Prop L was placed on the ballot by a group of community members, primarily with backgrounds in software development and bike activism, who each spent thousands to get it on the ballot.

Unfortunately, these proponents refused to coordinate with transit experts, elected officials, or community leaders to create a sensible and intelligent tax measure. Even San Francisco’s most progressive mayoral candidate, Supervisor Aaron Peskin, complained about Prop L’s creation, saying: “Given the city’s ongoing work to craft a sensible business tax reform measure, I wish they would have worked with the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s office so our efforts don’t conflict.”

The facts are clear: Prop L is a missed opportunity – not a solution that San Franciscans really need.

Prop L increases gross receipts taxes in San Francisco, which recent studies show are more than 20 times higher than in other U.S. cities. This makes it harder for businesses like Uber and Lyft to operate in San Francisco without passing costs onto consumers. Riders already pay a per-ride fee in San Francisco, which voters enacted in 2019, with support from rideshare companies like Uber. Any measure that increases costs for San Franciscans is not a good policy.

Prop L will increase the cost of rideshares in San Francisco without actually solving the issues Muni is facing. It hurts seniors, people with disabilities, and those without reliable access to Muni who depend on rideshares for their basic needs. Prop L funds cannot be used to improve safety, conditions at bus stops, or Muni’s cleanliness and reliability. Even if it passes, voters will need to pass another larger, more comprehensive funding measure to actually meet Muni’s funding needs in 2026.

Prop L is also a permanent tax for a temporary budget deficit, and is not at all adaptive to meet Muni’s shifting needs. This is a time when San Franciscans are trying to simplify taxes and bring back the business growth and engagement our city was once known for. The last thing San Francisco needs now is a new, one-off tax that is inflexible, lacks oversight, and is poorly structured.

In 2019, Uber and Lyft both supported Prop D, a per-ride tax on rideshare companies that generates millions annually for public transit and is set to increase in 2025. San Francisco already makes it difficult for businesses to thrive, with gross receipts and business taxes far higher than those of other cities in the Bay Area and around the country. 

Prop L’s additional new tax fails to improve Muni’s reliability and safety or include any protections against mismanagement. Uber and Lyft have demonstrated that they are willing to contribute to public transit, but we can’t keep punishing businesses for the failures of our government.

The real impact of Prop L will be on the vulnerable residents, including seniors, people with disabilities, and rideshare drivers, who rely on rideshares for their basic needs and livelihoods. Prop L only makes these essential rideshares more expensive without improving Muni as a transit option for San Franciscans.

San Franciscans know that bad tax policy has never fixed a broken system.

The Bay Area’s transit is broken on a regional level, and a better solution is a measure that addresses the entire system. Muni is just one part of San Francisco’s transit system, and we cannot improve Muni’s safety and reliability without a safe and reliable transit network. That’s why transit experts, community leaders, and elected officials are coming together to find a solution that will actually meet Muni’s needs and start to fix our broken system.

Muni needs reform that brings everyone to the table – not one-off taxes.