By 2026, SFMTA is at risk of facing a $240M budget deficit, which will result in extreme austerity measures including the elimination of transit lines that countless San Franciscans (and residents of the Bay Area) rely on to affordably navigate our city. 

• On Day 1, I will reintroduce a resolution to instate the necessary rate hike for MUNI. Despite claiming to be an everyday MUNI rider, Dean Preston voted against this increase (essentially condemning the agency to an uncertain future), despite being an everyday MUNI rider. I recognize that this will increase the cost, but to not invest in infrastructure like MUNI will have devastating consequences for generations to come. To offset the adverse effects of this rate hike on those who rely on public transit the most, I’ll seek to create a city fund that will subsidize transit for those who qualify.

• I’ll partially leverage the increased revenues to increase fare checker presence on MUNI lines, particularly on above-ground lines. Fare evasion is a real source of income loss for the SFMTA; while Muni has recovered about 71% of its 2019 transit ridership, its fare revenue recovery has lagged. For instance, the agency projects receiving $108 million in transit fare revenues in fiscal 2025, which begins in July, down from $197 million in fare revenues the SFMTA generated in fiscal 2019. We need to do a better job of ensuring that those who ride MUNI are paying their fare share for this city-provided service. 

• I’ll pass a resolution making MUNI free for all San Francisco residents under the age of 18. We need to make it easier for young people and their families to utilize our public infrastructure, while cultivating the next generation of MUNI riders.

• I’ll work with the state legislature to appeal for tax benefits for those who leverage public transit but don’t currently receive any tax benefit from their employer today. Currently, our most well-compensated members of the workforce receive pre-tax programs from their employers to offset the cost of utilizing public transit. We need to make benefits like this available for all San Franciscans; this will stimulate utilization rates of MUNI, which is one of the most important ways to restore revenues to pre-pandemic levels, while also getting more cars off the road and making San Francisco streets safer for all. By creating a financial incentive without compromising revenues for the system, we can create an incentive structure to get more people riding.