Let’s Keep Winning For Riders
Give today to build the future of transit we need
This year, SFTR advocated for increased transit funding in the California state budget and successfully turned the Governor’s proposed 2 billion dollar cut into 5 billion dollars of transit funding. We also fought for improved Muni service on Geary and Sunset Boulevards and convened the Transit Justice Coalition to better understand communities’ transit needs citywide. This year’s Transit Month comprised over 40 events and more than 17,000 trips logged as part of our Ride Contest, and most recently, we gathered over 300 community voices to oppose a proposed charter amendment that would’ve made it harder to fund Muni, leading Supervisor Safaí to withdraw the amendment entirely. And we can’t stop now! We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build the foundations for the future of transit we need.
Supporting SFTR ensures that riders, particularly those living in neighborhoods that have often been excluded from transit planning and investment, will be front and center in the fight to fund Muni, restore service and create a more equitable, sustainable San Francisco.
Give today to make sure all riders are heard, and crucial transit funding is won, in 2024.
SFTR will continue to engage with riders across the city to ensure riders are front and center when it comes to transit decision-making in a way that builds trust and accountability for SFMTA and other government entities. In addition, our transit planning, funding and regional policy working groups ensure our actions center the needs of riders. This year, we released our Strategic Plan, setting the path and direction for our work through 2025.
Give today!
Help us meet our goal, and support our work for 2024.
Transit Rider Wins in 2023
We showed California what we could've lost if transit didn't receive its necessary funding
When the abysmal budget update from the Governor’s office early this year created a frenzy for transit agencies and riders alike, transit riders ingeniously orchestrated a funeral procession at City Hall to solemnly observe the death of transit. We, as constituents of Assemblymember Phil Ting’s district in San Francisco, diligently set out to make hundreds of calls. When we did that, we stemmed the tide of the $2 billion cuts to transit in the state budget into a $5 billion investment. Of course, Governor Newsom’s signing of the budget authorization while taking public transportation alongside Assemblymember Ting in a one-of-a-kind photo-op moment was a fitting ending to the eulogies that we had all observed earlier.
We advocated for improved Muni service throughout all of San Francisco
San Francisco Transit Riders’ own advocacy in San Francisco also joined hands with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to bring transit-only lanes and pedestrian safety improvements to the west side of Geary Boulevard, and to improve the reliability and efficiency of the 29-Sunset bus line by minimizing pass-ups and introducing a new late-night terminal. And where so urgently needed, we directed the agency’s attention to the Bayview senior residents’ long-standing transit needs.
We called our Supervisors to urge them to vote against the proposed charter amendment
Coming to a full circle was our advocacy’s pivotal and instrumental win in preserving SFMTA’s long-term structural autonomy with the recent withdrawal of the proposed Charter Amendment from Supervisor Ahsha Safai. As our Board Co-Chair Thea Selby puts it:
Supervisor Safai’s proposed charter amendment would have worsened governance of and accountability for Muni. There is no doubt in our minds that all of our members—calling/emailing/giving public comment to the Supervisors made a difference. This was a great example of how we can show San Francisco that the voice of the transit rider is mighty. The more we flex that muscle, the more we grow.
SFTR and Seamless Bay Area hosted our most successful Transit Month yet!
For our Transit Month celebration in September, we pushed the boundaries of our overall reach, cultivated new relationships with transit agencies and advocates from across the region, and struck a chord with dozens of riders here in the city who chose to become new SFTR members.
We helped young riders through Safe Routes to School
The Safe Routes to School partnership, an inaugural one for SFTR, is further cementing our understanding with the SFMTA, the San Francisco Unified School District, and our advocacy partners in directing resources and targeting new audiences toward a mode shift from cars to public transit.
“TNDC has worked with SFTR for several months, successfully collaborating on transit improvement efforts. SFTR has publicly supported TNDC’s Bring Back the 31 Action Committee and has worked diligently to make sure that transit riders’ needs are part of the discussion when projects are being designed and evaluated.”
-Jaime Viloria, Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation
“Senior and Disability Action and San Francisco Transit Riders have a long history of working together on transit issues, dating as far back to when the word Union was a part of the SFTR name. SFTR’s current support of our Gimme Shelter! campaign and their work on completely Restoring Muni services are just a couple examples of their commitment to make sure that all SF Transit Riders are not just here for the ride, they’re here to create their ride.”
-Pi Ra, Senior & Disability Action
“SFTR has been instrumental in making sure transit riders are heard when important decisions about transit priority improvements like bus lanes are being made.”
-Liz Brisson, proud SFTR member and SFMTA Major Corridors Planning Manager
Contact us
San Francisco Transit Riders
P.O. Box 193341, San Francisco, CA 94119
© 2018 San Francisco Transit Riders, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit