Sorry, visitors: San Francisco to completely shut down cable cars for 10 days

Ah, San Francisco.

Eating clam chowder at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Strolling over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Climbing up and down its fabled hills on … a bus.

Huh?!?!

Tourists coming to town next week to check off a bucket-list item by riding one of the city’s iconic and romantic cable cars are in for a rude awakening. Due to a long-planned construction project, the entire cable car network will be replaced for about 10 days by very unromantic bus shuttles.

TOURISM ALERT: Cable cars will stop running beginning Sept. 13 for total of ten days for major overhaul. Tourism groups have been alerted. pic.twitter.com/GU1dJC6PlU

— Lyanne Melendez (@LyanneMelendez) September 3, 2019

Here’s what you need to know about the temporary shutdown:

• Muni will be running bus shuttles for the Powell-Hyde, Powell-Mason and California cable-car lines starting Sept. 13.
• Public-works crews will use the closure to do some sidewalk improvements and tree trimming on the eastern sidewalk of Hyde between Beach and North Point.
• The bus shuttles will start at 5:30 a.m., continuing during regular service hours until the end of service Sept. 22.
• If all goes as planned, regular cable car service will resume the morning of Sept. 23.
• The shuttles will pick up passengers at curbside cable car stops along each route.
• The entire project costs $6 million.
• The move is part of an ongoing gearbox rehabilitation project that started in 2017.
• This marks the first time since 1984 that the system has gone through such an overhaul.
• The line’s have to be shut down so crews can replace the 35-year-old gearboxes.
• The gearboxes, as you can see in this video, are humongous.

While shuttles will not stop at the cable-car terminals, they will pick up nearby. Here are the locations:

• California and Drumm terminal — Drumm and California streets in front of Hyatt Hotel
• California and Van Ness terminal — California Street and Van Ness Avenue next to the island stop
• Powell and Market turntable — northeast of Ellis and Powell streets
• Taylor and Bay terminal — southwest of Taylor and Francisco streets in front of the restaurant
• Hyde and Beach terminal — southwest of Hyde and Beach streets

Regular bus fare will apply: $3 for cash fare, or $2.50 if paid by MuniMobile or Clipper Card.

The network’s operators are suggesting that tourists who miss out on a chance to catch actual cable car can instead enjoy a ride “on vintage vehicles during the bus substitution of the cable car lines, San Francisco’s unique historic streetcar line, the F Market & Wharves, will be in operation.”

Not quite the same thing.