San Francisco has over 50 active Muni lines running every day, serving the city’s transportation needs as residents navigate its hustle and bustle.​​ The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency may implement changes to five lines by summer to address a $50 million budget shortfall. 

The transit system has had a looming crisis for years. The SFMTA board is now considering around $7.2 million of service cuts. Using reserve funds is an alternative strategy heavily favored by the people gathered on City Hall’s front steps on Tuesday to rally for Muni and protest against the proposed service cuts.

Among the estimated 100 people on the steps were organizers from the Muni Now, Muni Forever coalition, which organized the event. Right alongside them were people from San Francisco Transit Riders, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the betterment of public transit in the city, and dozens of others ranging from organizers to schoolchildren, most of whom were flashing protest signs with various messages like “Save Muni” or “Don’t DOGE Muni.”

Dylan Fabris, SFTR’s community and policy manager, spoke to the specifics of the fight against the proposed Muni cuts.

 “We want the board of directors to approve a transfer from their own reserves rather than cutting Muni lines that serve tens of thousands of San Franciscans every day,” Fabris said. “Then we need leadership from the broader city to find local solutions that can kick in and help save money before the larger deficit comes next year.”

Some attendees were Muni drivers themselves, including Mc Allen, who has driven for Muni for three and a half years. Allen gained local recognition when he broke down the bus fight scene from the San Francisco-set film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” 

“Transit service, whether you ride Muni or not, makes the city better for everyone. When transit service is impacted, it impacts everyone,” Allen said. “Not only would it increase congestion throughout the city, which is an inevitable result of cutting service, but it also impacts all of the people who can’t drive for any reason. So the seniors who rely on Muni to get to senior centers to get to medical care, when service is cut for transit, they now have to make up that cost on their own, and that is taking the most vulnerable people and making them bear the highest cost. Transit service is the lifeblood of San Francisco. And it is at our own peril that we reduce it.”

Allen’s plea to save Muni service lines was echoed by every speaker through the entire event which played out over the course of about 40 minutes.

Chris Arvin, an advocate for Muni and founder of Transit Supply, led the rally at the mic and was flanked by dozens of fellow advocates who either spoke or showed support with their signage.

“We are here together to say no to any Muni service cuts,” Arvin said. “We know that Muni service cuts have the biggest impact on those with the fewest options. The thing is that Muni service often does not go away with a bang, but more of a whimper… Lines are whittled away, shortened, frequencies get higher, you have to wait 20 minutes, the hours are shortened. Then eventually, they say, ‘Well, that’s a low ridership line, we’re going to get rid of that.’ That’s why we are here today. We hold the line and say ‘no service cuts at all.’”

The six speakers who took to the mic spoke to the importance of not acquiescing to a single service cut. 

“While updated proposals keep most of the lines on the map, they cut vital links from our district to downtown, threatening downtown recovery,” said District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood. “It’s baffling that so many of our leaders are comfortable with cutting transit that allow visitors to move freely, give our seniors mobility and independence and connect our residents to one another. This is not reflective of the San Francisco I know and I love, and I know all of us love here as well.”

The ongoing struggle to secure funding for Muni in the wake of the pandemic has become a contentious issue for San Franciscans who continue to show up and show out in support of Muni. San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors will vote on service cutbacks on April 1.