Holding onto my Dear Life on the Cable Car Ride, San Francisco

A Cable Car being turned around on Market Street, San Francisco

 The cable car ride in San Francisco is world famous!


I often see pictures of people riding on the cable cars with half of their bodies hanging out of the car. How dangerous was that?

Tourists pay to have themselves dangling from the cable car

Would people not fall off the cable car? Would they not get hurt?

In these days of age when lawsuits are so common, why would a cable car company allow their passengers crowd onto their cars and risk the possibility of getting hurt and be sued?

These questions puzzled me for the longest time. This time I wanted to ride the cable car and found out these answers for myself.

A long line up for the cable car ride

Street musician made the long wait more tolerable!

I went to the Market Street on Fisherman's Wharf and got my one way ticket for $6.00. ( or you can start the cable ride at the Market Street downtown,)

There was a long lineup in front of me, about a hundred people waiting patiently for the ride.








Fortunately, the wait was made a little more tolerable as a couple street musicians were either drumming on their guitars or backed up by their sound equipment.

Sock, the musician provided much entertainment to the crowd with his blue style singing.

I really enjoyed the songs and therefore did not mind the wait at all for the cable car ride.

Street musician entertaining the young audience.

Sock also pulled out his bubble tricks and delighted the younger audience with funny stories and interesting questions.

After about 20 minutes' wait, I got on the cable car.

Though I could have sat down, I chose to stand on the outside step of the cable car because I wanted to experience the thrill of riding the cable car hanging on to the post like I had seen so many times in magazines.

Safety Rules for riding a Cable Car

Hanging to the post with my dear life I did, when the cable car went downhill on one of its steep hill streets on its route.

 I wrapped both arms around the metal post and held onto it as tight as I could as the street scenery of San Francisco opening up in front of me.

It was a little scary though!

What happened if the operator failed to brake fast enough and the cable car plunged down the steep street and fall straight into the ocean?









What happened if the brake did not work? These thoughts crossed my mind as the cable car inched downhill.

I was relieved that the car was in the excellent hands of the Gripman who had the safety of his passengers as his utmost priority. He also acted as the safety officer on the cable car enforcing the safety rules.

I saw him refusing passengers trying to board the car because there were no seats; he also prevented a mother from  letting her 4-5 year old child standing on the outside step though she argued with him. What a silly mother risking her child's safety for a ride for which she was not ready.

 Fortunately, the cable car ran at a speed good enough for passengers to take a decent tour of some of the down town streets and safe enough for us to ride standing up and holding onto the outside posts so that we could ride the cable car safely and have another new experience in this lovely city!

R.T.
March, 2013,  San Francisco