Stand awhile at Powell and Market Sts and spot arriving cable-car operators leaping out, gripping the trolleys' chassis and slooowly turning the car atop a revolving wooden platform. Cable cars can't go in reverse, so they need to be turned around by hand here at the terminus of Powell St lines. Riders queue up mid-morning to early evening here to secure a seat, with raucous street performers and doomsday preachers on the sidelines as entertainment.
If you're not sure how long the wait will be, count heads and do math: cable cars hold 60 people (29 seated, 31 standing), but depart carrying fewer to leave room for passengers to board en route. Cable cars depart every five to 10 minutes at peak times. Powell-Mason cars are quickest to the Wharf, but Powell-Hyde cars traverse more terrain and hills.
