Chariot ordered to put brakes on commuter service in SF

Commuters board a Chariot van on Union Street in San Francisco. A regulator shut down the service in the city, but Chariot hopes to resume offering rides soon. Commuters board a Chariot van on Union Street in San Francisco. A regulator shut down the service in the city, but Chariot hopes to resume offering rides soon. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Chariot ordered to put brakes on commuter service in SF 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Chariot, the commuter shuttle service owned by Ford Motor Co., has temporarily shut down service in San Francisco after a regulator said it failed some safety inspections.

Chariot, headquartered in San Francisco, said it hopes to resume service soon.

“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and will alert you immediately once we reopen service, as we expect to resolve this disruption quickly,” it wrote in an email to customers.

The California Public Utilities Commission ordered Chariot to suspend service because it failed three safety inspections by the California Highway Patrol.

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“Even though Chariot service is in full compliance with all regulations and we disagree with this order (to suspend service), we have complied,” Chariot said in a statement.

Chariot’s 14-person turquoise vans have become a familiar sight in San Francisco, carrying thousands of commuters daily along 13 routes in the city and 30 throughout the Bay Area. It crowdsources routes along high-demand itineraries such as between the Marina and downtown.

But the vans have drawn complaints from some residents about double parking and blocking driveways, and city officials have worried about the company siphoning off business from public transit and interfering with its operations.

San Francisco is considering barring Chariot and other private bus lines from creating new routes that too closely resemble those run by Muni. Existing routes would be grandfathered in. Chariot is the only major private-bus operation in the city.

For Chariot customers, the shutdown came as a rude surprise.

“It’s unfortunate that San Francisco, a place that prides itself on innovation, is attempting to put down services like Chariot under the guise of public safety concerns,” said Chasa Toliver-Léger, who rides the shuttle daily between her Marina home and her public relations job at a South of Market architecture and design firm.

Her 25-minute Chariot commute otherwise would take two Muni buses and over an hour, she said Thursday as she waited for a Lyft Line carpool to take her home.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid