San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency (SFMTA) operates routes spanning the entirety of San Francisco, reaching almost all of the high schools in the city. At Urban, five bus routes have stops within at least three blocks of the Page Street campus. However, the route frequency of the San Francisco Municipal Railway, commonly known as MUNI, can be unreliable.
Public transit is widely used by students commuting to and from school. Landon Kan Huy, a sophomore at Lowell High School and member of SFMTA’s Youth Transportation Advisory Board (YTAB), said in an interview with The Urban Legend, “I’d say I use [public transit] seven days a week. I can’t think of a day where I have not used it.”
But public transit lines are not always frequent. “As much as I love public transportation and as much as I try to encourage the use of it, I understand why people may not be willing to use it because of the [lack of] frequency,” said Kan Huy.
According to Kan Huy, multiple technical issues with SFMTA’s system lead to transit lines’ lack of reliability. “Our system relies primarily on rubber tire vehicles, [which are] our hybrid buses and our trolley electric buses. They can only carry so many people and [at] a frequency … which could range from every five minutes to every 15, for our busier times,” he said. “Having less [bus] service makes [the route] vulnerable to disruption, such as a canceled bus that ends up screwing up and [delaying] the whole commute.”
Kan Huy also emphasizes the importance of communication in making SFMTA more reliable. “Just communication will help. Not being left in the dark is something that I think a lot of passengers value,” he said.
YTAB Member Mason Hoyt ‘26 believes that improving bus frequency is crucial. “[MUNI] could [add] more frequent service right around when school gets out, especially along the 43 lines that are … [commonly used] by Urban students.”
Yet, according to Hoyt, some bus routes around Urban like the 33 have reliable frequencies. “It’s pretty great how often the 33 comes. … [MUNI’s] got that covered,” he said.
The 33 currently runs three blocks away from Urban’s Page campus, serving as a popular choice for many commuting students. “I take it a lot. It’s usually a very calm ride,” said Nela Sutherland ‘26.
However, as stated in an SFBay article by Jerold Chinn, the 33’s frequency could be changing soon. “To increase the frequency on the school routes, the SFMTA said they will have a decrease in the frequency of service on other routes as the agency continues to struggle financially,” wrote Chinn. The school routes mentioned are mainly around schools with higher student bodies, such as Lowell High School and Lincoln High School. But bus routes such as the 24 or the 29 pass close to Urban.
Because SFMTA needs more buses to increase frequency, there will have to be fewer buses on other routes, like the 33. Chinn wrote, “Passengers waiting for the 33 Ashbury/18th Street will have to wait longer for the bus as the frequency will change from 15 minutes to 20 minutes.” As a result, students who commute to and from school have to wait longer if they miss a bus.
This change began in January 2024. “In the past month, [bus frequency] went from every 15 minutes to 20 to 25 minutes,” said Sutherland.
However, Lawrence Festin, SFMTA’s equity engagement coordinator, said in an interview with The Urban Legend that bus lines such as the 29 — which carry large numbers of students — are protected from the decreased frequency. “[The 29] is going to be highly protected because it is an equity issue for young people to get to school,” he said.
Recent changes by the SFMTA have made it easier for students to use MUNI to its full extent, like free bus rides for passengers under the age of 19. “Students [have] the opportunity to get Youth Clipper Cards. … If you’re riding MUNI, it will be for free,” said Hoyt.
MUNI bus rides are free for all youth, however, free and discounted rides on other services require free Youth Clipper Cards.
Kan Huy believes that public engagement, especially among students, is key to improving MUNI’s frequency and reliability. “It would take lots of solidarity to find these solutions and put them together and to try to find new ways to improve [frequency]. … Because ultimately, San Francisco is developing and our public transportation is going to be the way for us to grow [instead] of regressing,” said Kan Huy.
MUNI actively seeks community input to improve its services. Urban students can reach out to members of MUNI like Festin to exchange ideas. “If y’all have any ideas on how to better your public transportation experience, feel free to hit me up. … Let’s work together so that we can create the best systems for all of us and make sure everybody can get their needs met,” said Festin.
“I love it when young people are civically engaged and want to work for and with the city to try to take things like public transportation or distributing resources or education into their own hands,” said Festin. “All revolutions come from young people.”