We’ve all been there before. You’re on your way to work or an appointment or to meet friends, and Muni is hella late, or doesn’t show up at all. You think, “Well, it sure would be nice to know if the trains are even running.” Well now there’s a way to know just that.
There’s a new web app called MuniMet.ro that quickly answers one very important question: Is the Muni Metro subway working right now? You just go to the website and the homepage tells you whether or not the trains are rolling.
Eric Gregory reached out to me a few weeks ago about this project, and when I asked him what inspired the site, and how long he’d been waiting, he told me:
“Hah! Well you've answered your own question. I came up with the idea years ago during Fleet Week out of frustration that the subway was packed and not moving, and Muni being Muni, well communication isn't their strong suit. After 15 minutes or so I grumbled and walked back up all the stairs and took a bus instead. Would have saved time if I'd known the subway was stuck in the first place.”
He was inspired to finally create this app because he’d recently bombed a job interview where they’d wanted him to "vibe code" something, a task he’d never done that before. After getting a rejection email he figured he’d teach himself some new skills and finally get this project done at the same time.
And then of course the huge blackout in December happened. Gregory explained “That actually happened while I was working on this and thinking to myself ‘Gee, I wish Muni Metro would have an outage so I could make sure this all worked.’ Careful what you wish for I guess.”
Inbound T Third Street train at Castro station. Photo by Bill Morrow via Wikimedia Commons
How Does it Work?
According to the website:
First, a program automatically downloads images from Muni's subway screen every few minutes. The images come from SFMuniCentral.com
Then an AI model scans the new image and predicts what's happening. How does it do this? It was "trained" by studying hundreds of past subway photos, learning to recognize patterns.
Finally the MuniMet.ro site checks for a new prediction within seconds, letting you know if you should take the Muni subway right now.
Will it Expand Beyond Just the Subway?
At the moment there are no plans to expand since the app relies on the photos from SFMuniCentral.com and that only covers the subway. But he does plan expand it to cover the North Beach station whenever that gets built.
