The Bay Area’s regional planning agency is working on ways to make it easier and less confusing for transit riders and visitors to find their way around 27 different transit systems, whether traveling by bus, train, or ferry. New signage is currently being tested in one San Francisco train station.
At the Powell BART station, which is shared with the Muni Metro subway system, new wayfinding signs are being tested to direct passengers to the right transit system. The new signage is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Regional Mapping and Wayfinding Project, which seeks to make wayfinding signage clearer and consistent so that riders can travel with ease and be able to make connections to other transit systems.
Inbound and outbound wording has been replaced in favor of more directional, international standards, such as eastbound and westbound.
The MTC described Powell station as “the most complex multi-modal transit hubs in the West [….]” as the station houses two transit systems and Muni’s cable cars, buses, and historic streetcars serve passengers on the street level.
One of the new signs is at the ticket agent booth of the Muni fare gates. The booth now has a new red banner with the Muni worm logo at the front of the booth to help riders identify that the fare gate entrance is for the Muni subway and not BART. New signage has also been installed to direct passengers to the T-Third rail line.
The SFMTA said other new signage riders will find includes a redesign of the street-level signs at bus stops and new signage at the Hallidie Plaza entrance to Powell station. In 2021, the SFMTA began to install a new wayfinding system that meets international standards in the subway. The agency even got rid of its inbound and outbound wording in the subway in favor of a more directional language, such as eastbound and westbound.
The project looks to standardize symbols, such as for buses, trains, and ferries. The MTC last year also shared new universal transit maps that officials said focus more on the names of the services and the frequency of the services.
The MTC plans to survey riders about the new signage on June 7 and June 10, according to the SFMTA website. The public can also take a survey on the MTC’s website.
The MTC said they will continue to test the new signage through 2026, with installation of the new signage in 2027.