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2/6/2024
Muni ridership rose 25% year over year in 2023, reaching an average of 433,000 weekday riders, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) recently announced.
The agency’s ridership continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ended last year at 71% of pre-pandemic (2019) ridership. Weekday ridership has reached 68% of its 2019 level, while weekend ridership has climbed to 86% of that level, SFMTA officials said in a news release.
Prior to the pandemic, downtown commutes were the backbone of Muni’s ridership. But with the subsequent shift to remote work, Muni has adapted its service to reflect changing ridership patterns, focusing on connecting neighborhoods, SFMTA officials said.
Ridership on five routes now exceeds pre-pandemic levels and nearly half of all Bay Area transit trips are taken on Muni, according to SFMTA data.
While ridership is increasing, service delays are dropping. Since 2019, major subway delays have fallen 76% and short delays have plummeted by 89%. Meanwhile, headway adherence — ensuring that trains and buses are evenly spaced — rose 6% from 2022's level.