SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Muni employees greeted Muni passengers at the Embarcadero station with this message during Thursday morning: "If you are going to ride Muni, take BART all the way back to Montgomery Station. You get a free ride on BART!"
UPDATE: Flood waters shut down Muni at SF's Embarcadero station
But a free BART ride wasn't enough to help Muni passengers already late for work.
"I am worried. How am I going to get to work! I don't want to be late!" says one Muni passenger, who admits that it doesn't help that she is new to using the Muni system.
The problem facing commuters was the gallons of water overflowing from the Embarcadero Muni station onto the BART platform below.
RELATED: Sensors added to Muni train doors after dragging
"We were able to get the water out between 5 and 6 this morning. There may have been some residual water that drained down onto the BART station," explains Paul Rose, a spokesperson with SFMTA.
Rose says overnight crews were doing routine tests of the fire sprinkler system. But the drainage system malfunctioned, flooding the Muni station and tracks.
"My understanding is that there was significant flooding on the trackway and on the station area where passengers would normally stand. And because of that we had stopped service in the area," says Rose.
RELATED: Homeless people building structures under BART tracks raises concerns in Oakland
Clean up crews spent the morning sweeping water off the BART platform, as passengers navigated through the puddle and buckets of waters.
"I have lived here for such a long time, that you just roll with it," says Joe Tate who lives in Berkeley. "But with any transit system, there is always going to be a break down, so you just deal with it!"
BART says the Muni pipe has now been capped. The Muni station reopened around 3:30 p.m.
Muni is offering free BART rides for Muni passengers from the Embarcadero to Montgomery until the station reopens.
See more stories on BART and Muni.