Many cities once had cable cars, but today, San Francisco's Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde, and California Street lines are the only ones left in the world.
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San Francisco cable cars are the only moving National Historic Landmark, and 9.7 million people take a ride on them each year.
Cable cars were invented in 1873 by Andrew Hallidie to climb the hills of San Francisco. Many cities once had cable cars, but today, San Francisco's Powell-Mason, Powell-Hyde, and California Street lines are the only ones left in the world.
Tourist attractionsThe world's longest metro cable car system, at over 16km, is in La Paz, Bolivia. The Mi Teleférico functions as La Paz's principal public transport system and currently has 25 stations and six separate lines running across the city.
San Francisco's cable cars are not only the world's last manually operated cable cars. They're also the first — these cable cars were invented in San Francisco. In 1964, the cable cars were named the first moving National Historic Landmark.
Los Angeles Cable RailwayBuena Vista St. line, Downtown to today's Chinatown: 1st & Main via Main, Bellevue (now Sunset) via Buena Vista (now N. Broadway) to College St.
In American English, cable car may additionally refer to a cable-pulled street tramway with detachable vehicles (e.g., San Francisco's cable cars). As such, careful phrasing is necessary to prevent confusion. It is also sometimes called a ropeway or even incorrectly referred to as a gondola lift.
California Line (Red)It's the least busy of the three. It's also full of thrills as it climbs the steep hill from California and Market to the top of Nob Hill, then runs back downhill to Van Ness.
Cable cars average about an accident a month and routinely rank among the most accident-prone mass transportation modes in the country per vehicle mile traveled annually, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Over the last 10 years, city officials have reported 126 accidents injuring 151 people.