Advocates, politicians, and transit officials officially kicked off "Transit Month" on the steps of San Francisco City Hall with an event Thursday morning. "I just took the M Line from Church Street. It was packed with high school students, people going to work, it felt alive in there," said Mayor Daniel Lurie. He stressed that the vitality of the city is tied to transit. "If people can not get downtown on transit, the recovery doesn't happen."
SFMTA director Julie Kirschbaum said that with Muni's improved cleanliness and reliability, more people are starting to ride. "They experience that it's safe and reliable and clean and run by the most incredible staff in this city," she said. "500,000 people board Muni every day. I want to get that number even higher."
"Half of our greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation; if we want to fix that, we have to get people on public transportation," said District 8 Supervisor and County Transportation Authority Chair Rafael Mandelman.
"I love that you clapped for a parcel tax, "Mandleman continued referring to the crowd's response to an earlier mention of the property tax proposal to fill in Muni's $322 million budget deficit. This would be in addition to the larger, region-wide ballot initiative recently authorized by the legislature that was co-authored by S.F. State Senator Scott Wiener that would help fund Muni, BART, Caltrain, AC Transit, and other regional agencies.
Other speakers, including District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan and District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, also gave speeches about the importance of funding Muni for the sake of San Francisco's economy and quality of life.
In Streetsblog's view, it was nice to see the verbal support from San Francisco's leaders for getting around in sustainable ways, including transit and bicycles. However, it's important to point out that Chan is the same supervisor who has constantly fought bike improvements. And Melgar, who spoke at the rally about the importance of people feeling safe on Muni, sabotaged a safety project for West Portal Station when merchants objected.
"There were good vibes at this morning's event," said Streets Forward's Luke Bornheimer. "But Mayor Lurie should not have allowed cars on Market Street—which delays Muni and hurts downtown recovery—and he can increase Muni service to and along Market Street immediately. What matters is what he and others actually do."
None of that, of course, means Muni will get better if it goes broke, something well-understood by advocates. And it's already cutting services as a result of its financial woes. That does real harm to the city.
"Every single person here understands the importance of Muni," said Lurie. "It is at the heart of our city's recovery."
Bay Area Transit Month is an annual, month-long celebration that highlights the importance of public transportation to the region’s economy, culture, and communities. Organized by advocacy groups including the San Francisco Transit Riders and Seamless Bay Area, the campaign features dozens of events across the nine Bay Area counties—ranging from rider challenges and transit tours to panel discussions and celebrations—all aimed at encouraging people to ride, appreciate, and advocate for better, more seamless transit service. Be sure to check out the full calendar of events for Transit Month.
