Muni readies route changes to address crowding, revives 28R along 19th Avenue

As the San Francisco Unified School District welcomes back students Wednesday, transit officials said they will make Muni service changes to address crowding, including changes bus stop changes on the 29 Sunset bus route, which will take effect Aug. 19. The 28R 19th Avenue Rapid bus route is set to return Aug. 21.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency will bring back the 28R after the route was suspended since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The transit agency said the route will run every 12 minutes on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Passengers will see a decrease in the frequency of the local 28 bus route from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes all day.

Additionally, the 28R will no longer terminate at the Balboa BART station as it did before and instead will terminate at the Daly City BART station.

Transit officials have previously said they will address issues such as crowding on Muni buses by making revenue-neutral service changes that will not cost the SFMTA. Until the SFMTA is in a better financial situation, officials said they will only be making smaller incremental changes to Muni service.

Other changes taking effect on Aug. 19 include implementing transit stop changes on the 29 bus route that are part of the first phase of the 29 Sunset Improvement Project. As part of the approved project, the SFMTA will eliminate 11 transit bus stops in both directions along the west side of the route. Of the 11 transit bus stops eliminated, seven are on Sunset Boulevard.

Despite these changes taking effect days after students return to school, the SFMTA said the school tripper service will be available on the day students return to school.

The SFMTA is planning other service changes to bus routes starting Aug. 19. A full list of changes can be viewed online.