San Francisco might cut these Muni routes to save $50M

It’s perhaps the worst kind of multiple-choice question: In what way do you want Muni service to get worse?

That’s the decision before the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board, as a looming $322 million budget shortfall prompts the directors to choose which Muni lines to take behind the barn and shoot.

Muni service could be cut some 4% in the coming months under various scenarios, as the SFMTA considers how to close a $50 million budget gap by July, the start of fiscal 2025-26. The funding dilemma comes from all corners: inflation, plummeting parking fees, fewer people heading downtown, fewer people riding Muni altogether, and exhausted federal and state relief.

“San Francisco’s transportation system is in crisis. We’re facing a severe budget shortfall,” SFMTA spokesperson Erica Kato wrote in a recent blog post. “We could face devastating cuts to Muni and other critical transportation programs. These changes would affect everyone, whether you walk, bike, drive, or take Muni.”

Transit riders aren’t the only ones who may lose out with service cuts. Maintaining Muni service is vital to downtown’s economic recovery, Mayor Daniel Lurie’s transportation policy chief, Alicia John-Baptiste, has said publicly.

The proposed cuts, revealed Thursday for discussion at an SFMTA board meeting next week, would affect a wide swath of San Francisco.

There are three service-reduction scenarios.

Scenario 1: Reducing routes that have a parallel bus service nearby. Affected routes would include:

Some bus lines would be extended to cover for the cut routes, including shifting the 52-Excelsior from Forest Hill Station and the 66-Quintara to cover Parnassus. Service on some routes known as “connectors,” like the 36-Terisita, would end at 7 p.m. Muni Metro would lose four hours of service, running from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. instead of 5 a.m. to midnight.

Scenario 2: The routes mentioned above would be preserved, but “connector” routes like the 35, 36, 37, 39, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 66, and 67 would run less frequently — every 45 minutes, instead of every 30.

The following lines would see the number of stops scaled back or less frequent service:

Scenario 3: Some routes would be suspended.

These include:

The 28 19th Avenue would lose some neighborhood service from its route, but service would be maintained systemwide in what the SFMTA calls equity neighborhoods; essentially, those with low-income households, people of color, seniors, and people with disabilities. “Connector” buses would run every 45 minutes, instead of every 20.

These cuts aren’t the only options. SFMTA is considering raising revenue in a number of ways, including charging Uber and Amazon drivers for curb space, raising parking fees, and creating express toll roads. Two bond measures, one citywide and another regional, are also being considered but won’t be enough to close the gaps on their own.

SFMTA’s cuts come at a precarious time, as Muni ridership is recovering: Weekday boardings are at 75% of pre-pandemic levels and 92% of weekend levels. Transit officials have sounded the alarm before that cutting service can harm ridership recovery, creating a transit “death spiral.”

Some previously approved Muni cuts are set to take effect Saturday: the 24-Divisadero, 38-Geary, and 43-Masonic lines will all run less frequently. The K-Ingleside and M-Ocean View will run one-car trains on weekends, and the 30X Marina Express will operate once again in the morning, but not for the evening commute. Other Muni routes will lose stops to make them run more efficiently.

Don’t worry, you can weigh in on the doom and gloom. City officials are asking for public input on the budget crisis via a Muni Funding Working Group. Final decisions on exactly what limbs Muni will hack off are expected by March 18.