This morning, commuters are leaving summer adventures behind them and returning to work en masse; for inbound N-Judah riders, that means cramming into overcrowded trains, especially if you're boarding during rush hour in Cole Valley or Duboce Triangle.

Some help is on the way, though: this morning, Sup. London Breed and Muni Director of Transit John Haley marked the launch of a new shuttle service that will run between Hillway Avenue and the Embarcadero during the morning commute.

In an empty N-Judah train headed west with plans to turn around at Hillway and pick up passengers at Carl & Cole! pic.twitter.com/iRbumjcABq — London Breed (@LondonBreed) September 6, 2016

From Breed aide Conor Johnston:



They're shuttle trains that will run in a loop from Hillway (by UCSF) to Embarcadero during the AM commute peak. They'll deadhead on the outbound portion, then turn around at Hillway, where there's an existing track turnaround in the ground, and swing back to pick up inbound commuters at Carl & Stanyan, Carl & Cole, east of the Sunset tunnel, etc. These are some of the busiest stops on the N, and since they occur fairly late in the line on the inbound route, trains are often already full when they get there. So the shuttles add quick, efficient service specifically where it's needed most.

"MTA is planning to run two trains, each doing two loops, meaning four shuttles total," Johnston explained, noting that the N is the Muni system's busiest line, with over 40K passengers per day.

If you're an N-Judah commuter in Cole Valley or Duboce Triangle, let us know how the morning rush went today: did you notice any difference in crowding or train frequency?