Because based on what we're hearing, the answer is a masterclass in frustration.

One SF commuter shared a morning routine that should make every transit planner wince. She left her Pac Heights home at 7:30 AM. She arrived at work — two miles away — just after 9:00. Ninety minutes. For two miles. That's slower than walking, which she can't reasonably do in the heels and professional attire her client-facing tech job requires, up and down San Francisco's hills.

The culprit wasn't traffic. It wasn't mechanical failure. It was a cascade of drivers who simply refused to do their jobs. The 1 bus blew past her stop without slowing down. A second driver announced he was terminating early at Van Ness. She sprinted to catch the 12 — the driver saw her running, made eye contact, closed the doors, and pulled away. The next bus? Twenty-two minutes.

When she finally boarded a 1 bus heading down the line, the driver kept announcing "next bus" at stops where only two people were waiting — with multiple seats available inside. A half-full bus, refusing passengers during rush hour. Let that sink in.

This isn't a one-off bad morning. This is a system where accountability has completely evaporated. Muni drivers operate under some of the strongest union protections in public transit, and the results speak for themselves: riders are treated as inconveniences rather than customers.

Meanwhile, the scenes outside the bus aren't exactly inspiring confidence either. Riders report people blocking buses with scooters, causing delays for everyone on board. As one local put it, spotting the chaos from 100 feet away, the guy "reeks of entitlement." Another Bay Area resident offered the perfect Muni summary: it's "the Waffle House of buses — you never know what you're going to see."

The fundamental problem is that SFMTA faces zero market consequences for terrible service. They have a captive customer base, a guaranteed revenue stream from taxpayers, and a political class that treats transit funding as a moral good regardless of outcomes. Nobody gets fired. Routes don't get reformed. Riders just absorb the dysfunction.

San Francisco spends roughly $1.4 billion annually on its transit agency. For that kind of money, the bare minimum should be buses that actually stop when people are standing at the stop. That's not a radical expectation. That's literally the job.

Until riders start demanding accountability — and city leaders stop rubber-stamping every SFMTA budget increase — expect more 90-minute, two-mile commutes. Your $100 a month buys you the privilege of sprinting between bus stops and praying someone lets you on.