Mayor Lurie Announces Plan To Tackle Fare Evasion On Public Transit, Make Muni More Accountable

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today announced a new effort to address fare evasion on Muni, as part of his commitment to building a stronger long-term financial future for the system and a more accountable San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). The new initiative will expand Muni’s transit fare inspector team to strengthen enforcement and encourage fare payment by riders. It will also transition riders to more visible forms of payment and improve data collection to effectively reduce fare evasion—all helping protect Muni service despite significant fiscal challenges.

The work to strengthen fare enforcement on Muni continues Mayor Lurie’s work with SFMTA to deliver a safer, more accessible, and more accountable Muni. In April, the SFMTA board of directors approved a balanced two-year budget for Fiscal Years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 that prioritizes financial accountability and efficiency improvements, fare compliance, and other sources of revenue generation to preserve Muni services and programs. Since 2020, the SFMTA has identified approximately $246 million in cost savings as part of an agency-wide effort to maximize efficiencies and cost savings.

“We know that Muni is facing serious financial challenges—but we’re not standing still. We have taken decisive steps to ensure Muni is operating efficiently, approving a balanced two-year budget that prioritizes financial accountability and identifying hundreds of millions in cost savings,” said Mayor Lurie. “Today, we are launching a strong, clear approach to fare compliance across Muni that will help generate critical revenue and strengthen trust between riders and the system. By hiring more fare inspectors and making payments simple and clear, we're ensuring San Francisco's comeback is powered by a strong, reliable Muni system that connects our neighborhoods, our workers, and our economy.”

The SFMTA projects that fares will generate $128 million in the current fiscal year, which is $14 million more than expected in the budget. Some of that increase can be attributed to ridership growth and modest fare changes, and the agency estimates that $5 million will come from improved fare compliance. Fare compliance-driven revenue increases will continue to be a key measure of the success of fare compliance efforts.

To build on this progress, the new plan outlines several key efforts, including immediate steps to achieve results within the first 100 days, as well as a roadmap for improvements over the next six months and beyond. The plan will expand enforcement capacity and raise public awareness:

• SFMTA will take immediate action to increase the number of transit fare inspectors by almost 30% by hiring 17 new staff members to supplement the existing complement of 59 inspectors.
• Fare inspectors have seen improved productivity in recent years, with the total number of inspections up 39% in the last 12 months compared to the previous year.
• SFMTA will remind riders to pay the fare through new public messaging in Muni stations and on vehicles as part of the “Don’t Be a Dodger” campaign.

“Muni is a lifeline for many people, connecting them to schools, jobs, healthcare, and other essential daily needs, and fare compliance is central to Muni’s future,” said SFMTA Director of Transportation Julie Kirschbaum. “We can’t afford to sustain Muni service without people paying their fare. With more transit fare inspectors visible across the system, we expect this to help significantly in our work to curb fare evasion.”

“Fare evasion is a serious challenge for Muni as its works to bring its financial challenges under control. We need to ensure Muni can recover the appropriate fares from its users, and that everybody who’s eligible is signed up and using our many reduced fare programs,” said State Senator Scott Wiener. “I applaud Mayor Lurie and SFMTA for tackling this problem head on with their new initiative.”

“The access provided by Muni is a core part of San Francisco's recovery,” said Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman. “At this critical moment for transit in the Bay Area, it's more important than ever that people pay their fares. I commend the Mayor and SFMTA for these measures that will simplify payment and strengthen compliance, helping Muni provide the service San Franciscans rely on.”

Transit fare inspectors serve multiple roles in the Muni system. They support fare compliance through their visibility on the system, which discourages fare evasion, and they issue citations to riders who cannot produce a valid proof of payment when asked. They also contribute to a better customer experience by assisting riders during major events, deterring poor behavior, and serving as ambassadors to help riders navigate Muni.

“I feel like most riders see us not just as people who give out citations, but as staff who help create a safer environment on Muni,” said SFMTA Supervising Fare Inspector V. Lujan. “With the possibility of deep cuts to our service, it’s more important than ever for riders to pay their fair share to keep Muni moving.”

The SFMTA estimates that nearly half of all trips on Muni do not result in any form of payment, with up to a quarter involving actual fare evasion. Because Muni has multiple fare payment options that do not always require tapping a Clipper card, accurately measuring fare compliance can be challenging.
As part of its plan to strengthen fare enforcement, SFMTA will move most fare programs onto Clipper as part of a regional transition. Riders will need to tap a Clipper Card or a debit or credit card to pay. These upgrades, along with Muni-specific policy changes, will improve data on how people pay, reduce guesswork in measuring fare evasion, and support more consistent tapping by riders.

With better data, SFMTA can better target enforcement and education to the riders who need it most. Most riders already pay—but when that payment isn’t visible, it can create the impression that others are not doing their part. Making payment visible sets clearer expectations, strengthens enforcement, and builds trust in the system.

“As transit agencies face an unprecedented fiscal crisis, we applaud the steps SFMTA has taken to identify and implement efficiency measures to reduce costs without compromising service,” said Emily Loper, Bay Area Council Senior Vice President of Public Policy. “This is another critical step in this direction to recover more revenue to build the best Muni service that riders deserve.”

SFMTA will continue making Muni accessible through a range of free and reduced fare programs for youth 18 and under, seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income residents. These programs are essential for many riders, including 14,000 San Francisco Unified School District students who rely on Muni to get to school each day.

“The free and reduced programs that Muni provides for our seniors, students and low-income community members are valuable resources so many people rely on,” said Jon Hee, Chair of the Chinatown Transportation Research and Improvement Project. “We thank the mayor and Muni for taking the bolder steps to bring about more accountability. We all need to pay our fair share.”

SFMTA will also continue working to enroll eligible San Franciscans by tabling at community events, improving outreach and communication, and partnering with organizations that serve these communities.

The transit fare inspector team communicates in all federally required Title VI languages and more. Members of the team are fluent in multiple languages other than English, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian, and Swahili. Additionally, the transit fare inspector team will continue to utilize language assistance resources and carry multilingual information with them on duty.