© 2024 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

SF To Increase Most Public Transit Fares

Flickr Creative Commons / AgentAkit
Muni Clipper Ticketing Machine - Powell Station

 

The SFMTA Board of Directors voted unanimously, on Tuesday, to increase MUNI fares by the end of this year.

 

The change won’t impact cash fares, which are more likely to be used by low-income residents. But, it does mean rides will cost more with a Clipper card.

Agency director Jeffrey Tumlin said the increases were necessary to continue paying transit workers a living wage and avoid layoffs.

“Many people will be paying a higher fare, but that increase in fare will hit vulnerable populations the least,” Tumlin said. “And we’ll be able to deliver MUNI service to the people who need it the most.”

The Board of Supervisors and several community groups opposed the fare increase. Some critics note that many San Franciscans rely on public transit to purchase groceries and get to essential jobs.

And, according to SFMTA data, 30% of Clipper card users are low-income.

Ozzy Llinas Goodman is a freelance writer and journalist based in Berkeley. Their reporting interests include the uses and policing of public space, underground communities and solidarity economies, and other topics related to human movement, urban space, and civil rights.