[pjlegato]

San Francisco had many private bus lines until the 1970s. They were called "jitneys." The city made them illegal as Muni service continued to degrade, to shield Muni from competition.

It's unclear how Chariot is getting around San Francisco's anti-jitney regulations. My guess is they're just ignoring it and operating illegally.

[No1]

"It's unclear how Chariot is getting around San Francisco's anti-jitney regulations."

From the article:

"... Vahabzadeh says it has received support from SF city Supervisors in neighborhoods that it currently serves."

Seems like they have at least some political support.

[pjlegato]

This seems likely. SF supervisors are innundated with citizen complaints about poor Muni service on a daily basis, and seem to be unable or unwilling to do anything about Muni itself.