Riders take a cable car through Union Square in July. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's budget problems could lead to a suspension of cable car service.

When people around the world think of San Francisco, the cable cars are among the first images that come to mind — alongside the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the Painted Ladies. They are not simply a mode of transportation; they are a defining feature of the city’s identity, a major driver of tourism and a living piece of San Francisco’s legacy of innovation.

However, the future of the city’s beloved cable cars is under threat. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is confronting a severe structural deficit. A bond measure to shore up the finances of the agency, or Muni, which operates the cable cars, is all but certain. As outlined in a recent SPUR report, the agency faces a projected shortfall of $307 million in fiscal year 2026–27, growing to $434 million by 2030.

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If unaddressed, these deficits could result in the elimination of up to 20 transit lines, reduced service frequency systemwide, cuts to evening service and the potential suspension of historic streetcar and cable car lines. While Mayor Daniel Lurie has called the cable cars “untouchable,” a 2024 study by a Muni working group found that suspending cable car and streetcar service would save $33 million. 

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To be sure, cable cars are significantly more expensive to operate than standard transit, costing $871 per revenue hour comparted the $327 systemwide. That translates to a cost of $21 per passenger who rides a cable car compared to $7 systemwide. 

While San Francisco voters may be asked in November to pass a parcel tax to keep Muni running at current levels, they are also insistent that SFMTA works to eliminate waste in a system that forever seems in dire straits.

A Muni 30S bus runs on Stockton Street in North Beach in January. Muni faces deficits of more than $300 million.

This fiscal reality creates a structural tension: The more Muni focuses on efficiency, the harder it becomes to justify preserving the cable cars within a traditional transit framework.

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But the way of framing the debate presents the false choice that we either need to maintain cable car service at the expense of core transit or eliminate cable cars in the name of efficiency. 

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Cable cars are not comparable to buses or light rail. Treating them as conventional transit leads to bad policy decisions because it shortchanges them by ignoring their broader role as civic infrastructure. 

Cable cars serve multiple functions simultaneously. They provide transportation along key corridors while attracting millions of visitors to the city each year. They support local businesses and boost city revenue while reinforcing San Francisco’s global brand. 

The Powell and Hyde cable car line, pictured in 2024, runs from downtown to Fisherman’s Wharf.

The cable cars are integral to the city’s identity. They were invented in San Francisco and are operated nowhere else in the world at this scale. Because of this, they function as a heritage asset that helps define the city. 

Civic infrastructure with this level of fame and impact should not be funded through a single-purpose system. Instead we propose that San Francisco adopt a hybrid funding model that reflects the full civic value of cable cars. This funding model should rely on diverse revenue sources rather than place the entire burden on Muni. We should explore hotel or tourism-linked contributions, establish a Cable Car Civic Fund that leverages philanthropy and corporate sponsorship, and, yes, consider raising the $9 fare to reflect premium demand. 

Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.

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San Francisco Beautiful, the nonprofit that I lead, traces its roots to the successful 1947 effort led by Friedel Klussman to save the cable cars from elimination. At that time, city leaders viewed them as an outdated and costly nuisance. Voters disagreed, with 77% voting to amend the city charter to preserve them. 

Today, the challenge is more complex, but the principle is the same, and it is imperative that we align our funding and governance model with the true value of what we are trying to protect. San Francisco’s cable cars are civic infrastructure that possess a cultural and economic significance far beyond their transportation function. Simply put, the city cannot afford to not have them, and the path forward should not involve choosing between transit efficiency and cultural preservation. It should build a model that sustains both.

Robert Ogilvie is CEO of San Francisco Beautiful

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