San Francisco Voters Will Vote on Muni’s Future in November

The measure is a high-stakes, last-ditch effort at securing sustainable funding for the Bay Area’s most-ridden public transit agency as it confronts a more than $300 million budget deficit beginning in July. Every funding source that Muni relies on — from tax revenue, grants and parking fees to Muni fares — has cratered since the pandemic, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which runs Muni. SFMTA projects the deficit will grow to $430 million by 2030.

If approved by voters, property owners would be billed annually based on their type of property and square footage. Most owners of single-family properties would need to pay $129 annually, multifamily property owners would owe $249 and commercial landlords would have to shell out $799, with additional tax levied if the properties exceed a certain square footage limit.

About $150 million of the revenue generated annually from this tax would be used to reduce Muni’s deficit, and about $10 million would pay for “marginal service quality improvements,” according to the SFMTA. The measure would expire in 15 years, and the tax amount would be annually adjusted for inflation.

The fate of Muni, and other major Bay Area transit agencies, also rests on the passage of a separate regional sales tax measure, called the Connect Bay Area Act. That measure would generate around $1 billion annually for BART, AC Transit, Caltrain and Muni, as well as some smaller East Bay transit agencies, by imposing a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and a one-cent sales tax in San Francisco over 14 years. That campaign said it submitted enough signatures to qualify the measure last month and is awaiting validation by county election officials.

If one or both measures fail to pass, Muni warned it would be forced to eliminate up to 20 routes, reduce evening service up to 60%, reduce or eliminate historic cable car routes and double wait times for some lines.

The SFMTA Board of Directors unanimously voted Tuesday to adopt recommendations made by an independent oversight committee meant to increase revenue and cost savings at the agency. The recommendations are a required part of SB 63, the state bill that authorized the regional tax measure.

The SFMTA plans to generate more revenue by improving fare compliance on Muni vehicles and increasing staffing of parking control officers. The agency also plans to save money by reviewing high-spend contracts and right-sizing fleets to match demand, for example.

These efforts, combined with the two ballot measures, will close the deficit, according to the agency.

Max Szabo, a spokesperson for Stronger Muni For All, acknowledged the difficult climate in which the campaign was asking voters to tax themselves for the future of transit. He said the primary concern voters are facing up and down the ballot is affordability.

“Ultimately, we have to make the case that this is something that should be shouldered by the public in order to advance our quality of life and the livability of the region we call home,” Szabo said.