The Transit Effectiveness Project (TEP) is an 18-month project to review, evaluate, and make recommendations on the existing Muni transit system, with the goals of making service more attractive to the public and stabilizing operating costs.

About Muni

The San Francisco Municipal Railway (“Muni”), founded in 1912, is the largest public transit system in Northern California and the seventh largest in the nation. A combination of electric trolley coaches, modern light rail vehicles, historic streetcars, buses, alternative fuel vehicles and the world famous cable cars comprises Muni’s fleet of 1,000 vehicles. It has 79 lines and over 5,000 bus stops, giving people access to locations throughout San Francisco.

Muni’s transit network was redesigned in 1979 as a radial grid system, consisting of rail and bus lines that extend throughout the City, with cross-town routes that give people direct access to non-downtown destinations. Lines are spaced ½-mile apart, and all residential locations are within ¼-mile of a route. The system provides frequent service and long service hours.

Why do we need the Transit Effectiveness Project?

It has been over 25 years since the last comprehensive review of San Francisco’s transit system. The Muni transit system faces many challenges including changing travel patterns, increasing costs, and operational and physical constraints that affect on-time performance.

Changing Transit Trends

• Fewer San Francisco residents take public transit to work.
• More city residents commute to other counties.
• Residential and business development has increased in various areas in the City, such as Mission Bay and Rincon Hill.
• More city residents own cars.
• City streets are more congested.

Increasing Costs of Providing Service

• Fuel, employee wages and benefits, and service start-up costs are higher.
• Revenues have remained either flat or decreasing.
• Budget deficits are projected for the next 20 years.

While the transit system has served the City well over the years, these challenges highlight the need for system-wide improvements. The TEP will evaluate how well the network serves riders today, why others don’t use it at all, and short and long-term ways we can enhance the system, increase ridership, and lower costs.

What’s the process? Who’s involved?

To learn more about the studies and plans involved, specific tasks, and the project timeline view the TEP Process. To learn more about who is involved, including the various committees and working groups, view Meetings.

To find out additional information, view Frequently Asked Questions.

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