Check out our new report, “Fast Forward: 10 Years of Muni Forward, 2014-2024”. It offers an in-depth look at how Muni Forward has helped to transform Muni into a faster, more reliable, safer system over the past decade. It also offers a roadmap for how we’ll continue to make Muni the go-to choice for travel in San Francisco in the years ahead. The report features corridor profiles of our work in the past decade on Muni’s busiest bus and rail lines—see what we’ve been up to on your line, and what’s next!
Muni Forward makes getting around San Francisco faster, more reliable and safer. We’re expanding the Muni Rapid network, making new connections and giving Muni customers priority on congested streets.
Muni Forward improvements provide sustainable, transformative change to San Francisco’s public transit system. The SFMTA has built 100 miles of reliability improvements to keep Muni moving—with upgrades like red transit lanes, bus bulbs for faster boarding and traffic signals that stay green for transit. Since 2020, we've added over 22 miles of new or upgraded transit lanes – the fastest expansion of transit priority in San Francisco’s history.
A Rapid Network of core routes prioritizes reliability and frequency on San Francisco’s busiest transit corridors. We increased service across the system prior to the pandemic, adding more frequency where it’s needed most. And we’ve continued to make new connections as the system is restored, with new service to the Bayview, Mission Bay, and the Presidio.
Ridership has grown where we’re making improvements – that means fewer cars on the road and a greener city. Overall ridership on Muni Rapid bus lines increased by 23% from 2015 to 2019, even as transit ridership decreased across the country. And during the pandemic, ridership has returned faster on corridors with major Muni Forward improvements -- like the 38 Geary, 14 Mission and 22 Fillmore -- than the Muni system as a whole.
Muni Forward improvements take a systemwide approach, informed by ridership data, customer feedback and the Muni Service Equity Strategy. This groundbreaking strategy delivers transit improvements to neighborhoods with high percentages of households with low incomes and people of color and lower vehicle rates, as well as on lines with higher rates of seniors and people with disabilities.
Muni Forward is also an essential component of the city’s Vision Zero Strategy, the City's commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities. Making needed safety improvements for people walking, including Muni passengers, is a vital part of improving the system as a whole. More transit riders also means fewer vehicles on the road, which helps make streets safer for people walking.
To improve the customer experience, Muni Forward is also delivering technology and infrastructure improvements, making the system smarter, faster and more reliable. This includes new and improved signage at every Muni bus and train stop, a new Muni map, expanded real-time information at stops and smarter management of our service.
Recent Updates
Recently completed projects include:
- 14 Mission: Mission Street SoMa Transit Improvements (red transit lanes)
- 19 Polk: Hyde Street transit lane
- 22 Fillmore 16th Street Improvement Project
- 27 Bryant: 27 Bryant Transit Reliability Project
- 28 19th Avenue: 28 19th Avenue Rapid Project
- 29 Sunset: 29 Sunset Improvement Project Phase 1 quick build
- 30 Stockton: Townsend Street transit queue jump
- 38 Geary: Geary Boulevard Improvement Project quick build
- 49 Van Ness-Mission: Van Ness BRT
- J Church: San Jose Avenue transit lanes
- L Taraval L Taraval Improvement Project
- Transit Delay Hot Spot improvements at various locations
What’s Next
Construction will begin in the coming months on transit and safety improvements on the 5 Fulton in the Inner Richmond. Quick build improvements are underway on the K Ingleside and M Ocean View lines, where Muni Forward improvements were recently approved. Following quick-build improvements, detailed design is underway for the construction of permanent improvements for approved projects on the 29 Sunset, 38 Geary, J Church, the K Ingleside, and the M Ocean View.
In 2024 and 2025, we’ll start outreach on a new round of Muni Forward corridors and Transit Delay Hot Spot improvements:
- T Third reliability improvements
- J Church: Noe Valley Muni Forward
- 29 Sunset (Phase 2)
- N Judah Muni Forward
- 1 California Muni Forward
- 22 Fillmore: Fillmore Street Muni Forward
- New top 10 Transit Delay Hot Spots
Check out the full map of current and future Muni Forward transit priority improvements. Stay tuned for more improvements coming to a Muni line near you soon!
You can also review our most recent Muni Forward update to the SFMTA Board here.
History: 10 Years – and 100 Miles – of Muni Forward
Muni Forward improvements are grounded in the Transit Effectiveness Project, the first major evaluation of the Muni system since the 1980s, approved by the SFMTA Board of Directors in 2014. Major financial support for Muni Forward reliability improvements is provided by the 2014 General Obligation Bond (Proposition A), approved by 72% of San Francisco voters, as well as a range of local, state and federal funding sources. Since 2014, we’ve delivered over 100 miles of transit reliability corridor upgrades, with many more on the way.
