Being stuck in the Muni Metro subway and unable to contact loved ones or friends to inform them that you’ll be late for a dinner date will soon be a thing of the past because cellphone service is finally available throughout the subway system.
Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum announced last week during her report to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board that riders would be able to access cell phone service even below the depths of Forest Hill station.
“Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?, Kirschbaum said, mimicking cellphone users who have a hard time using a cellphone in the subway. “Those are things you will not have to say anymore when you are in the tunnel because we now have really strong cell phone service.”
Riders can now stay glued to their phones, scrolling through social media for the latest video trends or finding out how the stock market ended for the day. Eh, maybe not check.
Adding cellphone service to the subway has been talked about for many years, at least since 2016 when London Breed was president of the Board of Supervisors. Kirschbaum said the new rider amenity comes from a public-private partnership contracted through BART but funded by Boldyn Networks.
She added that the London-based network infrastructure company covered the agency’s staff time to install the infrastructure and that there was no ongoing cost to the agency.
Verizon and AT&T services are already up and running, while T-Mobile service is expected to be activated in July. The Central Subway already has cellphone service Kirschbaum noted.
This reporter, who has Verizon, tested the new cellphone service last month after being tipped off about the new service. Yes, it does work at Forest Hill station.
N-Judah riders will also benefit as the agency plans to add cellphone service in the Sunset Tunnel, which is anticipated for completion in May.
“So, really excited about this milestone and appreciative of the creativity in setting up this public-private partnership so we have this important customer amenity,” Kirschbaum said.