Transportation

Mayor Breed believes people in San Francisco need safe, reliable, and convenient transportation options, regardless of whether they walk, bike, take Muni or drive. During her time in office, Mayor Breed has championed a transportation system that supports the city’s economy, our workforce, and families through major infrastructure upgrades, street redesign and improvements.

Mayor Breed has led during a transformative time for Muni, which is more reliable now than in decades. Major subway delays are down 76% since 2019 and short delays are down 89%. During her time in Office, SFMTA has painted red, transit-only lanes on major Muni lines to allow buses to bypass traffic congestion and stay on schedule including on: California St, Mission St, Geary Blvd, and Van Ness, where travel times are up to 35% faster. Customer satisfaction ratings for Muni also reached their highest levels in 20 years.

San Francisco’s 100+-year-old road infrastructure no longer fully meets the City’s needs, and Mayor Breed ensured that safety is at the center of all our street projects during her time in Office. Due to updates made under her administration, San Francisco is now one of the safest large cities in the U.S. for pedestrians and bicyclists, with the lowest number of bicyclist fatalities per bicycle commuter and second lowest number of pedestrian fatalities per walking commuters, according to the League of American Bicyclists.

Mayor Breed led the City’s efforts to repave its roads and continue to improve road conditions citywide, bringing the city’s road ratings higher than any other major Bay Area city. By continuing to invest local and state funding in these measures, she ensured that roads are smoother for drivers, transit riders, and cyclists across the city.

The pandemic showed how critical our open spaces are for the health of our communities, which is why Mayor Breed created the Shared Spaces and Slow Streets programs to reimagine how we use our public spaces to help support our local businesses and provide families access to outdoor spaces. Mayor Breed spearheaded the legislation to convert JFK Drive into a promenade to expand our City’s access to open, recreational space, and led the effort to convert the Great Highway from vehicular traffic to a shared space. Mayor Breed oversaw the SFMTA’s quick-build program that delivered over 27 street safety projects including over 20 miles of new protected bike lanes which help make our streets safer for everyone.

Public Transportation

Mayor Breed has prioritized and enhanced San Francisco’s transit-first policy to ensure our public transportation moves as many people as possible. Under Mayor Breed’s leadership, Muni is cleaner, it is safer, and it is more reliable than it’s been in decades. Muni routes on Van Ness, 16th Street and Mission St have higher ridership now than before the pandemic. Travel time for these routes has been reduced by up to 30%.

SFMTA — Muni

Muni Forward

Mayor Breed oversaw the implementation of Muni Forward, improvements to provide sustainable, transformative change to San Francisco’s public transit system. The SFMTA has built 100 miles of reliability improvements to keep Muni moving — with upgrades like red transit lanes, bus bulbs for faster boarding and traffic signals that stay green for transit.

• In just four years, SFMTA added over 22 miles of new or upgraded transit lanes, bringing the total to more than 75 miles, marking the fastest expansion of transit priority in San Francisco’s history.
• The most frequent buses are arriving on time 90% of the time, decreasing gaps and increasing reliability

Transit Affordability has improved under Mayor Breed. Through multiple efforts, the SFMTA prioritized equity in restoring and adjusting Muni service after the pandemic and made improvements to serve people who relied on transit the most, including suspending fare increases through July 2022 to make transportation more accessible to low-income San Franciscans during the pandemic.

• Mayor Breed oversaw SFMTA’s implementation of providing Free Muni for all youth, 18 years and younger, regardless of household income level and residency. The program is a result of Mayor Breed’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, which included $2 million to fund the program for 12 months, also eliminating the requirement for families or households to submit an application with proof of age and self-certification of income.
• Free Muni for Seniors, Free Muni for People with Disabilities, and Access Pass for people experiencing homelessness, and a Lifeline Pass for customers on a limited income have continued under Mayor Breed.
• Oversaw the partnership with Chase Center to provide ticketholders a free Muni ride.
• SFMTA overhauled their digital ticketing under Mayor Breed’s administration, now riders can use Clipper loaded on their Apple Wallet or the Muni Mobile app.

Public Safety on Muni was a top priority of Mayor Breed’s administration as she led the SFMTA to expand safety ambassador programs, install public safety cameras, and introduce new workforce development partnerships to monitor and clean Muni and BART stations.

• Muni has 13,000 high-quality video cameras on vehicles, in stations and at transit facilities, and video footage is shared with the police when a crime occurs.
• Mayor Breed oversaw the implementation and growth of Muni Transit Ambassadors, community members with deep ties to their neighborhoods, who ride Muni routes and are trained in conflict resolution to assist customers, address any conflicts, prevent acts of vandalism, and assist bus operators.
• Muni ratings have improved under Mayor Breed’s administration. 71% of Muni riders and 61% of all respondents approve of the job the SFMTA is doing, according to their 2023 survey.
• Mayor Breed ensured that her Citywide Ambassador program expansion included having these ambassadors not only around our transit stations but inside them and partnering with BART to fund more station attendants in our stations to provide a positive presence, give directions, and offer basic help to transit riders.

Biking / Pedestrian

San Francisco’s 100+-year-old road infrastructure no longer fully meets the City’s needs, and Mayor Breed ensured that safety is at the center of all our street projects during her time in Office. Due to updates made under her administration, San Francisco is now one of the safest large cities in the U.S. for pedestrians and bicyclists, with the lowest number of bicyclist fatalities per bicycle commuter and second lowest number of pedestrian fatalities per walking commuters, according to the League of American Bicyclists.

• Mayor Breed streamlined the installation of Speed Safety cameras, traffic calming elements, like speed humps and sidewalk bump-outs to slow traffic and ensured that San Francisco was the first to lower our own speed limits after AB 43 went into effect in January 2022. San Francisco led the state in implementing lower speed limits citywide, including lowering limits to 20 mph on 44 miles of streets on 62 corridors.
• After a No Right Turn on Red pilot led to an 80% reduction in close calls and a 70% reduction in vehicles blocking a crosswalk, SFMTA expanded the policy to downtown and the financial district. Mayor Breed directed the SFMTA to bring forward a No Turn on Red plan and policy to the SFMTA Board that prioritizes the treatment at the most dangerous intersections, plus intersections near schools, parks, and areas with high pedestrian volumes citywide.
• Of the 41 miles of protected bike lanes recently built, 72% of which were built under Mayor Breed’s leadership. 32 miles of Slow Streets, and seven miles of car-free streets, Shelly Drive in McLaren Park to JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park.
• Bicycle injuries and fatality totals are down in recent years, decreased by 50% in the last four years. In 2023, bike fatalities were at a historic low in San Francisco, under Mayor Breed’s leadership.
• Since 2020, when vehicular traffic has been restricted on Market Street, significant safety improvements have been made for people who walk and bike, as well as in Muni travel times and reliability along Market. Mayor Breed directed staff and departments to work directly with stakeholders to address specific concerns around lack of vehicle access — such as ensuring clear, comfortable and safe pick-up zones for rideshare apps. Mayor Breed is currently working with Ride Hail companies on additional passenger zones and working with taxis on dispatching after late evening shows.

Road Repaving

Mayor Breed oversaw San Francisco’s leadership in road repaving — leading to conditions that were better than any other major Bay Area city. In the last decade, about 60% of the City’s nearly 13,000 blocks have been resurfaced. The effort has paid off. San Francisco’s Pavement Condition Index score, which is tracked by the independent Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), rates roads from 0 to 100, with 0 being the worst, rutted and crumbling, and 100 the best, just freshly paved. In 2009, the City’s cumulative score was 63; today, it’s 74, which is considered “good.”

JFK Promenade

In Spring of 2022, Mayor Breed introduced legislation to make JFK Promenade a permanent part of Golden Gate Park and it was approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in April, 2022. This groundbreaking effort made one of the most transformative COVID-19-era street changes permanent. What was once a dangerous street has been transformed into a place for people, community, art, music and, of course, more rollerskating. The result is a more inclusive and joyful experience in San Francisco’s beloved Golden Gate Park.

Shared Spaces

Mayor Breed created the Shared Spaces program during the pandemic to convert sidewalks, parking spaces and entire blocks into commercial or shared uses. The program became an economic lifeline during the COVID pandemic, allowing merchants, restaurants and arts and culture organizations to use the parking spaces and the sidewalk to conduct local business activities and stay afloat. Parklets and commercial shared space block parties continue to bring people together and enliven our streets.

Slow Streets

During the pandemic, the SFMTA’s Slow Streets program reinvisioned some residential streets as shared places for people to safely walk, bike, socialize and reduce the stress of living in a global pandemic. Neighborhoods soon embraced the Slow Streets as they became filled with kids playing, students biking to school, and neighbors chatting. Most of all, they became places for communities to come together. Today, Slow Streets are a permanent part of San Francisco’s transportation network as more comfortable residential streets to walk and bike on, and spaces for community to play and come together.

In the second year of the program, the ~33 miles of Slow Streets across San Francisco continued to serve communities and provide safe places to walk, bike, and roll. Two additional major Slow Streets include Twin Peaks Blvd North and Shelley Dr in McLaren Park.

Quick Builds

In addition to JFK in 2019, the Mayor worked with the SFMTA to streamline street safety projects, which led to the creation of the Quick-Build Program, which uses low-cost reversible tools such as paint, signs, and posts to install street safety improvements faster and at lower costs. Since the program was formalized in 2019, the City has completed 28 corridor projects and at least 15 more are in the planning and design phase. Altogether, these projects account for over 70 miles of traffic safety improvements throughout San Francisco.

Policy Leadership

Autonomous Vehicle: Innovation is at the heart of San Francisco, and as such, Mayor Breed embraces emerging technologies. Technology is transforming transit, including through autonomous vehicles, speed safety cameras, and automated license plate readers.

Speed Safety Cameras: Mayor Breed is committed to ensuring San Francisco was the first city in the State to implement speed safety cameras. On October 13, 2023, Governor Newsom signed California State Assembly Bill 645 into law, allowing six cities, including San Francisco, to pilot a speed safety camera program beginning on January 1, 2024. The SFMTA will install 33 speed safety cameras throughout the city along the High Injury Network. Any revenue from fines that are issued to drivers who are speeding will be used to cover the costs of the program and to calm traffic.

EV Charging: To welcome the new era of electric vehicles, Mayor Breed initiated a series of programs and law changes, including mandating EV charging in commercial parking garages, changing laws to enable EV charging infrastructure citywide, and launching the City’s first EV Roadmap convening stakeholders to promote sustainable mobility in San Francisco and reduce air pollution. The actions developed in the Roadmap are helping ensure the electrification of the transportation sector and enable the City to meet its ambitious greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Securing Grant Funding: Mayor Breed has worked with the SFMTA to secure over $660m in competitive grant funds from regional, state and federal sources to modernize and advance our transportation infrastructure and operations. Some of the most critical grants include (a full table of grants received can be found in Appendix I) to upgrade and modernize Muni’s floppy disk train operations, rebuild Howard Street into a safer, more beautiful street for all users, operate the new and free Bayview Shuttle, and expand late night Muni service and accessible Taxi services.

Milestone Infrastructure Projects

Under Mayor Breed’s leadership, the SFMTA has undertaken major infrastructure upgrades and improvements including:

• Central Subway: This project expanded access to the SFMTA’s underground lines to Chinatown via the T Third Line. Residents in Chinatown now have better access to Union Square, Yerba Buena, and the 4th and King Caltrain station before traveling above ground to Visitacion Valley, Bayview, SoMa and other neighborhoods in the southeastern portion of San Francisco. Each station features public art that depicts the residents, histories and character of the station neighborhoods.
• Van Ness Bus Rapid Transit: The massive project transformed Van Ness Avenue into a multimodal boulevard akin to transportation thoroughfares in cities around the world. Since the Van Ness BRT launched, Van Ness buses are faster and more reliable than ever. Ridership on the 49 Van Ness/Mission has reached and exceeded pre-pandemic ridership, and travel times have improved by 35%, shaving up to nine minutes off a transit ride. Thousands of new trees and sidewalk lighting make the experience far more enjoyable for everyone.
• Geary Bus Rapid Transit: This project introduced red transit-only lanes to Geary Blvd and was a three-year capital project completed on schedule and on budget. With new transit lanes, transit signal priority, optimized bus stop locations and bus bulb-outs, the 38 Geary is faster now, with up to 18% shorter bus travel times and a 37% improvement in reliability. The SFMTA partnered with other City agencies to bring much-needed improvements to Geary, including: DPW sponsored roadway repaving upgraded 1.5 miles of deteriorated streets; PUC-sponsored work replaced or rehabilitated 1.5 miles of aging sewer lines and two miles of water lines; Department of Technology-co-sponsored installation of 1.75 miles of underground conduits for fiber optic cables to provide internet services and connect traffic signals.
• L Taraval: Taraval now has new transit priority traffic signals, bulb-outs to make pedestrian crossings safer, new trees, high visibility crosswalks, safety boarding islands and increased accessibility. Mayor Breed’s administration ensured the project was designed to address the concerns of residents and riders of the L Taraval who find boarding the train dangerous. Her administration also worked with local merchants on Taraval to address and provide grants to businesses impacted by the construction.
• Bay Ferry: Mayor Breed oversaw the successful award of $55 million in grant funds by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Port of San Francisco and San Francisco Bay Ferry to complete the nation’s first-ever high-speed zero-emission ferry network connecting critical transportation hubs. This investment will build out a zero-emission network that connects the communities served by SF Bay Ferry, including Oakland, Richmond, Vallejo and Alameda. These projects will accelerate a new standard for clean ferries nationwide and serve as a training platform for the Bay Area’s maritime workforce development program.