By Lisa Awbrey, HANC President
For over a year, a broad coalition of riders, community groups, unions, Supervisors and transit advocates urged the SFMTA to restore additional lines removed during the pandemic. It has now been a little over one month since SFMTA fully restored both the local neighborhood serving 43 Masonic and the 6 Haight-Parnassus lines, and partially restored the 21 Hayes (current start/end points Fulton and Shrader to Hyde and Grove). We requested ridership data since the return of these lines but didn’t hear back from SFMTA before print deadline. As of this writing, there are no upcoming public hearings or deadlines regarding these lines.
In preparation for writing this article, I queried neighbors about their recent bus experiences. Here is what they said:
“I have been taking the 43 and the 6 and have relied on them to get to places in the city. I would like these lines to continue running. The busses have arrived on schedule; I can rely on them to get to appointments.” Karin U.
“I recently had a severe case of sciatica. 4 days later, I was able to take the #6 (across the street from where I live) to Walgreens at UCSF to pick up meds. There was no way I could’ve driven or walked there. I’m so grateful that the #6 is back!” Debra D.
“Great to have the full 43 again. I only wish that the 21 extended downtown again. Wish I could ride the 21 home from work.” Marco P.
“I am soooooo glad the 6 is back again and I take it frequently. I no longer have to walk up the long (Clayton or Masonic ) hill between Haight and Frederick and as a result, I don't think twice about making trips downtown.” Wendy B.
“I work near Cow Hollow and the 43 means that I take one bus instead of three. It actually takes about the same amount of transit time, but I'm not stuck forever waiting for connections.” Elizabeth O
“I go to work early (5:30 AM) to connect with BART. the first N Judah of the morning wasn’t reliable, but the 6 is. So now I’m taking the 6 downtown to connect with BART. Much better. So glad they restored it.” Ruth O.
“The 6 is great to get directly to UCSF as I, and many others, work there it provides more options to get to and from work.” Emily F.
“I am SO relieved to see the 43 Masonic finally return to its original route. I work in the Presidio, and while I realize that’s not a typical commute for a lot of people, not having the direct bus route from Cole Valley has meant I either had to Uber or take 3 separate buses to the office. Since resuming its route through the Presidio, the 43 has been efficient and never super crowded due to its regular frequency. I’ve also noticed many families taking advantage of this line to visit the newly opened Presidio Tunnel Tops park and food trucks (highly recommend you check this out if you haven’t already!).” Caroline Q.
“I also take the N often to get to downtown for appointments or personal excursions. Or have taken the N to switch to Bart. It would suck if we couldn’t take the N to the main stations and switch to Bart when needed. The 15-20 min intervals are perfect.” Karin U.
There is still a long way to go until we see 100% pre pandemic service hours and a full return of all of our lines. Now more than ever, it’s important to weigh in and let SFMTA know that San Franciscans are pleased to finally have some of our local bus lines back in service. HANC encourages your engagement with SFMTA regarding this reinstated service. Please provide specific comments and observations about your recent bus experiences. SFMTA has a Muni feedback form (https://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/muni/muni-feedback )and you can also email the SFMTA board at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .Muni service changes and updates can be found at: https://bit.ly/3SfFU43.
Thank you for taking the time.
A rally for Free Muni/Full Service was held by various community partners on July 23. Goals for this movement can be found at this DSA-SF website: https://dsasf.org/chapter-priorities/ .