Transit agency prioritizes essential workers, low-income neighborhoods in reduced bus service

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency announced Monday which bus routes will continue running this week. The information comes on the heels of a Sunday announcement that the agency is slashing a majority of service this week due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

By Wednesday, only 17 Muni lines will operate out of the nearly 70 regularly offered. Transit officials said augmented service will prioritize essential workers, including healthcare workers, and low-income neighborhoods where ridership patterns have shown the greatest need.

The transit agency will roll out service changes Tuesday and Wednesday. Seven lines will be cut Tuesday: 2-Clement, 3-Jackson, 5-Fulton, 7-Haight/Noriega, 10-Townsend, 21-Hayes and 31-Balboa.

The only bus lines available by Wednesday will be: N-Judah, L-Taraval, T-Third, 1-California, 8-Bayshore, 9-San Bruno, 14-Mission, 14R-Mission, 19-Polk, 22-Fillmore, 24-Divisadero, 25-Treasure Island, 29-Sunset, 38-Geary, 38R-Geary, 44-O’Shaughnessy and 49-Van Ness/Mission lines.

Despite ridership decline, the transit agency said it has aimed to meet the needs of approximately 100,000 essential workers, including nurses, custodians and grocery store staff.

However, the SFMTA said they expect to see an over 40 percent reduction in operator staff this week.

Jeffrey Tumlin, the SFMTA’s director of transportation, tweeted Sunday:

“I never thought I’d say this: Please don’t take Muni if you have other options. Muni is only for essential workers + trips. We’re short >30% of operators. Monday will be a mess. To maintain service on workhorse lines, we need to eliminate many low ridership lines starting Tuesday.”

Tumlin added that staff worked all weekend to devise the new schedule, a process that normally would have taken four months to create.

More information about upcoming service changes can be found on the SFMTA’s website.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.