MUNI – 5R Fulton Rapid

Muni’s 5R bus line is worthwhile. It goes to several places, among them, the edge of Golden Gate Park. Clipper increases the speed of boarding. As usual for Muni, the amount of seating on this bus ought to be greater.
I was at the DeYoung Museum and this was the first of two buses that I would take in order to get to Dolores Park. It was crowded on a Sunday, but there were some seats avalible. The stops along this route tend to include incoming arrivals and oftentimes some good seating.
The 5R is an above average bus line.

5L-​Fulton Limited (Trolley Service)
+3 Star — Start of Service until 7PM (Monday to Friday than after 7PM) serving rest of the route to ocean beach both directions.
(After 7PM it goes back 5 Fulton Trolley) and Weekends
–2 Stars — Frequency for this route (5L) need be increased by a bit.

I decided to give this line another try. The predictor was completely off. First said 3 min then 7 min then 18 min. Then jumped to 6 min. When is the bus coming? Then I. The far distance, I see it. The siloutette of its rabbit antennae ears and headlights of a muni bus approaching. As it gets closer, I notice ok it’s a 5, but where’s the 5L. Ooh it’s behind it.
Decisions, should I hop on the 5 since it’s in front. The 5L has got its antenna ears up, so that would make it pointless to be a 5L bc it can’t even over take the 5. Then I looked up the stops for 5L, there’s no difference. Still stopping almost every 2 blocks. 6^th ave, 8^th ave, 10^th ave. So, I ask… What’s the point.
Waited over 30 min for this bus. Anticipated on hoping over to ³⁸⁄₃₁ or even über.
So no, don’t think I’ll be walking up hills just to wait for a bus that’s not even what it says it is.

LOVE IT. I would get from 46^th and Fulton to Powell in 36 minutes when I lived out there. Now, it takes 21 minutes from 6^th and Fulton to Powell. Also, no more stupid stops in the Western Addition. MAKE A 31L!!!

For the seven years I’ve been living off the 5 Fulton line, I’ve always wondered why there wasn’t a limited. Well Muni heard my thoughts and voila! There’s now a 5L! I live pretty much at the end of the line (close to Ocean Beach) and take this downtown for work. So I save a good 10 mins now with the 5L. Sometimes it’s a little less or more, but in the morning, those are 10 precious snooze minutes! As for the way home, it helps a little with crowding on the bus since it skips some stops. I can pretty much grab a seat heading home after Divisadero since lots of people get off there. Thanks Muni for finally creating a 5L!

This route is a lifesaver when the regular 5 is busy. MUNI, Thank you for making another smart decision to alleviate crowding. I got to Market St and 3^rd St in about ten minutes. Whether you are heading toward Transbay Temporary Terminal or Ocean Beach, this route is for anyone who wants to get on a bus route making fewer stops.
When you need to travel within the vicinity that the 5 and 5L serves, you found the bus routes. Hopefully, these limited stop and express routes will address the crowding issue in an effective manner.
The «L» after the number is written like an exponent so it may be hard to see. This is the same thing we will see on the bus signs for the 9L, 14L, 28L, 38L, & 71L. Once again, props to MUNI for opening this route. It is a lifesaver for me and other passengers.

The 5L-​Fulton Limited is the smartest thing Muni has ever done. The distance between Van Ness Avenue and Divisadero Street is exactly one mile. The 5L stops exactly once between Van Ness and Divisadero, at Fillmore. One time! I got from jury duty to within a few blocks of my apartment in seven minutes. That’s unheard of.
Yes, Muni, yes. Please keep adding limited buses and eliminating extraneous stops on regular buses (they’ve done a good job of making the regular 5 faster as well, review update coming soon).