Mayor Daniel Lurie and the SFMTA Board of Directors announced Tuesday that Julie Kirschbaum, who had been acting director since Jeffrey Tumlin's departure, will lead the SFMTA moving forward. From the mayor's office:
The first woman appointed permanent Director of Transportation in San Francisco’s history, Kirschbaum brings two decades of transportation experience to the role, most recently leading the SFMTA’s largest division as director of transit from 2018 to 2024. In this capacity, she guided the agency through unprecedented and extraordinary challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, not only rebuilding the entire Muni system multiple times but also helping to improve the SFMTA’s customer satisfaction ratings. In 2024, under her leadership, those ratings were the highest they’ve been in the agency’s history.
Advocates were pleased by the news and issued the following statements.
First, the San Francisco Transit Riders' Dylan Fabris:
We have worked with her closely during her term as Director of Transit, and have appreciated her dedication to improving Muni, including drastically improving Muni reliability over the past several years. We are glad that the agency will not be burdened with an extensive hiring process during this period of uncertainty, and look forward to working with Director Kirschbaum on addressing the SFMTA deficit, preserving Muni service, and delivering world class transit service to San Francisco.
The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's Christopher White had this to say:
Julie Kirschbaum has been an effective leader for Muni, improving outcomes for transit -- this is a strong choice by the SFMTA Board of Directors, and we're looking forward to working with her to rapidly implement the Biking and Rolling Plan once it's approved, along with prioritizing improvements that will further strengthen it during implementation.
Seamless Bay Area's Adina Levin pointed Streetsblog towards this statement on social media:
Julie Kirshbaum has done tremendous work behind the scenes making Muni better for riders; faster, more reliable, and supporting new travel patterns; and she sees Muni and San Francisco as a core part of a connected regional system
She has a big job ahead leading Muni, working with other agencies and supporting political leaders to bring in funding to keep Muni and the Bay Area transit system moving and improving. We're glad to see her leading and stepping forward.
And Luke Bornheimer of Streets Forward sent Streetsblog the following:
With private cars being San Francisco’s largest contributor to climate emissions and the cause of the majority of roadway fatalities and injuries in our city, it’s long past time for SFMTA and the City to take a more active, visionary, and critically needed approach to making it safer, faster, and more convenient to use a bike and public transportation to get around. Director Kirschbaum—alongside Mayor Lurie, the Board of Supervisors, and the SFMTA Board of Directors—must take immediate action to transform our streets and transportation system, and we look forward to helping them do that moving forward.
Lastly, from KidSafe:
KidSafe SF congratulates Julie Kirschbaum on her appointment as Director of Transportation. Her deep experience with Muni operations and commitment to improving transit service will be critical in tackling the challenges ahead for SFMTA.
We're excited to work with Director Kirschbaum to make San Francisco's streets safer for everyone, and to secure the sustainable funding that public transit needs to thrive.
“I’m incredibly honored by this opportunity to serve the city I love,” said Kirschbaum in the mayor's release. “Having a world-class transportation system is key to San Francisco’s economic recovery, and I’m going to make sure we maintain the incredible improvements we’ve made to the Muni system, despite the SFMTA’s daunting financial challenges.”
