Addressing a Bus Driver Shortage in San Francisco

The ongoing quest to fix Muni enters a new chapter, after a driver shortage impacted bus service earlier this year.

1 minute read

September 14, 2018, 2:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Bus Stop

Michael Warwick / Shutterstock

"After a citywide Muni service slowdown that itself stretched at least 90 days, Muni officials now have a 90-day plan to reverse those woes," reports Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez from San Francisco.

Muni ran out of drivers from late April to July, according to the article. Now the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has a plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

To break through the bottleneck in training that caused the problems earlier this year, the "SFMTA will increase its bus and rail training class sizes, revise its teaching methods to help minimize its training failure rate and expand hiring outreach to attract more applicants."

"In the near-term, the plan calls for improving service on the most heavily trafficked bus routes — known as 'rapid' lines, like the 38R-Geary Rapid — by 5 percent, and increasing delivered service on rail lines by 3 percent," according to Fitzgerald Rodriguez.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 in San Francisco Examiner

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

"Planetizen federal action tracker" logo superimposed over black and white image of US Capitol dome.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

46 minutes ago - Zachary Whalen

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

NYC Mayor Zohran Mandami speaks behind a blue podium.

Mamdani overhauls NYC's Vision Zero plan with 100 new policy goals

The overhaul aims to reduce traffic deaths and make streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers through lower speed limits, new safety infrastructure and more.

45 minutes ago - ABC 7 Eyewitness News

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.