San Francisco transit advocate Chris Arvin led the chant "fund the bus" with over 100 advocates, politicians, union reps, and legislative staffers at a rally Monday afternoon on the steps of City Hall. The event was to raise support for a ballot measure next year to raise money for Muni operations. "Without this, we will face catastrophic cuts to service," said Arvin, who sits on SFMTA's Citizens' Advisory Council.
The mayor's office is already proposing an annual parcel tax that would raise $187 million. That would be coupled with the Connect Bay Area Act, a regional transit funding measure that would institute a 1/2-cent sales tax, which, if it passes, would provide $160 million per year to Muni. Together, they should close the existing budget deficit.
However, transit advocates want to see San Francisco's measure raise $260 million in order to fill Muni's growing $300 million-plus annual budget deficit but also allow significant service improvements. "Let's offer voters a vision," said Arvin.
That vision would include a 10 percent increase in service, including adding frequency, restoring truncated routes, and possibly bringing back pre-COVID and new express routes. It would also keep up with inflation, so advocates and riders won't be saddled with yet another funding crisis in just a few years.
Monday's coalition also wants guarantees that the costs of the tax are not passed on to renters and that big-tech, wealthy property owners don't get any tax breaks in the deal. "We must make sure the largest corporations pay their fair share," said District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen. Chen added that seniors on a fixed income should be exempted from the parcel tax.
For the advocates, transit issues and social justice are inextricably linked. "Sometimes getting on the Muni 49 or the 14 is physically impossible right now," thanks to reduced service and overcrowding, explained Maya Scott with Senior & Disability Action, part of the Muni Now, Muni Forever coalition. For seniors and others, this becomes a safety issue when someone in a wheelchair is stuck waiting for a bus for hours. "Let's pause for a moment and consider who depends on Muni."
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who also spoke at the event, praised the mayor for agreeing to a "progressive tax," but stressed that his proposal doesn't go far enough. "We need an explicit prohibition on a pass-through to renters," she said.
All the speakers stressed that good Muni service underpins San Francisco's ongoing recovery. Small businesses depend on good transit to get customers and employees into their shops, they said. Several of the transit advocates also pointed out that without a healthy transit system, drivers suffer too.
District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, another speaker at the event, told Streetsblog that she considers transit so fundamental to San Francisco that ultimately she will vote "yes" with or without the progressive safeguards. "I want a zero-percent pass-through, but I'll pass whatever is passable."
For more, check out the San Francisco's Chronicle's breakdown of the parcel tax on various property types. To get involved, check out the Muni Now, Muni Forever website.
