(BCN) -- San Francisco's Muni ridership reached 158 million trips in 2024, edging ridership recovery up to 75 percent of pre-pandemic numbers, officials said Monday. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency officials and Mayor Daniel Lurie said the recent ridership numbers, which represent 13. 5 million more trips than in 2023, show growing demand for public transit. Muni considers shutting down several routes: Here are buses that could be affected "The increase in Muni ridership demonstrates that when we get the basics right on service delivery, people will want to take public transit," Lurie said in a news release. Last year's ridership represents the highest volume of growth since the pandemic, with recovery at 75 percent of 2019 levels. Officials also said the agency received its highest customer ratings since 2021. The top routes showing the largest ridership gains included the T Third, 38R Geary Rapid, 49 Van Ness/Mission and N Judah. Muni officials said the agency's investment in frequent service, with arrivals every 10 minutes or less, played a key role in the gains. SF once again named ‘healthiest’ in America: study In addition, lines serving major events like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Portola Music Festival, and the Sunset Night Market drew record ridership. Muni's recovery comes as the SFTMA faces short-term and long-term fiscal challenges, with a $50 million budget deficit starting this July growing to a $320 million deficit when federal and state one-time relief funds are exhausted by June 2026, according to a release from the mayor's office. More information on Muni service delivery data is available at SFMTA.com/MuniData. Copyright © 2025 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. ...read more read less