Advocacy Win for MUNI Riders in San Francisco

Update: As follow up to last week’s great news on creation of the SF Access Pass, BayLegal attorney Raegan Joern gave public comment to the SF Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) thanking it for the Access Pass and asking that it to go further by extending the moratorium on fare evasion citations until shelter in place is ended; making the Access Pass also available to San Franciscans who live in supportive housing; and voiding prior fare evasion tickets – and vacating the associated debt – when someone signs up for an Access Pass or Muni Lifeline Pass.

Over the last couple of years, Bay Area Legal Aid advocates have collaborated with the Financial Justice Project in SF, advocating with SFMTA to resolve transportation access issues and fare evasion citations our unhoused clients were receiving because they could not afford MUNI, and the process for a discounted/disabled pass imposed multiple barriers. This month our long-term, collaborative advocacy met with success: SFMTA agreed to issue Access Passes to people experiencing homelessness.

San Franciscans who have had contact with an Access Point or the Coordinated Entry System in the past six months are eligible for a MUNI pass that will permit them to ride for free.  The application, available online, is simple and applicants do not have to provide any verifications themselves, SFMTA will verify with the Access Points system on the back end.  Please see the attached flyer for more details.