With the lines growing frustratingly long to buy Muni passes at the transit agency's customer service center at 11 S. Van Ness Ave., some relief is in the works.

Muni plans to open a satellite sales booth at Geary Boulevard and Masonic Avenue on Dec. 27 where people can purchase regional Clipper fare cards, Muni Lifeline passes for low-income riders and joint Muni/BART passes for seniors and the disabled. It will be open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

"The volume of customers that passes the location near Geary and Masonic makes this an ideal spot to expand our efforts to the west side of town," said Muni chief Nathaniel Ford.

Muni also plans to replace the current free-standing sales booth at Powell and Market streets near the cable car turnaround in mid-January. However, Lifeline passes won't be available there.

Together the two new stainless-steel kiosks, each measuring 121 square feet, will be topped with "panels that depict iconic images of San Francisco's cable cars. A fine stainless mesh will shimmer behind the stainless panels during the day and act as a diffuser for possible red back-lighting at night," according to a Muni press release.

And the cost for these two grant-funded pragmatic-yet-artsy ticket booths: $829,000.

- Rachel Gordon

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