It probably comes as no surprise to regular car commuters that traffic volumes have rebounded since the COVID lockdown of March 2020 temporarily shuttered most businesses. Indeed, traffic on most Bay Area bridges has been at least 80% of January 2019 levels for most months since July 2020.  

The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, part of Interstate 80, spans San Francisco Bay in Northern Calif. in January 2014. (Photo courtesy of John Chacon/California Department of Water Resources)

Unfortunately for MUNI and BART, however, public transit ridership has recovered much more slowly. MUNI did not return to half of its January 2019 ridership until September 2021, and BART didn’t reach 1/3 of its January 2019 ridership until May 2022. 

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