San Francisco’s Municipal Railway is getting ready to lay off 200 Muni drivers as an attempt to close a $57 million deficit.

It’s unknown whether the service to SF State will be affected or not since Muni representatives were not available today to comment on how the lay off might affect the services to the school.
But some students give their reactions to the possible cut in the services.

“I think that would be dreadful for any SF State student,” said James Waldrop, a senior international major. “The Muni system is already in crisis and I see this as a loose-loose situation.”

“The service is already bad,” said Julie Lin, 24, a business major. “Especially during the weekend when sometimes you need to wait half an hour hour for transportation. I think we should have transportation every five minutes."

But others, like Maziar Behroozdo, Middle East Historian assistant professor, do not think the service is that inefficient.

“I think the Muni service is much better than the university service between Daly City and here (SF State), said Behrooz. “It’s more comfortable and efficient. The service cut would negatively impact students who use the system because it’s how a large number of SF State students get to campus."

Behrooz said he does not drive to school not only because he does not want to pollute the air or get stressed, but because of the high price of gas.

This does seem to be the best time for SF State students to have problems with transportation. Besides Muni getting more expensive—it is raising fares from $1.25 to $1.50, and possibly having a decrease in service, gasoline prices will reach its highest this summer, the federal government warned Thursday. Bay Area residents could see an increase up to $3 per gallon.

Donald Mar, economics professor, said there are many reasons for gas prices not going down any soon, including the role of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

“OPEC is strong again,” Mar Said. “ And they can have more control of the prices.”

Mar said that gas prices could possibly go down if new sources of oil are found, which happened in
the 1970s.

For now, the national average is $2.22 and San Francisco has reached $2.63. SF State students might face a challenge when trying to decide the best and cheapest way to get to school in the near future.

Muni is scheduled to balance its budget faces review by the Board of Supervisors in June.