Name: Muni rolls back fare increases after pressure from SF supervisors
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Muni rolls back fare increases after pressure from SF supervisors

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateSan Francisco’s transportation board has pulled back a 30-cent fare increase in a deal with two supervisors that followed months of jockeying in City Hall.In exchange, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Dean Preston withdrew a proposed charter amendment that would have stripped power from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, including its authority to decide fares.Speaking to reporters Wednesday outside the Kirkland bus yard — a big parking lot near Pier 39 where Muni stores its red-and-gray coaches — Peskin thanked his supervisor colleagues, city transportation chief Jeffrey Tumlin and the transit workers union for “coming to this Solomonic conclusion today.”The city’s transportation agency manages the whole universe of streets and transit in San Francisco, from Muni to parking, to major projects such as the Central Subway. This deal reflected the balance public officials and agencies must strike between raising revenue to plug massive financial gaps in budgets, and not further burdening residents who are already struggling.Tension has long stewed between the supervisors and the SFMTA board, whose directors are picked by the mayor. It erupted in April when the transportation board approved a budget that included a 30-cent Clipper card fare hike, amid a coronavirus pandemic and economic shutdown that caused severe financial hardship for many Muni riders.More for youThat increase, set to take effect Nov. 1, would have brought the cost of a single ride using a Clipper card from $2.50 to $2.80, but would not have increased the cash fare, which would have stayed at $3.Preston, who ran for office on a platform that included free Muni, saw the move as callous. He brokered the deal with the SFMTA, along with Peskin.“This is a transit-first city,” Preston said at the bus yard Wednesday, referring to a long-held principle that San Francisco leaders do everything possible to promote vehicles other than cars.“Even in these difficult times, we have to stay true to that,” he added. “... One thing we’ve been very clear on is we will not raise fares on struggling San Franciscans.”Gwyneth Borden, chair of the SFMTA board, said she and her colleagues could not have anticipated the job loss and devastation brought by COVID-19 when they first discussed the fare increases — .“We realize that now is a terrible time, and we are struggling as an agency as well,” Borden said, noting that officials had to help pull Muni out of its financial hole, so they wouldn’t have to lean on riders.The transit agency already faced a $60 million deficit before coronavirus gripped the region, and that estimate assumed fares would go up, said Jonathan Rewers, senior manager of budget, financial planning and analysis. Muni hemorrhaged this year and is projected to lose $300 million in the next two fiscal years.The supervisors offered to work with the mayor’s office on a possible ballot measure to raise funds for Muni, so that the agency won’t have to make cuts.Officials tried to strike a genial tone Wednesday, in spite of the fraught, emotional battle leading up to this deal. The supervisors had passed a resolution opposing Muni fare hikes in April, and several said they felt affronted when the transportation board ignored it.In May, the supervisors , an SFMTA board director who uses a wheelchair and had advocated for disabled passengers. Many observers saw her ouster as a retaliation. Some perceived Rubke as a casualty in ongoing clashes between the city’s executive and legislative branches.Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.Meanwhile, the supervisors twice postponed committee hearings for a San Francisco Bicycle Coalition member who would be the first trans woman on the transportation board, if confirmed. As a result of this delay, the board is now down to four directors, barely enough for a quorum. Borden joked Wednesday that she can no longer step away from a meeting to use the bathroom.Staff at the SFMTA said in February that they needed the additional fare revenue to pay for operating expenses. The agency receives at least $200 million a year from fares. SFMTA officials argued before the pandemic that fare increases were required to fund hiring bus and train operators, but as demand has fallen dramatically and will likely stay down for months if not years, more hiring might not be necessary.Yet COVID-19 also thrust the agency into its worst financial crisis since 1929, Tumlin said Wednesday. With riders peeling away, and losses climbing into the hundreds of millions, fare revenue provides a crucial lifeline.Moving forward, the agency will have to carefully steward its finances to avoid layoffs, Tumlin said. He thinks that’s possible, but it will require a thoughtful strategy. To that end, Roger Marenco, president of the local Transport Workers Union, said he is willing to sacrifice 10% of his paycheck so long as other city leaders follow suit. Peskin accepted the challenge.Over the next couple of weeks, SFMTA will revise its budget and gradually ramp up Muni service. People are already piling back on to buses — a standing-room crowd filled every seat and spilled into the doorways of the 8-Fisherman’s Wharf as it lurched through Chinatown Wednesday morning.As Tumlin navigates these challenges, he refused to be distracted by the City Hall tumult.“I’m a child of divorced parents,” he said. “I’m accustomed to operating in political environments where there is tension.”Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter:Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateSan Francisco’s transportation board has pulled back a 30-cent fare increase in a deal with two supervisors that followed months of jockeying in City Hall.In exchange, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Dean Preston withdrew a proposed charter amendment that would have stripped power from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, including its authority to decide fares.Speaking to reporters Wednesday outside the Kirkland bus yard — a big parking lot near Pier 39 where Muni stores its red-and-gray coaches — Peskin thanked his...

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Rachel Swan covers transportation for The Chronicle. She joined the paper in 2015 and has also reported on politics in Oakland and San Francisco.  Previously, Rachel held staff positions at the SF Weekly and the East Bay Express, where she covered technology, law and the arts. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in rhetoric from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Rachel Swan

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Muni rolls back fare increases after pressure from SF supervisors

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