New software that warns air traffic controllers if an inbound aircraft may be lining up to land on a taxiway rather than a runway has been installed at San Francisco International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration tells Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick.

Why it matters: Landing on a taxiway — essentially roads for aircraft that connect runways with terminals — can be a major safety hazard.

• There were 1,641 so-called "wrong surface events" between October 2016 and the end of last year, the FAA says — though the vast majority (83%) involved general aviation aircraft, not commercial planes.

Context: There have been a handful of notable taxiway landings by commercial pilots in the last couple of decades.

• In 2006, a Continental Airlines 757 landed on a taxiway at Newark Liberty International Airport.
• In 2009, a Delta Air Lines 767 did the same at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
• And in 2015, an Alaska Airlines 737 landed on a taxiway at Seattle-Tacoma.

None of those incidents resulted in injuries. Yet taxiways aren't built to be landing surfaces for heavy jets, and they're often dotted with aircraft about to depart.

• To that point: In 2017, an Air Canada A320 nearly landed on a taxiway at San Francisco International Airport where four other planes were waiting to take off.

How it works: The new software, called ASDE-X Taxiway Arrival Prediction (ATAP), uses radar and other sensors to automatically tell if a plane appears to be lining up to land on a taxiway.

• In such an event, the software alerts controllers to the potential problem. They can then communicate the issue to the incoming pilots.

Details: ATAP has "helped prevent more than 50 wrong-surface taxiway landings since its first implementation at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2018," the FAA said in a news release.

• It's been installed at 43 airports nationwide.
• There have been eight ATAP alerts so far this year.

Be smart: Runways have unique visual indicators — such as numbers, aiming points and the "piano key" threshold markings — and they're lit differently than taxiways at night.

• Yet taxiways often run parallel to runways, and pilots — especially those unfamiliar with their destination airport — can sometimes mistake the two.

Of note: One notable pilot who once accidentally landed on a taxiway? Harrison Ford.

Yes, but: None of the most recent headline-grabbing aviation safety incidents had to do with wrong-surface landings.

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The San Francisco Bay Area is home to some of the stingiest tippers in the country, according to a recent report.

By the numbers: SF Bay Area residents paid an average of 17% in gratuity, per Toast — lower than the national rate of 19%.

• Researchers used data collected from full-service restaurants on the Toast platform throughout the fourth quarter of 2022.

Zoom out: But the Bay is in "good" company, as California is the least generous state for tipping, with an average tip of 17.5%.

• The city with the best tippers: Cleveland (20.6%).

Between the lines: Diners in San Francisco are faced with a variety of extra fees these days, including those for dining in and the SF Mandate tax that funds health care for restaurant workers.

• It would be more effective to simply pay workers livable wages, Andres Pomart, associate director of San Francisco-based workers rights organization Trabajadores Unidos Workers United, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
• "Tipping is a Band-Aid to an industry that doesn't really provide much job security or livable wages to its workers."

👀 Supervisor Catherine Stefani announced yesterday that she's running for state Assembly. Stefani lives in District 19, a seat that will be vacant at the end of next year when Phil Ting, western San Francisco's current assemblymember, reaches his term limit. (SF Chronicle)

❄️ Tahoe has received more snow as of this week than any other season since 1971-72, the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab confirmed. (SFGATE)

🍛 The team behind Burma Love and Burma Superstar is opening a new restaurant in Hayes Valley this spring called Teakwood. It will serve the group's beloved tea leaf salad and other food with influences from Thailand, China and India. (Eater SF)

🌡 Three City College campuses have been without heat for months, leaving classrooms far below ideal temperatures for learning. The City College Board will vote on a contracting bid this month to fix the broken boilers. (Mission Local)

The 1970s Muni streetcar that's been for sale on Craigslist since the start of the year has a new home.

What's happening: It’s headed north to Geyserville, the Chronicle reports.

• The new owners plan to place the 70-foot car on their 56-acre property and restore it for people to rent for overnight stays or special events.
• Think glamping, but in a historic Muni.

What they're saying: "We definitely don't want to keep this to ourselves. We want other people to experience it," one of the owners, Lauryn Guridi, told the Chronicle.

Of note: An Instagram account (@camp_muni) is already live, so you can follow along with the restoration process.

💭 Nick's thought bubble: Airbnb executives must be ecstatic at the news. Camp Muni is going to crush it.