Press Release: SFMTA proposes cuts following Prop L election results
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 11, 2024
Contact: info@sftransitact.com
San Francisco, CA — Following the failure of Muni-funding measure Proposition L, the SFMTA has announced proposed reductions and changes to Muni service, underscoring the urgent need for the funds that Prop L would have generated.
Prop L, the San Francisco ballot measure to fund Muni bus, train, and paratransit service and protect equity fare discount programs, passed at the ballot with 57% of the vote and a preliminary total of 188,861 Yes votes. However, this is fewer than the 214,800 Yes votes received by Proposition M, which included a one-way poison pill such that Prop L needed more Yes votes than Prop M in order to take effect. As such, Prop L will not go into effect, despite getting more than the 50%+1 of the votes needed to “pass.”
“Prop L would have generated $25 million annually in funding starting within months, enough to cover SFMTA's financial need for Fiscal Year 2025-2026,” said Dylan Fabris, Community and Policy Manager at San Francisco Transit Riders. “Without this money, SFMTA has announced reductions and changes to Muni service, affecting Routes 30, 1X, 49, 14R, 24, 38, and 43, with further cuts anticipated for summer 2025.”
The SFMTA is also set to present additional service cut scenarios at the November 13 meeting of the Muni Funding Working Group.
“We won 57% of votes across a wide geographic base, despite over a million dollars in opposition funding,” said Chris Arvin, a Prop L proponent and a co-author of the measure. “San Franciscans want a fully-funded Muni, and our work toward that goal is just beginning. Muni is an essential service, and the cuts that are now slated for next year will cause direct harm to families, workers, and local businesses. Such cuts are unacceptable to the thousands of San Franciscans who voted for Prop L.”
Proponent Lian Chang noted, “Prop L would have added a new source of funds that would arrive soon enough to soften the blow of 2025 service cuts, while also contributing to a package of solutions addressing the larger, longer-term deficit, including a possible 2026 regional transit funding measure. Without Prop L’s money, San Francisco now urgently needs another solution.”
“Now that our city’s elected leaders for 2025 are known, our team is reaching out to see who will be willing to step up for Muni and for San Francisco’s economic, climate, and equity goals,” said Kat Siegal, a proponent of Prop L. “San Francisco leaders must be proactive in generating new revenue for Muni, and not stand by waiting for the axe to fall.”
Prop L was endorsed by a broad coalition of transit experts, labor unions, small business groups, and elected officials. More information about Prop L and who supports it is available at fundthebus.com.
