In a split decision, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors on Tuesday approved a resolution to keep pursuing a proposal that includes summer service cuts to several bus lines and could make a final decision at a future meeting.
The SFMTA is considering closing its looming $50 million budget deficit by shortening or combining five Muni bus routes. In July 2026, that gap is expected to balloon to over $300 million, according to the SFMTA.
If the Board of Directors ends up approving the proposal, the 5-Fulton and 9-San Bruno buses would still operate but turn around once they hit Market Street. The 5-Fulton Rapid and 9-San Bruno Rapid buses will operate as normal. When the 5-Fulton Rapid and 9-San Bruno Rapid buses are not running, which is during the weekend and after 7 p.m. on weekdays, 5-Fulton and 9-San Bruno service will go down Market Street down to the Ferry Building.
The 31-Balboa bus would also turn back at Market Street and not drive to the Caltrain station. Lastly, 6-Haight/Parnassus and 21-Hayes would combine into one line, containing portions of each route and turning around at Market Street.
Cutting service to this extent will help save about $7.2 million, SFMTA officials said.
But the decision did not go through without pushback. Dozens of members of the public spoke out at Tuesday’s meeting, urging the SFMTA Board of Directors to stop considering service cuts.
Public commenters included members of transit labor unions, public transportation advocates, transit workers, and residents who frequently use the bus lines to get to work or school.
“Public transportation is more than just a way to get from point A to point B,” said Devon Anderson, president of Transport Workers Union Local 200. “It is the backbone of our cities, the lifeline for our workers, students, seniors and employees and countless others that rely on public transportation each day.”
“The cuts to public transportation don’t just inconvenience riders. They threaten economic stability, environmental progress and social equality,” Anderson said. “Just as a lot of speakers up here mentioned, it’s going to overcrowd a lot of the buses as well as the trains.”
With many of the bus lines turning around at Market Street, several people argued that the service cuts are counterintuitive with the city’s goal to revitalize downtown.
Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, who represents the district where much of the service cuts will occur, addressed the board in opposition. He argued that the cuts will disproportionately impact people of color, since his District 5 has the second-largest black population in San Francisco after District 10.
“I ask you as the Board of Directors here today to consider these communities that you are voting on behalf of,” Mahmood said. “This community and this neighborhood will be permanently affected. The history of this city is that District 5 and the neighborhoods of the Tenderloin and Hayes Valley and Western Addition, for years and for decades, have borne the cost of the city’s challenges.”
He also raised concerns about past Muni service cuts that were supposed to be temporary, but service was never restored.
“The track record of cutting service is we do not often bring it back, even when things get better,” Mahmood said.
Under Title XI of the Civil Rights Act, major transit systems like SFMTA are required to conduct an equity analysis to ensure that the changes do not primarily affect low-income communities and people of color. Muni’s equity analysis found that the cuts won’t have a disproportionate impact on these groups.
But several members of the public called out the equity analysis for not measuring how the changes could affect disabled people. The narrow definition of the Title XI equity analysis does not include people who are disabled, according to the Federal Transit Administration.
Divided over reserve use
Muni Directors Dominica Henderson, Steve Heminger and vice chair Stephanie Cajina felt more comfortable with the idea of dipping into SFMTA’s reserves as an alternative to service cuts that could negatively impact residents dependent upon the affected bus lines.
“If we never touch the reserves, even to the extent of 5% of the total amount, which is what $7 million equates to, what’s the purpose of having a reserve?” Heminger said. “It’s called, commonly, a rainy-day fund, and it’s been raining a lot.”
Chair Janet Tarlov and newly appointed board member Alfonso Felder agreed that digging $7 million out the reserves could add to the future budget deficit.
“I just continue to feel very uneasy about pulling from the reserve when essentially what it will mean is having that add to our deficit,” Tarlov said. “If it’s $320 million, then it will be $327 million.”
The resolution to continue pursuing the plan for service cuts and make a final decision at a future meeting passed with four yes votes from directors Mike Chen, Fiona Hinze, Tarlov and Felder. The three no votes came from Cajina, Heminger, and Henderson.
The board decided to return to the previous equity analysis at a later meeting in order to dive deeper into the data and consider looking into how the cuts may impact disabled people.
If the board approves the proposal in a final vote, the cuts will go into effect June 21.
Note to readers: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the SFMTA Board of Directors approved summer service cuts. The board only approved a resolution to continue pursuing the plan and will make a final decision at a future meeting. The story has been updated. We regret the error.
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