His Kingdom for Some Ideas

According to Rachel Gordon, Gavin Newsom really just doesn't have any ideas to balance the SFMTA budget without raising fares and cutting service:

I hate the idea of raising fares. I don't want to cut Muni service. But I ask (critics), 'What ideas do you have that do not eviscerate public safety and health and human services?' -Gavin Newsom (via SF Chronicle)

Well, lay them on him. Let the mayor know what he and the SFMTA board should do to solve Muni's financial problems for good and without simply passing them on to riders.

I'll start with two really obvious ones:

Reign in the work orders that other departments are using to pass their cuts onto the MTA (saves around $60,000,000)

Implement congestion pricing in accordance with the study done wearlier this year (brings in $30,000,000 to $60,000,000 per year)

Budget hole closed. Muni service improved. Public Safety increased. HHS negligibly affected. That wasn't very hard.