The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has spent months grappling with a financial crisis, and its plan to close a $300 million-plus deficit includes raising Muni fares and parking meter rates, cutting some parking fines, and making a range of other policy changes.

Those changes were finalized Tuesday, when the agency’s board approved its two-year, $4.3 billion budget.

The spending plan leans on those tweaks to boost revenue for a cash-strapped agency that relies heavily on ridership — which is at roughly 70% of pre-pandemic levels. It also depends on a $200 million state loan to help close a projected $307 million deficit in the fiscal year beginning July 1, and $246 million in savings by eliminating more than 500 vacant positions, cutting planned spending, boosting fare enforcement, and renegotiating contracts.

The budget must be submitted to Mayor Daniel Lurie by May 1.

Overshadowing the budget process has been a massive shortfall projected to grow from $307 million in July to $434 million five years later, without additional funding. The agency has made clear it needs two tax measures to avoid cutting service — which board members aren’t keen on doing.

“We can figure out how many bus routes to cut, but that can’t be the answer,” board member Steve Hemminger said during Tuesday’s SFMTA board meeting.

Most of the changes mirror what was proposed in December, apart from cable car fares, which will become more expensive than first planned, and a handful of types of parking tickets, which will be even cheaper.

The agency is suggesting this because those infractions generate only $500,000 annually but are the source of many customer complaints and cases contesting the citations.

Under the new cable car pricing scheme, rather than a flat $15 fare as first proposed, the agency has adopted a two-tier pricing scheme, with a $12 one-way fare and an $18 "Cable Car Plus” pass, which grants unlimited travel on all Muni services for one day for one adult and up to two children. The new pricing goes into effect on Jan. 4, but the one-way fare option would be eliminated Jan. 3, 2028, effectively leaving the $18 pass as the only option for many riders, aside from monthly Muni passes that also cover cable cars.

The SFMTA will reduce to $43 the cost of parking tickets for not curbing one’s wheels (now $73), parking outside the lines ($76), repairing a car on the street ($108), and placing a parking permit on a vehicle it doesn’t belong to ($108). The December plan was to reduce the fine for each violation to $48.

Cable cars aren’t the only Muni fares going up, either.

The SFMTA will eliminate the remaining Clipper discount in January, raising the standard adult fare to $3.

But it’s not all bad news for Clipper users. 

When the Clipper discount is eliminated, the SFMTA will introduce “fare capping” for Clipper 2.0, meaning riders who pay for two Muni trips in a day won’t be charged for additional rides that same day.

And if you think this budget is a gravy train for drivers, think again.

Parking meter rates will increase by 25 cents in July 2027, and late fees for parking tickets will increase by 10% this coming July and then by another 10% in July of next year. Adding another cost for drivers, the city will at the same time add a 2.15% credit card passthrough fee, up to $2, for parking permits, citations, and violations paid online with a credit or debit card.

But these changes, big and small, to fares and parking are just a small slice of the total budget. The budget is split into two main parts: day-to-day operations and long-term capital projects. 

The biggest item in the capital budget is a $218 million investment over two years to replace Muni’s outdated train control system — which still relies on floppy disks and dates back to 1998 — with a modern system that would monitor trains across the agency’s 74 miles of track above and below ground.

According to the budget, construction could start as early as November, with completion expected in January 2034.