Let's give credit where it's due. SFMTA has been quietly grinding to restore service, and riders are responding. A functional transit system is one of the best things a city can offer, and seeing those numbers climb is a sign that downtown isn't the ghost town some predicted it would permanently become.

But — and you knew there was a but — the ridership rebound raises the question nobody at City Hall seems eager to answer: is the money side keeping pace with reality?

While Muni's recovery looks healthier than its cross-bay cousin BART, the broader Bay Area transit picture remains a fiscal mess. One local resident put it bluntly: "BART needs a factory reset. They have a spending problem." Another pointed out that BART now employs 300 more people than it did in 2019 despite claiming ridership is still down dramatically — and still regularly racks up overtime charges. When an auditor reportedly tried to investigate contract irregularities, she was denied access to the books and eventually resigned.

Muni isn't BART, and it's important not to lump them together. But they share a funding ecosystem, and both operate under the same Bay Area cost pressures. As one SF resident noted, "The cost of living continues to skyrocket. Nothing involving manual labor can function sustainably under these conditions. We need to build housing."

That's the uncomfortable truth: you can't run affordable public transit in one of the most expensive labor markets on Earth without either ruthless efficiency or bottomless subsidies. Right now, Bay Area agencies seem to be choosing door number two.

Muni's ridership comeback is worth celebrating. But a packed bus doesn't automatically mean a balanced budget. The real test isn't whether people are riding again — it's whether the agency can serve them without lighting money on fire. Riders are doing their part. Time for the bean counters to do theirs.