this will improve our rider’s experience on Muni Metro. This pilot will determine if a new seating configuration will improve the rider experience by addressing capacity and overcrowding."
Not all N-Judah trains will see the new configuration. During the pilot program, you can expect one trip roughly every 70 minutes to feature the altered seating. The pilot program starts tomorrow morning and will end next Friday, May 30th. The L-Taraval line will get a similar test in June.
If you're interested in testing out one of these magic trains, you can check out the full schedule here.
