Could San Francisco's cable cars be suspended due to budget shortfall?

SAN FRANCISCO - Though bus and rail ridership on San Francisco's Muni is about 75% of pre-pandemic ridership, the coming deficits are an enormous problem with little help expected from the state or federal government. 

Though everything is on the table, the key question is: is mothballing the cable cars a solution? A Muni study suggests, among other things, suspending San Francisco's legendary cable car and historical streetcar service as soon as mid-2025 to help make up part of $300 million shortfall.

We asked visitors, waiting in the rain to ride the cable cars, about this. "I think it would be really sad. We've been here a couple of times and it's been a highlight for every time we've come; a highlight for out kids. I think it's sort of the framework of San Francisco," said David French, who brought his family to San Francisco from Canada. 

"It's just such a big attraction, I don't think that cutting that is gonna be the smartest idea," said San Franciscan Gaby Shupp, who is hosting some family members from Venezuela. You obviously see what we're doing with our time. This is what we came to do, you know. I mean this is San Francisco," said Derrick Johnson. visiting from Florida.

Pre-pandemic, the National Transit Database says San Francisco's cable car system had $70 million in operating expenses, collected $24 million in revenues, and incurred a $46 million loss. But what are the benefits to the City? 

"Certainly, the cable cars not only attract people to the city, but the keep people here, who are spending money in restaurants, in hotels, in shops around the city. So, yes, there's definitely good economic benefits from the cable cars," said Ruffs Jeffris of the Bay Area Council, a consortium of the Bay Area's largest employers. 

"They attract more tourists, more money, better for the economy for San Francisco," said Shupp.

Almost 10 million folks ride the cable cars every year. The Statue of Liberty gets less than 4 million visitors.

"We are not planning for any massive service cuts. What we're trying to describe is at stake in order to close a $300 million structural deficit. We need to make catastrophic cuts to the system," said Jeffrey Tumlin, head of San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. 

The head of Muni said we simply cannot avoid cuts without finding new revenue sources, which Muni is working on.

This week, Muni launched their official merchandise store – munistore.com.

Items include hoodies, hats, mugs, socks and ringer tees. But the transit agency can't count on merch alone to offset the budget. 

"Around the globe, they're one of the reasons, like the Golden Gate Bridge, like Alcatraz, like the Transamerica Pyramid, people are familiar with San Francisco," said Jeffris. 

"I think when we think about San Francisco, we think about the cable cars and we think about sort of what it means for the community, said French. 

Riders say, so should Muni.