Muni marks a significant jump in its post-pandemic recovery effort as San Francisco's streets hustle with the familiar rhythms of urban life. September's average weekday ridership crested over half a million, unobserved since COVID-19 first emptied the city's once-thronging public transit. According to SFMTA, there were exactly 521,000 average weekday trips in September.
The increase is part of an upward trend: The numbers show a climb of 37,000 daily riders since September 2023, revealing the evolving patterns in how San Franciscans move. Weekday ridership has reached 74% of 2019 levels, weekends are even more bustling at 92%, and overall ridership floats at 78% of those pre-pandemic benchmarks. Julie Kirschbaum, SFMTA director of transit, attributes this to "our investments in improving Muni service," which, in return, have made for "faster buses, shorter wait times and more reliable service."
But to think of these figures as mere data points would be to miss the narrative they trace, shaping a city's transit system in response to the world-shifting pandemic. Remote work, which maintains a stronghold in San Francisco's professional culture, has shifted the old metrics and made routes connecting neighborhoods more robust and essential. Some, such as the 49 Van Ness, boast a 143% recovery compared to their pre-pandemic usage, as stated by SFMTA. These lines have become lifelines, ferrying residents to jobs and social encounters, the ties that bind a city together across its varied quarters.
Efficiency improvements also play a part in this resurgence. The 49 Van Ness, now partially a Bus Rapid Transit line, has seen travel times cut by 36%. The agency notes that the investment has garnered attention and praise, with the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy awarding it a Silver award. Amidst this infrastructure-expanded function, Muni has found a renewed role in San Francisco's vibrant event scene. For instance, the Portola Music Festival and Haight Ashbury Street Fair drew substantial crowds who turned to Muni as their conduit to the city's cultural heartbeat.
Customer surveys convey a peak in approval, hinting that service upgrades transcend mere transport's utility. "Muni isn’t just back – it’s better," says Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA director of transportation, as reported by SFMTA.
