SF Muni Is Reducing Bus, Light-Rail Service Amid Fiscal Crisis. More Cuts Loom

San Francisco Muni said it will reduce service on several bus and light-rail lines starting Feb. 1 because of the agency’s budget crisis.

Service reductions include canceling two morning runs of the 1X-California Express and reducing midday trips on three other lines, including the busy 38-Geary. Muni will also run shorter weekend trains on its K-Ingleside and M-Ocean light-rail service.

In its announcement on Wednesday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency also said it was restoring the 30X-Marina Express bus route, with two morning rush-hour runs from the Marina District to downtown on weekdays. Afternoon and evening service on the line will remain suspended.

The SFMTA, which oversees a range of city services, including parking, taxi regulation, traffic safety initiatives and transit, is facing a deficit that could top $300 million a year beginning in mid-2026, mainly because of continuing revenue losses connected to the pandemic.

The cuts outlined this week were first announced in November, when the SFMTA announced it had slowed down the hiring of bus and train operators because of the imminent deficits. That hiring slowdown, in turn, prompted the agency to search for what it called “incremental” service reductions.

Muni said its next round of schedule changes, which could include further service cuts, is due this summer.

The extent of service reductions this year depends in large part on what remedies city officials come up with to close the coming budget gaps. The Muni Funding Working Group, an effort led by the city controller’s office, will resume meetings later this month.

The panel, which includes members of the Board of Supervisors and officials from the SFMTA and other agencies, is expected to begin discussing potential sources of new revenue when it reconvenes Jan. 23.

In October, the working group focused on steps that could improve the SFMTA’s efficiency, such as automating parking enforcement. In November, the group reviewed the level of Muni service reductions that would be necessary to make a significant dent in the projected $300 million-plus deficit the agency faces beginning July 1, 2026.

The scenarios presented include the wholesale abandonment of about 20 bus lines and reduced trip frequencies throughout Muni’s system. One possible cut SFMTA leaders mentioned — mothballing the city’s historic cable cars — was quickly rejected by newly elected Mayor Daniel Lurie.

Lurie, who was sworn into office on Wednesday, hasn’t yet shared what steps he believes might be necessary to rescue Muni or which measures he’d support.

Earlier this week, his administration announced the appointment of Alicia John-Baptiste, president of the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), to the newly created city position of chief of infrastructure, which will oversee SFMTA.

SPUR is one of the region’s most important proponents of transit improvement and transportation reform, and John-Baptiste has been closely involved with efforts over the last year to develop a regional tax measure to help fund day-to-day operations for Muni, BART and the region’s other major transit operators.