Muni rider satisfaction at 20-year high in new SFMTA survey

Muni riders’ satisfaction in 2023 was its highest in more than 20 years, according to a survey released Monday.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said 72% of surveyed Muni riders rated service as “good” or “excellent,” an increase of six percentage points from 2022 and the highest rating since The City began conducting the annual surveys in 2001.

Jeffrey Tumlin, SFMTA’s director of transportation , said in a statement that “Muni’s crews have made our main lines faster, more frequent, cleaner and more reliable than they’ve been in decades.”

“Our passengers have noticed, with neighborhood ridership exceeding pre-COVID levels and approval ratings best we’ve seen in over two decades,” he said.

Officials conducted more than 550 phone interviews between February and April of this year in three languages — English, Spanish and Chinese — with residents who had used Muni within the last three years.

The survey found that 63% of riders were satisfied with Muni’s frequency of service, which was up from 51% in the year prior. Sixty percent of respondents considered reliability and on-time performance to be “excellent” or “good,” which was up from 47% in 2022.

Respondents also expressed greater satisfaction with trip time (69%) and arrival estimates (64%) than in 2022 (64% and 49%, respectively).

SFMTA officials touted the agency’s improvements on the heels of key Muni lines surpassing pre-pandemic levels of ridership earlier this year. The agency on Monday said that Muni Rapid bus lines have reached 116% of pre-pandemic ridership. Recent efforts have expanded service to neighborhoods including the Presidio, Bayview and Mission Bay.

Officials said the agency has focused on improving rider experience. Major subway delays — when service is affected for 20 minutes or longer — have dropped 76% since 2019, according to agency data. Short delays, considered to be 10 minutes or less, have decreased by 89%.

The SFMTA said it has also increased the number of staff and cameras in stations to deter illegal activity and help the police department address issues as they come up. Officials said the agency is also renewing its focus on protecting operators from harassment and threats.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman , who is also the chair of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, said in a statement that The City’s future “depends on being able to deliver safe, reliable and abundant public transportation.”

“Even in the challenging post-COVID environment, the City has been able to prioritize investments in transit and these survey results vindicate those investments,” he said.

Mayor London Breed expressed similar optimism, saying in a release that “riders are recognizing our focused investment and efforts to bring Muni back and make it reliable, safe and clean.”

“An efficient and reliable Muni is essential for driving our economy, supporting workers and connecting residents across neighborhoods,” she said.

The Muni customer satisfaction survey results were released nearly two weeks after city officials and the Muni operators’ union agreed to a new three-year contract , which goes into effect July 1. The new agreement raises operators’ wages 13% over the next three years, with a separate 1% wage increase also taking effect that same day and another on July 1, 2025.

Full results of the survey, which was conducted by the research firm Corey Canapary & Galanis, will be released next month.