A growing number of travelers are returning to San Francisco’s primary public transit network.
According to a recent social media post from the San Francisco Municipal Railway, aka Muni, ridership figures in May 2026 saw a sizeable rebound to pre-pandemic figures.
Muni recorded an average of 538,000 weekday trips during the month of May, the third-highest monthly total since the coronavirus pandemic, officials said. Of that figure, 126,000 weekday trips were on the Muni rail system—the single-highest number since the coronavirus pandemic completely reshaped how people move and utilize public transit.
But it wasn’t just weekday ridership that saw a surge. Muni says its weekend ridership numbers were equally historic.
Muni recorded a 100% recovery rate in weekend ridership, noting that the system actually carried more weekend passengers this May than it did during the same period in 2019.
The figures suggest a strong return of non-commuter travel for leisure and entertainment purposes, which will likely need to be a ridership group that continues to grow in order for Muni to reach its pre-pandemic highs.
An encouraging sign among those new or returning riders? The trips seem to be going smoothly. Muni says its May customer satisfaction ratings were the highest its ever received.
The key to those satisfied riders, according to Muni, is consistent and reliable service. Muni says May delivered 97.9% of scheduled revenue car hours on weekdays and 96.8% on weekends. According to the Department of Transportation, revenue car hours are “the hours that passenger cars are scheduled to or actually travel while in revenue service.”
“When service is frequent, reliable and gets people where they need to go, riders come back,” Muni said on social media. “Whether you’re commuting, meeting friends, heading to dinner or exploring a new neighborhood, thanks for making Muni part of your day.”
With May’s ridership numbers offering a heavy dose of optimism, June’s should, theoretically, be even better. San Francisco is one of the host cities for the 2028 FIFA World Cup, with thousands of international visitors believed to have traveled to the city to catch a match. June was also recognized as Pride Month in California, and San Francisco has among the largest event calendars in the nation to celebrate the occasion.
What is San Francisco Municipal Railway?
The San Francisco Municipal Railway operates one of the most diverse transit fleets in the world.
Its service area is more than 49 square miles, and provides critical connections to passenger rail systems BART and Caltrain.
Despite the recent ridership success, the transit network has had to navigate budget deficit of hundreds of millions of dollars. California has provided some relief in the form of a $200 million loan, but challenges will likely persist for a while.
Through its Muni Forward initiative, SFMTA is prioritizing some major transit projects to stabilize and modernize its system.
Despite plans to build and improve its transit system, one of Muni’s most beloved and iconic transit lines remains shut down.
The historic E Embarcadero streetcar line was suspended indefinitely during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite frequent requests from San Francisco residents, transit enthusiasts and tourists to revive the Embarcadero line, there are no immediate requests to do so.
