New Downtown Express Service and Other Route Changes Start Feb. 1

Wednesday, January 8, 2025

29 Sunset drives through an intersection. Nearby, a woman crosses the street.

Riders on the 29 Sunset will see improved bus stops on Sunset Boulevard thanks to recently completed construction.

Beginning Saturday, Feb. 1, the SFMTA will be making some changes to Muni service.

We must reduce service on some Muni routes because of our ongoing financial crisis. Some of these changes are not easy decisions for us to make. By doing so now, we can continue delivering reliable service. Meanwhile we can address the SFMTA's financial stability.

At the same time, these changes aim to support downtown economic recovery. They are also designed to minimize impacts to customers. And, they align with current rider demand and feedback.

What’s changing?

Starting Feb. 1, 2025, we will be making the following changes:

Morning express service

30 X Marina Express: New trips

We are bringing back the 30X Marina Express to help riders get downtown from the Marina in the morning.

On weekdays, two trips will leave from Beach St & Divisadero St at 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m.

The 30X Marina Express will service most previous stops, except for the stop at Columbus Ave & Jackson St.

You can find the full list of stops at the 30X Marina Express webpage. For now, there will be no afternoon or evening service.

1X California Express: Schedule changes

Two morning trips on the 1X California Express will be dropped.

These two dropped trips leave 33rd Ave & Geary Blvd at 7:15 a.m. and 7:45 a.m.

We had to make these changes due to budget constraints. We worked hard to identify trips that had lower ridership than others on the route. We understand this may impact your commute.

All other trips on the route will remain unchanged.

You can still take the 1X California Express from 33rd Ave & Geary Blvd at 7:30 a.m., 8 a.m. and 8:20 a.m.

Map showing routes for the 30X Marina Express and the 1X California Express.

Reducing weekday midday frequency: 24, 38 and 43

We aim to better match Muni service to current ridership and our limited budget. To do this, we will reduce the frequency of three routes midday, from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. This will affect the following routes on weekdays only:

24 Divisadero

38 Geary

43 Masonic

These routes do not see significant crowding midday. We will continue to monitor crowding after making these changes. This does not affect weekend service on these routes.

Shorter Weekend Trains on the K Ingleside and M Ocean View

The K Ingleside and M Ocean View lines will run one-car trains on weekends. This change will help reduce maintenance and cleaning costs for our train cars. These lines see less crowding than other rail lines like the N Judah and T Third on weekends. Following this change, we will monitor crowding levels.

Changes to stops that make Muni faster, more reliable and accessible

We will also be making changes to some Muni stops. This is thanks to the completion of several street improvement projects.

29 Sunset: Stop adjustments and more seating

Most 29 Sunset stops on Sunset Boulevard will move across the intersections. These changes are a part of the 29 Sunset Improvement Project. They also include recently improved bus stops on the far side of traffic signals. These stops now have more space for riders. Some stops now include covered shelters with seating.

The 29 Sunset will now stop at new stops at the far side of the intersection at:

Sunset Blvd & Judah St
Sunset Blvd & Lawton St
Sunset Blvd & Noriega St
Sunset Blvd & Rivera St
Sunset Blvd & Taraval St
Sunset Blvd & Vicente St
Sunset Blvd & Ocean Ave (southbound stop only)

Additionally, the 29 Sunset will soon benefit from transit signal priority. This allows buses to communicate with traffic signals. As a result, traffic signals can give the green light to transit more often.

These changes help make the 29 Sunset more reliable. They also improve the bus stops for riders on this busy route.

Additional stop changes

We’re making changes to several individual stops citywide:

8 Bayshore, 8BX Bayshore B Express, 91 Owl: These buses will no longer stop on the far side of Bayshore Blvd and Leland Ave. Instead, they will stop just before the traffic light. 9 San Bruno and 9R San Bruno buses will continue to use the bus stop on the far side of the intersection. This will help reduce delays where five different routes stop.

19 Polk: We’re making two changes to stops on Evans Avenue. We’re removing the inbound stop at Evans Ave & Napoleon St. Few riders use this stop because the bus cannot pull to the curb. Additionally, we’re moving the outbound Evans Ave & Selby St stop to the far side of the intersection. By moving the stop across Selby Street, there is more space for riders waiting to board.

57 Parkmerced: We’re adding a new inbound stop at 20th Avenue and Buckingham Way. The new stop will have a transit shelter. This stop will replace the existing stop at 20th Ave & Stonestown. That stop does not have a shelter and will be removed.

L Owl, L Bus and 18 46th Avenue: We are removing the bus stop at Vicente St & 47th Ave. This change will make service quicker and less confusing to riders. We are making this change now that the L Taraval has returned to rail service.

Coming March 15: New end point for 30 Stockton “Short”

The 30 Stockton has two route patterns that overlap, “Long” and “Short.” The 30 Stockton, which runs the entire 30 Stockton route between the Presidio and Caltrain, is the “Long” pattern. The 30S Stockton “Short” provides additional service only on the most crowded portions of the route.

The 30S Stockton “Short” currently runs between Van Ness Ave & North Point St and Caltrain. Starting March 15, the 30 Stockton “Short” will run between Van Ness Ave & North Point St and Union Square. There are no changes to the 30 Stockton (the long pattern of the route).

This change is happening because of the SFMTA’s budget shortfall. Other Muni lines provide the same service. The 30 Stockton, 45 Union-Stockton and T Third also connect riders to SoMa and Caltrain. The 30 Stockton runs every 12 minutes. The 45 Union-Stockton and T Third run every 10 minutes.

This change is happening on March 15 instead of February 1. This is to provide additional Muni service during February and March events. These include the Lunar New Year celebration, NBA All-Star Weekend and upcoming Central Subway maintenance work.

Why these changes?

We are committed to delivering reliable Muni service. Our agency is facing a major budget shortfall due to the pandemic. These changes ensure we make the most of our available resources. They align Muni service with current staffing and ridership. We are working hard to identify funding solutions.

Looking ahead

The next planned Muni service changes will take place in summer 2025. Further cuts to service may be necessary due to our financial situation. We will announce proposed changes in early 2025 to allow for public input and feedback.