San Francisco’s effort to make Muni free took a big step in the right direction on Tuesday, however one hurdle remains before the three-month experiment gets a green light.
San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 to get behind the free Muni pilot program, which would make transit across the agency free between July 1 and Sept. 30. The proposal heads to the San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency’s Board of Directors.
They will need to approve the $12.5 million cost before it can move forward.
"People have talked about Free Muni for decades, and today, we took a historic step toward making it a reality," said Supervisor Dean Preston, co-author of the legislation. "This is the perfect time to put money into riders’ pockets, bring people back to public transit, and live up to our Transit First mandate. People are excited, and we can’t wait to get started."
San Francisco would join cities like Boston, Washington, D.C. and Kansas City in funding free transit or, as in this case, testing it on a trial basis.
The typical Muni rider is poised to save roughly $81 per month and about $243 over the course of the pilot program, a press release estimated.
"Free Muni is a great way to boost ridership on a transit system that has lost a significant amount of passengers for more than a year during the pandemic," said Supervisor Matt Haney, Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee.
While ridership remains down from the start of the coronavirus pandemic, service has also been impacted. The agency is only estimating an 85% service restoration by January.
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