Muni service satisfaction reached a new record among riders surveyed last year, with 78 percent of riders rating the service as either excellent or good, an improvement from 2024, when the overall rating was 72 percent.
The survey was conducted by Corey, Canapary & Galanis research firm last year between Sept. 26 and Dec. 7 through telephone and online surveys with 563 people. The interviews were conducted in English, Chinese, and Spanish. The survey result is the highest customer satisfaction rating for Muni since the survey began in 2021, according to the survey report.
“These results confirm that focusing on core service fundamentals works,” said Julie Kirschbaum, director of transportation for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), in a statement. “When we make service more reliable and frequent, and when we improve cleanliness and safety, riders respond,” she added.
The survey showed slightly better ratings in reliability, cleanliness, and trips taken with a reasonable amount of time. Muni also saw gains in the category of providing accurate vehicle arrival time estimates, with a 70 percent rating of excellent or good, up from 64 percent in the prior year.
“We’re already delivering greater accountability and efficiency for Muni with ridership continuing to climb toward pre-pandemic levels, and these record-high satisfaction ratings show that riders are noticing Muni’s safe, clean vehicles that deliver reliable service across the city,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a statement.
The higher satisfaction rating comes as the SFMTA is facing a $307 million budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year and could grow larger in the future. City leaders and transit advocates are working to place two ballot measures on the November ballot to fund Muni and prevent potential service cuts, including up to 20 Muni routes and reduced hours of service.
Transit advocates and organizations have already kicked off the “Connect Bay Area” campaign, a regional sales tax that, if passed by voters, would generate a $1 billion that would be split among Bay Area transit systems, such as Muni, BART and AC Transit. Muni is estimated to receive $155 million annually from the sales tax revenue.
Proponents for a local parcel tax in the city will kick off the “Stronger Muni for All” campaign on Tuesday at Dolores Park. The campaign said last month that it plans to collect signatures to place the measure on the November ballot.
If passed by voters, the parcel tax would generate $150 annually for Muni and $10 million for service improvements, according to the SFMTA.