New Idea: Tax Ride-Sharing Companies Per Fare to Help Fund SF Muni

San Francisco is always on the lookout for ways to fund its public services, including the Muni mass transit bus service. One proposal to raise money—among a slew of two dozen other proposals—is to tax one people-conveying industry (Uber and Lyft) to pay for another nonprofit people-conveying service, Muni.

According to the SF Examiner, that’s what SF’s Transportation Task Force 2045 has cooked up to fund Muni into the future. The idea is to add on a 20 cents to $1.00 fee on each and every Uber or Lyft ride and maybe a gas tax on top of that. The revenue would go into the transit agencies treasure chest to expand and improve mass transit service.

Another idea is to exact a gross receipts tax and a higher sales tax that would impact local businesses and SF citizen consumers.

Those who like the gross receipts tax say it would haul in $23 million each year from businesses, but, as expected, local business groups and the tech sector are fighting this idea.

Another idea, reports the Examiner, is to put up a sports franchise tax or large event ticket surcharge.