Muni service cuts are expected this summer. This is not what we want to do. We understand the outcomes this will have for the community. We are doing everything we can to minimize the impacts on San Franciscans. Beginning in July, we won’t be able to afford to replace transit operators, maintenance or cleaning staff.
We received extensive feedback in winter 2025 on three approaches we could take to make these cuts. Below is a proposal that is based on the comments we received. We will share this proposal at our Board of Directors’ meeting on March 18 and potentially April 1. We encourage you to join us online or in person to share your feedback on the proposal. Details on how to provide feedback if you can’t attend the meeting are below.
Why we may have to cut Muni service
We’re facing a $50 million budget shortfall because parking revenue, transit revenue and General Fund reimbursements are lower than we’d expected. This is largely a result of the pandemic and its economic impact.
We’ve increased transit fare enforcement, cut spending, become more efficient and paused most hiring. But it’s still not enough to close the gap in our July 2025 to June 2026 budget.
We won’t be able to afford to replace transit operators, maintenance or cleaning staff starting in July. So, in summer 2025, we’ll have to cut Muni service by up to 4%, which will save about $15 million. We’ll make up the remainder of the $50 million in other ways, including improving fare compliance and optimizing our parking programs.
Taking advantage of abundant service to maintain connections and frequency
After collecting feedback (summarized below) on how we could minimize impacts of these potential service cuts, it was used to develop a proposal based that we plan to bring to our board March 18 for consideration. This proposal reduces the total amount of Muni service cut by about half. It would maintain all connections and frequency, and take advantage of the transit-rich Market Street corridor.
To help address our funding shortfall, three routes would turn around to go back outbound once they reach Market Street on weekdays. This includes the 5 Fulton, 9 San Bruno and 31 Balboa. Riders would then be able to transfer to the lines that will remain on Market Street. The 5R Fulton Rapid and 9R San Bruno Rapid would remain in service. During evenings and weekends when the 5R Fulton Rapid and 9R San Bruno Rapid don’t currently operate, the 5 Fulton and 9 San Bruno would continue service on Market Street to their current terminals.
On Market Street, under the proposed service plan, Muni buses and trains together will provide service about every three or four minutes on weekdays east of Van Ness Avenue. Additionally, in the subway along Market Street, the five Muni Metro lines together provide service every two minutes on weekdays.
This proposal will maintain the connections to Market Street while also reducing resources so we can maintain both service coverage and frequency where ridership is the highest.
Proposal overview
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5 Fulton would turn around at McAllister & Market/Civic Center Station on weekdays; 5R Fulton Rapid would remain as-is
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9 San Bruno would turn around at 11th & Market Street/Van Ness Station on weekdays; 9R San Bruno Rapid would remain as-is
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31 Balboa would run between Cabrillo & La Playa and 5th & Market/Powell Station (current weekend route). Riders could continue to Caltrain on the 30 Stockton, 45 Union/Stockton or T Third.
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6 Haight-Parnassus and 21 Hayes would be combined into one line with portions of each and turn around at Hyde & Market/Civic Center Station.
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This new route would serve all current 6 Haight-Parnassus stops west of Masonic Avenue. Riders who typically use 6 Haight-Parnassus stops east of Masonic Avenue could instead use 7 Haight-Noriega service.
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The route would also serve all current 21 Hayes stops east of Masonic Avenue. Riders who typically use 21 Hayes stops west of Masonic Avenue could use 5 Fulton or 5R Fulton Rapid service two blocks away.
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A map showing where routes would turn around at Market Street under a new proposal to save funds by reducing duplicate Muni service.
A map showing the proposed routing of a new route that would combine the 6 Haight-Parnassus and 21 Hayes.
What to expect and how to share your feedback
- Tuesday, March 18
- We plan to present the service cuts proposal to our Board for their consideration. To share feedback on these proposals, we invite you to attend the March 18 meeting in person. You can also watch the meeting online. Free language assistance is available with 48 hours’ notice prior to the meetings. Before the meeting, you can also share your feedback by emailing MTABoard@SFMTA.com and cc: MuniCuts@SFMTA.com or call 415.646.2005 by Monday, Mar. 18, 12 p.m. to ensure your comment is received by the Board in advance of the meeting. See March 18 meeting webpage for details.
- Tuesday, April 1
- We expect our Board to meet and consider whether to approve the proposed Muni service cuts. We invite you to attend the April 1 meeting in person. Free language assistance is available with 48 hours’ notice prior to the meetings. Before the meeting, you can also share your feedback by emailing MTABoard@SFMTA.com and cc: MuniCuts@SFMTA.com or call 415.646.2005 by Monday, Mar. 31, 12 p.m. to ensure your comment is received by the Board in advance of the meeting. See Apr. 1 meeting webpage for details.
- Summer 2025
- We expect to implement any Board-approved service cuts.
Please continue to check back on this page for updates.
How community feedback informed the proposal
In winter 2025, we prepared three potential approaches for expected cuts to Muni service. We used these potential approaches to collect feedback on what our riders want us to prioritize so that we could minimize impacts to communities across the city. They:
- Prioritized maintaining frequency on high ridership routes
- Maintained existing connections, or
- Preserved service on routes serving neighborhoods identified through our Muni Service Equity Strategy through a hybrid of maintaining frequency and connections.
Overwhelmingly, the feedback we heard was to not cut Muni service. There was not consensus on whether to prioritize maintaining frequency or maintaining connections. We recognize these are difficult choices.
Outreach to Collect Feedback
To collect feedback on this proposal for how best to cut Muni service with minimum impact, we:
- Hosted eight pop-ups at major transit transfer points citywide with staff who speak English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Spanish
- Posted 400+ posters requesting feedback in nine languages. The posters were posted at Muni stops on ten Muni routes
- Digital PSAs were displayed in transit shelters citywide
- This webpage had information in nine languages and featured a video with subtitles and a feedback form until Feb. 25 in English, Traditional Chinese, Spanish and Filipino
- Email and text messages were sent to Muni Alerts subscribers and community-based organizations offering briefings
- Presentations were made to the Board of Directors Feb. 4, the SFMTA Citizens’ Advisory Council on Feb. 6 and Muni Equity Working Group on Jan. 23 and Feb. 11
- Hosted a multilingual hotline at 415.646.2005 and MuniCuts@SFMTA.com
How does the SFMTA make decisions about Muni service?
We know that Muni service is a lifeline for many. Quality public transportation is also key to San Francisco achieving its climate, equity and economic recovery goals. So, we don't take making changes to Muni service lightly. When we make changes to service we aim to:
- Maintain the highest possible quality service to the nine neighborhoods identified by our Muni Service Equity Strategy and on the routes heavily used by seniors and people with disabilities
- Provide service coverage to locations with trip generators, such as hospitals, grocery stores, and commercial, cultural, and employment centers
- Retain access to opportunities including schools and workplaces
- Consider ridership demand (crowding) and frequency
- Consider feedback from customers, operators and policymakers
- Support economic recovery
- Consider cost per rider
How is this different from Muni Funding Working Group proposals?
These near-term changes reflect our current budget, staffing and vehicle availability. To provide riders service that is reliable, we aim to only schedule Muni service that we have the resources to operate. Since we have paused most hiring due to our financial situation, when staff leave the agency, we are forced to reduce service accordingly.
The Muni Funding Working Group service cut proposals are 10 times bigger in scale than what we are proposing for 2025. The Muni Funding Working Group proposals are an illustration of the types of cuts we’d be forced to make, not a proposal or plan for cuts, and we urgently hope it doesn’t come to that.