Muni is crucial crucial to keeping San Francisco moving, whether you take transit or not. It gets people to jobs, schools, doctor’s appointments and events, while making city streets safer and less congested. Muni is a critical piece of what San Francisco has to offer for people who work, live and visit here. A world class city needs a world class transit system. Since the pandemic, Muni has lost a significant amount of funding, leading to a large funding gap. Federal relief funding and other revenue sources have expired. Without additional funding, the SFMTA will be faced with an annual budget shortfall of about $350 million starting in July 2027.
Transit makes up 77% of the overall agency budget. Because it is such a large percentage, there is no way to close the budget gap without significant Muni impacts.
The stakes for transit
Without additional funding, about a quarter of Muni service may have to be eliminated. This will affect everyone who lives and works in San Francisco.
Up to 20 Muni lines could be cut, wait times on other Muni lines could double and late-night service (from 9 p.m. to midnight) could be reduced by more than 60%. Additionally, there could be reductions or cuts to historic service like cable cars and street cars. There will be more traffic, and it will be harder to find parking.
Cutting up to 20 Muni routes could save between $70 and $150 million. Cuts could include:
- Corridors with multiple routes and downtown express buses, including: 2 Sutter, 6 Hayes/Parnassus, 15 Bayview Hunters Point Express, 27 Bryant, 31 Balboa, 1X California Express, and 30X Marina Express.
- Hilltop and neighborhood connections, including: 18 46th Avenue, 23 Monterey, 33 Ashbury/18th Street, 35 Eureka, 36 Teresita, 37 Corbett, 39 Coit, 55 Dogpatch, 56 Rutland, 57 Parkmerced, 58 Lake Merced, 66 Quintara, and 67 Bernal Heights.
Doubling wait times on other Muni lines could save between $30 and $80 million. It could mean longer waits for Metro train service, Rapid and Frequent routes, including:
- Metro train service: J Chruch, K Ingleside, L Taraval, M Ocean View, N Judah, and T Third Street
- Rapid service: 5R Fulton Rapid, 9R San Bruno Rapid, 14R Mission Rapid, 28R 19th Avenue Rapid, and 38R Geary Rapid
- Frequent routes: 1 California, 5 Fulton, 8 Bayshore, 9 San Bruno, 14 Mission, 22 Fillmore, 24 Divisadero, 28 19th Avenue, 29 Sunset, 30 Stockton, 38 Geary, and 49 Van Ness/Mission.
The stakes for street safety
We would also have to scale back on other parts of the agency.
Painters refresh a cross walk to ensure pedestrian safety.
- There could be delays to requests related to addressing street safety i.e., speeding, traffic control device changes.
- Reduction in preventative maintenance of traffic signals, signs, pavement markings.
- Drivers using SFMTA garages could see a loss in security and janitorial staff.
- Tow retrieval would operate on limited weekend and evening hours, making it more challenging to retrieve a personal vehicle.
- Merchants would face reductions to the Shared Spaces program.
- Special events would have a more challenging time facilitating street closures.
- Parking and loading curb changes would decrease.
- Admin services for Muni and Streets services would likewise reduce.
A parking control officer supports street closures and traffic support on Market Street.
We are working to achieve long-term stability
The SFMTA is doing everything we can to achieve long-term financial stability. We will continue to find internal cost savings. In order to maintain fast, reliable and affordable Muni service, new sources of funding are needed to balance the budget.
