Muni Riders Celebrate Restoration of Critical Muni Lines After Two Year Battle

SAN FRANCISCO — Transit advocates, Supervisor Dean Preston, SFMTA, and the SF Recreation and Park Department came together Saturday to celebrate the return of the 21 at Steiner and Hayes on the corner of Alamo Square. The celebration came after two-plus years of advocacy by transit advocates and Supervisor Preston to bring back suspended Muni lines.

“Public transit is crucial to our City, and I am thrilled to celebrate the return of these essential bus lines, including the 21 Hayes, which provides access to Ida B.Wells High School, St. Mary’s hospital, and Golden Gate Park,” said Supervisor Preston, a lifelong everyday public transit rider. “This has been a challenging time for transit riders and for the workers who make Muni run. Thanks to the remarkable coalition of riders, operators, seniors, people with disabilities, and a broad range of transit advocates, these buses are rolling again.”

The restoration coalition emerged to confront what Supervisor Preston termed “de-facto route abandonment,” referring to the prolonged suspensions of many lines with no plans to restore them. At hearings held by Preston last year, advocates uncovered and exposed MTA documents showing the agency was considering permanent elimination of certain li nes that had been suspended in the pandemic. Preston authored a resolution passed by the Board of Supervisors demanding full restoration and a plan for bringing back all lines.

MTA held community sessions and in response to the feedback and organizing, eventually agreed to bring back lines including the 2, 6, 21, and 31. The organizing by transit advocates, included two hearings at the Government Audit and Oversight Committee, a Board of Supervisors Resolution demanding full restoration of Muni service, multiple rallies, hundreds of calls and emails calling for the restoration of the 2 Clement, 6 Parnassus, 10 Townsend, 21 Hayes, 5 Fulton, 43 Masonic, 23 Monterey, 8AX, 8BX, along with many other service improvements.

“Over a year ago, Tenderloin residents along with riders of the 31-Balboa worked together to advocate for its return and got it back, but in that group were riders who needed the 21-Hayes back, said Jaime Viloria, TNDC and Transit Riders Board member. “Through our advocacy, MTA made a commitment to restore as much transit as possible & despite the delay, we can now finally celebrate the partial return of the 21-Hayes.”

The 21 Hayes will run between Fulton and Shrader streets near St. Mary’s Hospital to Hyde and Grove streets, by Civic Center Station and the Main Library, restoring connections to the hospital. The former 21 Hayes route stopped at Fulton and 8th on evenings and weekends.

“This is a big step, but we still have much work to do,” said Supervisor Preston. “I look forward to continuing to work with advocates to champion efforts to restore and expand public transit across our City.”

For a complete list of today’s service restorations, visit SFMTA’s website.

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