Free Muni Might Happen Under a Three-Month Pilot, But Maybe Not As Soon as Supervisors Want There's been an argument in recent months between SFMTA chief Jeffrey Tumlin and Supervisors Matt Haney and Dean Preston over whether or not to use this limbo moment as the pandemic fades to finally offer Muni rides for free. But can the system handle a sudden surge in ridership (if that actually happens)? Making Muni totally free has been a goal of Preston and some progressives for years now, and with a bunch of federal funding having flown the city's way for transit, and with ridership still low, they say now is the time to try it out. (Preston even tried to make an April Fool's Day joke out of it on Twitter, and failed.)