San Francisco’s cable cars, already among the most expensive transit rides in the country, are about to get significantly pricier. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Board of Directors unanimously approved a new fare structure Tuesday that would raise the cost of a single cable car ride from $9 to $12 beginning January 4, 2027, with a further increase to $18 per ride in early 2028. It represents the largest year-over-year fare increase in San Francisco history.
The new pricing eliminates the existing single-ride ticket as well as the current tiered one-, three-, and seven-day visitor passes. Starting in 2028, all cable car access will require a new “Cable Car Plus” pass, which covers unlimited travel on cable cars and all Muni services for one day. The board requested that the pass be structured to cover one adult and up to two youths aged 18 or younger, in an effort to ease the cost burden on traveling families.
The fare hikes are part of a broader two-year budget approved by the SFMTA board to address a $307 million shortfall. The agency is grappling with a sustained financial crisis driven by ridership that remains at roughly 75% of pre-pandemic levels and the expiration of state and federal pandemic relief funding. Cost-cutting measures including leaving positions vacant and renegotiating service contracts have not been sufficient to close the gap.
The cable cars have long operated at a significant loss. A 2019 Cato Institute analysis found that while the system cost approximately $70 million to run annually, it collected only around $24 million in fare revenue. The agency expects the new structure to improve cost recovery, though higher fares have historically reduced ridership. In 2005, then-Mayor Gavin Newsom warned that a fare increase to $5 was already turning away riders.
The new fare policy still requires approval from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which will take up the city budget after Mayor Daniel Lurie submits it on May 1.
