I'm not looking to do a Cable Car tour, mostly I just want to ride the Powell Cable Car for a few blocks for the sake of experience. What is the best way to do that without having to wait in line at the starting point of Powell? Also if I do get on at a different stop, how much is it and do I have to buy a ticket in advance? Thanks!

Why don't you take the California St car? You can pick it up at Market and California - there's never much of a line.

You can walk along the route on the Powell car line and try to get on when someone else gets off, but it'll be iffy.

You can also take a motorized cable car from Fisherman's Wharf.

The Powell Street cable car is extremely popular. You'll likely have to stand in line at the start/end for a very long time and stand on a packed car with a hundred or so other tourists for the experience. I've seen people standing in the rain, when it was about 50 degrees, in long lines for that thing. No one in SF uses it for transportation anymore because of that.
It's $3 one-way regardless of how far you go.
I agree with the idea of doing the California Street line as an alternative. It's not as crowded.
http://www.sfcablecar.com/

Well, the lastest flash to those that don't have the correct pricing for the Cable Car routes in San Francisco is that the price one way is now $5.00 per person. So, a ride from say Market and Powell, downtown, to Hyde and Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, called the Powell-Hyde Line and back, would cost $10.00. You can board at any stop and pay the conductor/brakeman or go to the booth at the turntable locations and pay. BTW, an all day pass for not only the cable cars but for the muni buses as well is only $11.00 per person. You can see and get the feel of San Francisco without much walking and if you have never been on a cable car, it is a tourist fun must do. Not so sure the locals like it, as the cable cars do fill up at the turntable and sometimes have no room. The Powell-Hyde route takes you past the top of Lombard St., the "crookedest street in America". You could get off look over the street and get on the next cable car with room. There is always room to get on by waiting in line at the turntables and the max time waiting should be about 30 minutes. I did it just last week.

Many years ago I used to use the cable car to commute from my apartment at Polk and California up and over Nob Hill and down to the Financial District, or to transfer to the Powell Street cable car to either the Fisherman's Wharf area or to the other end at Market Street, all for 25 cents!! The only time they were full was during rush hour. There were no lines of tourists then, mostly the locals were using them. Times have sure changed.....$5.00!!!!!

Yep!, and gasoline was under a dollar a gallon. Of course, the rate of inflation and the cost of everything, including employees pay, has jumped quite a bit over the years. This ride is more than transportation, it is the heart of San Francisco.

i was there in August 2007; it is definitely Five bucks. I suggest boarding at the turntable at Market St. If you're going to wait on a line anyway, you might as well be sure of getting a seat. I suggest taking it one time only; SF is perfect for walking and biking. You can rent bikes for $25/day or so near Fisherman's Wharf. Take the N/Judah Line all the way out to the Pacific OCean. Eat and check email at Java Beach, then walk over the dunes, and the Pacific Coast Highway, to the wondrous Pacific Ocean. and DONT call it "Frisco"; they hate that.

I'm actually planning on renting a bike so its funny that you would mention that...the java beach and the dunes sounds like a good idea...how would I get there by bike from Fishermans Wharf?

you can bike West along the Bay, past Ghirardelli, the Warm Hut, the Marina, and then you get to the Presidio. Now I found this very hilly (i'm 50, with a touch of arthritis!), but I still continued over the Golden Gate Bridge. Now when you hit the Presidio, you can take the streets due South until you take a right to go West on Geary. Take it till the end, then you're at the ocean, along which runs the Pacific Coast Highway. You can take a left there, to go south to Judah. Cross over the highway and Java Beach restaurant, right across the street from the cute streetcar turnaround. I'm sure there are other places to eat and surf the Web on Geary, of course, but I liked Java Beach. Buy their stylish long-sleeve T shirt.