SEC. 8A.108. FARE CHANGES AND ROUTE ABANDONMENTS.
§ 8A.108
The Municipal Railway (Muni) must submit proposed fare changes and route abandonments to the Board of Supervisors for approval, either as part of the budget process or separately; the Board can reject them by a seven-elevenths vote. Muni must base fare proposals on five criteria including operational needs, strategic goals, alternative funding sources, keeping fares affordable, and gradual increases to match inflation.
When Muni wants to raise fares or stop running a bus or cable car line, it has to tell the Board of Supervisors first. The Board can say no by voting seven to four against the change. When deciding whether to raise fares, Muni must think about: whether it needs more money to run and maintain service, whether the increase helps meet its service goals, whether it looked for other ways to get money, whether higher fares might discourage riders, and whether it's better to raise fares a little bit at a time rather than all at once after years of no changes. If Muni wants to abandon a route (stop service on a line) outside of the regular budget process, it must propose it to the Board and hold a public hearing; the Board can reject it within 30 days by a seven-elevenths vote.
- Complex:The interaction between subsection (a)'s two different rejection procedures (one for general changes, one for strategic route evaluations) and subsection (c)'s separate process for mid-year route abandonments creates multiple pathways that may be unclear to readers.
- Controversial:Fare increases and service cuts are politically contentious; the criteria in subsection (b) reflect genuine tensions (affordability vs. operational need, gradual increases vs. avoiding long gaps).
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, any proposed change in fares or route abandonments shall be submitted to the Board of Supervisors as part of the Agency's budget or as a budget amendment under Section 8A.106, and may be rejected at that time by a seven-elevenths vote of the Board on the budget or budget amendment. Any changes in fares or route abandonments proposed by the Agency specifically to implement a program of service changes identified in a system-wide strategic route and service evaluation such as the Transit Effectiveness Project may only be rejected by a single seven-elevenths' vote of the Board of Supervisors on the budget or budget amendment.
(b) The Agency shall base any proposed change in Municipal Railway fares on the following criteria:
1. The Municipal Railway's need for additional funds for operations and capital improvements and optimal maintenance of assets.
2. The extent to which the increase is necessary to meet the goals, objectives, and performance standards previously established by the Agency pursuant to Section 8A.103.
3. The extent to which the Agency has diligently sought other sources of funding for the operations and capital improvements of the Municipal Railway.
4. The need to keep Municipal Railway fares low to encourage maximum patronage.
5. The need to increase fares gradually over time to keep pace with inflation and avoid large fare increases after extended periods without a fare increase.
(c) For purposes of this Article, a "route abandonment" shall mean the permanent termination of service along a particular line or service corridor where no reasonably comparable substitute service is offered. If the Agency proposes to abandon a route at any time other than as part of the budget process as provided in Section 8A.106, it shall first submit the proposal to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors may, after a noticed public hearing, reject the proposed route abandonment by a seven-elevenths vote of its members taken within 30 days after the proposal is submitted by the Agency.
(Added November 1999; Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/6/2007)