From Scott Ostler's column in San Fran Chronicle about Muni on New Years Eve Excerpt...

Now Willie's Got a Foe Who Can Dish Wednesday, November 24, 1999

Scott Ostler ......Muni reports that despite a rumor you read here, it's not panicking over New Year's Eve. They're replacing many trolleys with diesel buses, not because they fear a Y2K power outage, but because the diesels can detour around crowded streets. Trolleys can take detours, too, but once they jump the tracks they tend to be hard to steer....

Hummm, what do you think? Sheri

-- Sheri (wncy2k@nccn.net), November 30, 1999

Answers

I never thought about it; I wonder what drives the cables for cable cars--electric motors, diesel engines, yaks?

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), December 01, 1999.

The cables that pull the cable cars are powered by electricity. No one uses them for commuting, just tourists.

MUNI on the other hand...

As surly as many of their drivers are on a regular day, I'd hate to see them on NYE with gridlocked streets.

-- sf dude (I'm@SanFrancisco.now), December 01, 1999.