With the SFMTA looking at a $214 million deficit and potential service cuts, a ragtag band of riders came up with Prop L, which would tax Lyft, Uber, and Waymo rides to effectively bail out Muni.
The SF Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA), which oversees Muni, is looking at a likely $214 million deficit come the year 2026. That could likely lead to services being cut, or parking meter hours being extended. So an informal group of transit activists called the SF Transit Riders got together over the summer, gathered thousands of signatures, and got the Prop L tax on rideshare companies onto your November ballot. The proposed measure would tax Lyft, Uber, Waymo, and any other rideshare company, and direct that money to support Muni.
“The proposed measure would create a new gross receipts tax on transportation network companies and autonomous vehicle businesses,” according to the ballot measure’s text. “This new tax would be on passenger transportation service gross receipts in San Francisco above $500,000.”
So if the company pulls in $500,000-$1 million on rides that originate in San Francisco per year, they’d pay an additional 1% tax on those rides. If the company makes $1 million - $2.5 million on those rides, that tax goes up to 2.5%. The tax is 3.5% for $2.5 million to $25 million in rides, and 4.5% for more than $25 million worth of rides.
Right now, San Francisco’s ride-hail taxes are the lowest of any major U.S. city that taxes these companies. Our endorsers across SF's political spectrum, labor, climate, and business groups all agree: Prop L is a common-sense solution to keep vital Muni service running! pic.twitter.com/MoiBMDLJX9
— Yes on L: Fund the Bus! (@sftransitact) September 27, 2024
Prop L supporters say this would just be rideshare companies paying their fair share.
“Right now, San Francisco taxes ride-hail and robotaxi companies at a lower rate than other big cities,” they say in their ballot arguments. “If Prop L passes, SF ride-hail taxes will still be lower than those in NYC, DC, and Chicago. This is a small, common-sense tax on those companies to help keep Muni running and accessible for all.”
Muni in San Francisco has a $214 million deficit. Instead of sound fiscal management and streamlining services, It wants to tax Uber and Lyft so they can keep bleeding money. This is another tax passed on to you and me. Vote NO on Prop L. @TSFAction @GrowSF pic.twitter.com/AHJm11G3EK
— Adam Nathan • blaze.ai (@adampnathan) October 13, 2024
Meanwhile, opponents say in their rebuttal that “Mismanagement and lack of accountability, not just plunging ridership, have contributed to Muni’s whopping $214 million debt. This tax raises only a tiny fraction of the funding Muni needs, with no plan to spend it.”
Thanks to Uber and Lyft money, Prop L opponents have raised three times the campaign contributions ($912,000) as Prop L supporters have ($301,000). As seen above, their PAC called SF for Muni Accountability and Reliable Service - No on Prop L has pulled a $750,000 cash donation from Uber, and $103,000 from Lyft. But Lyft has carried most of this PAC’s “nonmonetary contributions” (which are still monetary), by paying the PAC’s staff, consultants, and its various other costs.
If passed, the Prop L tax would be added on top of the 3.25% tax on single rides and 1.5% tax on pool rides that SF voters passed in 2019.
Related: Muni Somehow Scores Its Highest Rider Satisfaction Rate In 23 Years [SFist]
Images: (Left) YES on L: Community Transit Act via Facebook, (Right) Demand Muni Reform
