The Potrero Bus Yard in San Francisco’s Mission District is getting some major upgrades!

Last week I toured the bus yard with a group of planners and engineers as we learned about its rich history and unique plan for modernization.

The yard opened in 1914 originally serving San Francisco’s fleet of 100 streetcars. In 1950, it was converted to a bus yard, and today it holds the MTA’s fleet of over a hundred, 40 and 60 foot New Flyer electric trolleybuses.

This tour was awesome– we got to see how the buses are fixed, cleaned, scheduled, and made ready to serve hundreds of thousands of trips every single day.

In the next several years, the yard will be converted into a one-of-a-kind 4-story bus maintenance facility with new integrated housing and retail. This unique endeavor is made possible by a special zoning permit and the city’s plan to have an all-electric fleet by 2040. This 5 acre lot will also have over 500 affordable and workforce housing units, onsite living amenities, public restrooms, ground floor retail, and improved walking and biking infrastructure.

As a transit-first city, the modernization project will have no additional on-site parking, which is a bold step, but is designed to encourage sustainable transportation alternatives while decreasing the need to commute by car in the first place by co-locating the necessary amenities.

Car ownership is generally less financially feasible for tenants of workforce housing, so reducing the need for one is a win-win.

One interesting fact I learned is that a lot of Muni operators need their car to drive from very far away affordable areas into the city in the early hours in order to operate the Muni buses, and this housing plan hopes to address that.

Personally, I’m super excited about this project, and hope the project goes well.