Back in November 2014, 72 percent of San Francisco voters gave the thumbs-up to Proposition A, a $500 million bond for the SFMTA that was intended to improve and speed up Muni service.

But a little over two years later, only two percent ($12 million) of that $500 million has been spent, despite surging ridership and overcrowded buses and trains. And some members of the Board of Supervisors are not happy about it. 

"27 months later, the MTA has spent 2 percent of the bonds we all authorized—the bonds we all said were urgently needed," District 5 Supervisor London Breed told the Examiner. "How many people will get hurt because critical street safety projects have been delayed? How long will Muni riders keep hearing, 'Just be patient'?"

Breed, along with District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin, has called for a hearing to find out why the money isn't being spent. According to SFBay.ca, Muni currently has $66 million of the $500 million in its coffers, but has only spent $14 million, which went to the Muni Forward efforts on lines like the 5-Fulton, 10-Townsend, 14-Mission, 30-Stockton and L-Taraval.

That leaves $52 million, more than 10 percent of the bond, still unspent—and quickly losing its value with inflation, not to mention incurring pricey interest payments. And construction costs are only going up.

SFMTA spokesperson Paul Rose issued the same statement to both publications, blaming the agency's tightfistedness on the need for extensive public outreach before projects can launch.

"Due to the demand for extensive public outreach and the need to schedule the projects in a coordinated manner, where all of the infrastructure work can be done at once, the process is slower than we anticipated ... We are doing everything we can to accelerate the spend rate, while continuing to work with the neighborhoods and partner agencies to get work done as fast as possible."

However, Rose's statement doesn't take into account spending that could have been used without public approval—in particular, upgrading the outdated cellular system that tanked Muni's NextBus system predictions in recent weeks. 

Breed is encouraging the agency to be more forceful. "We can’t continue to let a handful of people block transportation improvements that benefit thousands of people," she told SFBay.ca. "It’s not fair. It’s not democratic.”