On June 21, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA or Muni) will begin cutting services in response to $50 million budget cuts. SFMTA funding — which comes from parking meters, transportation revenue, grants and payments from the city’s General Fund, which is supported by local taxes — decreased after the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, SFMTA’s expenditures have increased as a result of inflation and new expenses, leaving the agency in a budget deficit.

Projections for the 2026-27 fiscal year estimate a $320 million Muni budget deficit, which pressures Muni officials to reduce their spending. To provide reliable services to San Franciscans given their current resources, the SFMTA chose to shorten the 5 Fulton, 9 San Bruno and 31 Balboa lines. Additionally, the 6 Haight-Parnassus and 21 Hayes lines will be combined, with all of these service cuts beginning in June. They have also increased prices at all parking meters by at least 25 cents per hour.

Many students rely on SFMTA buses for transportation in their day-to-day lives. Jin Valencia-Tow ’25 frequently rides the bus, including the 5, 6 and 21 bus lines, which will all be affected by budget cuts. “I use buses every single day,” he said. “It’s helped me be connected to other places in the city. And it’s been able to [help me] form bridges with other parts of the city and other neighborhoods.”

According to a survey conducted by The Urban Legend, the SFMTA provides transportation to more than 86% of the 165 responders one or more days per week. With changes to Muni buses due to budget cuts, students must adapt their current routes to school or find alternative modes of transportation. 

Many people at Urban are unaware of these budget cuts. In the survey, almost 50% of respondents reported not knowing about the SFMTA’s budget cuts.

“[I know] kind of embarrassingly little. I know that they’re happening, and I know more anecdotal information from people, … but nothing into the weeds of it,” Ella Pradhan ’27 said.

Kari Kiernan, assistant to the head of school, recently stopped riding the bus as often due to the buses’ unreliable schedules. Still, she believes Muni buses offer more than just transportation. “I felt a real sense of community on the bus that I [haven’t] experienced before,” she said. “I had so many conversations with people I would never have had any other reason to speak to. I found it kind of amazing. It was such a reflection on the city in general.”

Students often choose to ride Muni buses for reasons beyond convenience, including the environmental impact of riding buses rather than cars. According to SFMTA, transportation contributed to 44% of San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, 1% of which came from public transit and 68% of which came from cars and trucks. Laia Trachtenberg ’26 said, “It’s a seven-by-seven-mile city. So I feel like in terms of carbon emissions, driving [and] how local everything is, a 15 minute Muni [ride] is so much more worth it than a five-minute drive.”

Rideshares are often seen as a more environmentally-friendly option than driving their own cars. “Rideshare is not a viable option for everyone. It’s expensive,” Kiernan said. “Having a vibrant robust public transportation system is so important to a big city, [and] particularly elderly people. Elderly and disabled people rely on this. These are people who are not driving, and, in many cases, could never afford to.”

For students who can’t afford rideshares or make their own way to school, Muni buses are their only option. With recent SFMTA cuts, some of these students are now rethinking their dependence on Muni programs that support youth living in San Francisco. “[If the] Free Muni For Youth program, [which allows youth under the age of 18 to ride buses free of charge,] was cut, that would be very unfortunate for the thousands of youth that rely on free Muni every day, including myself,” Valencia-Tow said.

The Urban community and San Franciscans at large depend on Muni buses in their day-to-day lives. In April, SFMTA reported more than half a million people ride Muni buses on an average weekday. Pradhan said, “These cuts directly affect people. Transportation is everything. If you can’t get somewhere, you can’t go there.”