By Alice Mosley, HANC Board
The hall in the main library was full to capacity on August 20th with people keen to find ways for Muni survive and thrive. In the face of a critical funding shortfall as of July 2026, organizers of the Transit Riders San Francisco invited a wide array of neighborhood and advocacy groups to join in a new coalition “Muni Now Muni Forever!” (MNMF).
At the summit, they set the stage by presenting facts and figures illustrating the challenges Muni and Bay Area Transit are facing, as well as interesting factoids about our Municipal Transport history. For example, where was the first publicly owned and accountable transport agency in a major city created in the USA? Many of us were surprised to learn that this honor belongs to San Francisco!
The thorniest issue is the $322 million gap in the SFMTA budget as of July 2026, but BART and other key transport agencies face major shortfalls in funding, too.
Most Immediate Concern: Preventing Service Cuts
The most immediate concern in San Francisco was preventing cuts, as several bus routes have been curtailed or decreased in frequency, though thankfully major line suspensions have been averted. But also urgent is the need to find measures to meet the gaping hole in its budget Muni will face next July. An interest-free loan of $700 million from the state can help temporarily, but that has to be repaid.
In breakout groups we identified many areas of improvements in service provision MTA could use to bolster a funding measure. One goal to advocate for could be connected to a ballot measure. Excellent detailed research on the potential for a variable rate parcel tax (VRPT) has been done by MNMF. This tax is based on per square foot. So owners of a small condo or home would pay far less than owners of a mansion or the Chase Center(!). There are other variations, such as exemptions, or placing a ceiling on the tax, which could help to make it more effective as well as fairer, to help deliver the resources Muni will need as of July. This Variable Rate Parcel Tax has never been tried in SF, though it has recently proven popular in 16 localities where it has been on the ballot.
This information could help to inform attendees of how enough revenue can be raised to prevent draconian cuts to Muni services. It was agreed that we need to energize and activate the Muni supporting base to push for and pass a funding measure with the most $$ we can get for public transportation - yes!