I rode the L-Taraval to work downtown for many years. It's funny what you put up with when you don't know any better. It was always a toss up whether you'd get a seat or be sandwiched in on the way home, but I never really minded it. I'll admit it was pretty anxiety provoking to exit the train on Taraval because you never knew whether you'd be hit by a car as you stepped out into traffic. I guess the real reason I felt the urge to write this review is that I recently received a transit violation ($75) for not paying the fare. I had every intention of paying the fare, but the machine was broken. How was I to know that there were other ways to pay the fare and that I had not properly explored all options before just plopping down on a seat on the train? Yes, I'd had a few drinks. This experience has made me less remorseful that I'm no longer a Sunset resident and now live on the peninsula where public transportation is pretty much not even considered a real option. Thank you MUNI and SF MUNI police or whoever you are, for making me feel better about abandoning the city! read more

Unlike J Church which it was involed in a accident this morning @ Church and Jersey Sts. Injuring a motorist now This two-car L Taraval derail in the tunnel causing more delays to the morning commute. Now I believe that J and L are cursed lines and I live off the J-line are I sometimes ride the L to my sister house. Bloody Muni !!! read more

True story, guys. Honest. This happened to me on the L yesterday afternoon... The Scene: Montgomery Station The Train: L Outbound The Characters: Homeless Guy, Portly Gay Chinese Guy, Unlucky Older Guy 1, Unlucky Older Guy 2, Numerous Panicked Folks, and me, Flip C This homeless guy teeters into the 2-car L train carrying a bag of, hmm, "stuff," and a milk crate. Homeless guy takes up an entire bench. I stand with my back against the rear of the train about 3 feet from him to my left. To my right is a portly gay Chinese guy. I'm staring at the homeless guy mostly because he kinda smells, and though I feel guilty for singling him out, I keep staring at him anyway. As the train is about to hit Powell Station, the homeless guy doubles over and throws up all over himself, his milk crate and the bench. I almost pee in my pants. The two guys in the bench next to him try to get out of the way, but too late. This unlucky older guy (1) jumps out of his bench, lets out a little scream, and then watches as a projectile torrent of bile and chicken bits rains down on his jacket and bookbag. The homeless guy falls back into the bench and I'm not sure whether he's going to get up or not. Numerous panicked folks all over the train scamper away. The only routes I can take to escape go by the homeless guy because I can't exit to my right (nor can the portly gay Chinese guy). I take a lunge past the homeless guy who suddenly stands up and unleashes another torrent of bile and chicken bits. I quickly retreat and pin the portly gay Chinese guy against the door, to which point he's now been reduced to whimpering out little sobs of terror. The L train arrives at Powell Station and the doors open. Another unlucky older guy (2) walks right into a stream of projectile vomit. The homeless guy takes a couple of steps towards me and I'm now standing on my tippy toes smooshing the portly gay Chinese guy further into the corner. More vomit splashes down at my feet. Chicken bits everywhere. The homeless guy finally makes it out the door of the train, and I bolt out the exit before the smell of his puke takes me down for good. read more

It was raining early this morning. I know that because at 5:55AM I was standing in the rain at 46th & Ulloa waiting for an L train that was scheduled to leave the first stop, 2 blocks away, at 6:02AM. It never came. So I stood there in the rain and the next scheduled train at 6:22AM did not come either. Finally the train scheduled for 6:42 arrived nearly 10 minutes late and I was downtown at Powell Street at 7:25AM when I had to be to work before 7AM. To make it worse, two buses which were not in service passed; the bus #29 parked at the Wawona stop for 5 minutes circa 6:20AM. They could easily have taken patrons to West Portal to catch a K or an M train. I am a security guard so I need to be there to relieve the person who has been there all night and has to get his car out of the parking garage before 7 AM to avoid additional fees. So, because of the irresponsibility of MUNI it cost him extra money and it cost me half-an-hours pay, which comes out of my food budget. This is not an isolated case, either. When is MUNI going to stop this failed experiment in affirmative action for the brain damaged, the nihilist and the rebounding thug and be a professional and reliable service? read more

The worst of all the lines. Muni rail is a failure as it is. And the L line is the worst end of this disaster of a transport system. 30- 60 min late during peak hours. Always longer wait times, dirty, traffic issues, breaking down. Everything that can go wrong will go wrong. And everyone will experience it taking this line on a constant basis. A disgrace to a city like San Francisco. Such a shame. read more

Positives: 1) a little bit cheaper then parking downtown Negatives: 1) I have caught 8 viruses on this train in the past 4 years. How about some windows that have a small opening for ventilation. We need alcohol wipes on these trains. 2) Gum on my shoes today. 3) Share the train with smelly homeless people once per week 4) prop 13ers who have to ride during rush hours so they can keep an eye on the youth. read more

If you rely on muni to get things done. Better off staying home and not do anything since the train will never show up. My tax dollars hard at work. read more

I wish if I can give negative star!! This is my first comment in Yelp. I guess I am so frustrated to the point that I do not know where to complain and express my feelings with Muni. I just started a new job 3 months ago working in between downtown and chinatown area. I startedd to take Muni mornings and evenings with L Taraval for 3 months. The morning L that I take is around 7am-7:20am and is usually on time. but they start to be super slow when they are getting close to West Portal and inside the tunnel. Honestly, I am fine with it because I am an early bird to work all the time because I realized that Muni is never a realiable transportation since I was a high school teen once upon a time. The moment with Muni that upset me really bad is when I am off work, time around 5:30pm-6:30pm Embarcadaro station. There were always a lot of N and J, but they are always half way full. One day, I 've counted that there were 7 Ns and 5 Js, within 45mins, but no L?? When the L came, it was only one cart and hella full of people. I wonder that are we all paying the same bus fare? Or L people's bus passes are cheaper than the N and J riders? I never understand why do they make S-shuttles because L,K,M are all going to west portal..... I never understand why can't Muni make the annoucement correct and realiable? Sometimes, the annoucement said L will come in 5 mins, but I was 5 and 5 and 5 and 5 and 5 and 5 and 5 minutes?? When it was a J, they will annouce a K ? I can never imagine what if I am blind and ride on the wrong bus?? There were some days that the signs in the car are not correct, one sign showed N and one side showed L?? I really don't what to follow??? I never understand why the walkways and elevators are always full of strong nasty urinated smell at most of the stations?? The most upset thing that make me feel insulted by these street cars is : They always throw you in West Portal even though I am taking a L, but not a S-shuttle !! They will let me know by the last minute that they are going to throw me on 22nd Ave or 35th Ave........I really hate this!! There was one day I got off work at 5:30pm, get to the station by 5:52pm and I got home by 7:30pm??? ( I only live one block away from the stop that I usually get off ) I do not think I walk slower than most off the people!! The city wants us to take more public transportation, but their public transportation services are not realiable in my neighborhood??? Well, maybe I shouldn't think that way because I do not have other option but Muni... I cannot afford expensive DT parking lot.... I cannot afford Taxi....... There are no other competition but Muni.... I cannot do much but coming here and share my bad experiences and express my feelings!! read more

Rode the L Line from 04/07-06/08. Had experience with the N line for a year to base my comparison on. I now live in Berkeley though I still commute to the same exact stop through BART. I now sleep better and my Girlfriend thinks I'm a nicer person when I get home in the evening. Ed Jew was wise not to actually live in this neighborhood read more

Never used to have issues with the L but that may have been due to taking it midday. Now that I take it to work around 8:30am on weekdays, it's sometimes on time, sometimes late, and the other day it didn't even show. I ended up waiting for 30 minutes (with 40+ other people) before I realized, at this rate, I'd be over an hour late for work. My Uber ended up costing $20+. How the hell is a city like San Francisco supposed to function if it can't even get its workforce to their jobs? read more

The muni breaks down pretty often. People sneeze without covering up. Lots of crazies around. When I see them acting crazy I think "are you serious" and just want to slap them silly. Slap them until they sane again! read more

The one thing I depend on to get to and from work at a reasonable hour is also the reason that I loathe the ineffectiveness of this City's government structure. I live at 25th and Taraval, the convenience of the proximity to the line is unarguable, the fact that my apartment shakes every time the train goes by is something that I'm willing to forgive for the closeness of the line. What really gets me about this line and to an even greater extent, the organizational skills of Muni as a whole, is the lack of understanding for it's customer's schedules. My two stars come for the morning service, which is 99% of the time, on time and problem free. That's probably because I am on the train at 6:15am sharp and at work by 6:45 in SOMA. The lack of any other stars is for the afternoon service. I leave work around 4-430 and walk from 2nd and Harrison to Montgomery station, this usually takes around 10 mins. I arrive at the station and see when the L is due to arrive. Some days it's there in 3 minutes, and others it's 45 minutes.Some days I end taking an "M" and getting off at West Portal and waiting...another 35 minutes for an L. In this case, i usually just walk to my house at 25th and Taraval. I have no other choice...I mean, I could walk, or ride my bike, but getting up at 3am is not my favorite thing to do. So, Muni...please do something, just make schedules that MAKE SENSE! read more

Come on Muni...first day running the Bus on the L....15 minutes late...no signs at regular stops showing new stops (15th and Taraval).....adding on here...bus driver missed the marked stop at Church and Market....had to stop in middle of road to let passengers out... read more

I LOVE the L . It's quick and it comes frequently . It takes you right in front of the zoo ! I would have to say that the L is my favorite Metro . read more

The L Taraval, compared to the N Judah, is the shortest bus ride from sunset to downtown. Sometimes the homeless people hop on & it smells like crap, though. :( If the train is crowded, I usually get off at West Portal & take whatever train is coming into the station to get downtown. I mean, all of them are headed in the same direction anyways! read more

From downtown, this train takes forever. From the Sunset, this train is moderately slow in the mornings too.

I would like to write an update with my mom's experience last week. My mom is a 60+ lady, working CT, riding L to work M-F. She took the wrong J car after work going outbound last week because when she heard the announcement from Powell station, they announced the car was L Taraval. However, they turned the sign to J church without being announced. My mom was the type of passenger might space out or took a little nap on the bus. She realized that she took the wrong car until the car turned to church going outside the tunnel. Although, my mom wasn't suppose to take nap on the bus, I can never understand why can't they announce on the speaker ? read more

A moving vehicle is always better than on foot. Sure the train sometimes run late and even stops it's service from time to time but that's to be expected. It keeps thousands of people from having to drive into downtown or into SOMA all for a meezly $2. You can't beat that. read more

I moved from SF in '64. I remember the " Iron Monsters " and then the PCC's which almost never broke down.The trip from 28th and Taraval used to take about a half hour to Powell St., but you could usually rely on it. I am really sorry my father ever moved us. ( to NY ).Over here the "L" line subway is fully automated. read more

I hate this line!!! This line took about 1 hour and a half, becuase that freakin driver got off, and said that it was out f service, and it was blocking all inbound trains. I wish I can give it a negative star, because of the awful operators!!! read more