Muni Payment Changes: MuniMobile Single Rides End September 1, Cable Car Fares Rise in January

How you pay to ride Muni is changing in stages, and the first stage lands on September 1, 2026. From that date single-ride tickets are no longer sold in the MuniMobile app, according to the SFMTA. Muni-only day passes follow on January 3, 2027. In the same month, cable car fares move to a new two-tier structure and the small discount for paying with Clipper goes away. The fare changes trace back to the two-year budget the SFMTA board approved in April 2026 to help close a $307 million deficit. The budget vote was reported on April 21, 2026 by the San Francisco Standard.

Correction, August 31, 2026: this post originally said single rides and Muni-only day passes would both leave MuniMobile on August 1, 2026, which was the schedule the SFMTA had published. The agency has since moved single rides to September 1, 2026, set day passes for January 3, 2027, and said it plans to retire the MuniMobile app altogether.

What Changes on September 1

MuniMobile stops selling adult single rides on September 1, 2026. Single rides already bought in the app stay valid for 30 days after that date. Cable car tickets, Muni-only day passes, Lifeline passes and the 1, 3 and 7 day Visitor Passports all remain available in the app for now.

If you have been using MuniMobile for single rides, you have several options. You can pay with a Clipper card, either the plastic card or the digital version stored on your phone, which works across all Bay Area transit systems. You can tap a chip-enabled credit or debit card directly on the Clipper readers on board vehicles and at Muni Metro fare gates, an option the SFMTA added on December 10, 2025 and which covers adult fares only. Cash still works on board with exact change, and ticket machines in Metro stations still sell fares.

The App Itself Is Being Retired

The SFMTA said in an August 2026 update that it is winding the standalone MuniMobile app down and expects to move off it completely by mid-2027, retiring features in stages as the equivalents appear in Clipper. The agency puts the saving at about $3 million across the next two fiscal years and describes it as a cost cut made during what it calls the largest financial crisis in its history.

Two dated steps are published so far: single rides on September 1, 2026, and Muni-only day passes on January 3, 2027. Day passes will then be sold through Clipper, at Muni Metro ticket vending machines, or at the farebox when you board, if you tell the operator before you put money in. Lifeline riders move to Clipper START, and the SFMTA says the last Lifeline stickers it plans to sell are for December 2026, so Lifeline customers should be on Clipper START by January 1, 2027. New Clipper START applications take about 30 days to process.

What Changes in January

Cable car pricing is the bigger shift. The current fare is $9 for a one-way ride. Starting January 4, 2027, a one-way ride costs $12, and a new $18 “Cable Car Plus” pass covers unlimited travel on all Muni services for one day for one adult and up to two children. The Standard reports the $12 one-way option is scheduled to be eliminated on January 3, 2028, which would leave the $18 pass as the main choice for riders without a monthly pass.

The same month, the SFMTA eliminates the remaining discount for paying with Clipper, so the standard adult single ride becomes $3 whether you pay by card, phone, or cash. There is one piece of good news attached: when the discount ends, the agency plans to introduce fare capping, meaning riders who pay for two Muni trips in a day are not charged for additional rides that same day.

Current Prices, for Reference

Through the rest of 2026, an adult single ride is $2.85 with Clipper and $3.00 cash. A day pass is $5.70. A cable car ride is $9. Visitor Passports, which cover Muni, Metro, historic streetcars, and cable cars, run $15 for one day, $35 for three days, and $47 for seven days. Riders 18 and under ride free on everything except cable cars. Current prices are listed on the SFMTA fares page.

If you are visiting this autumn and plan to ride the cable cars, the math still favors a Visitor Passport or the $5.70 day pass plus a $9 cable car ticket, depending on how much you plan to ride. For what else is happening around the city this month, see our guide to things to do in San Francisco in September 2026.

Photo: Dietmar Rabich, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.