After a successful signature-gathering campaign by Connect Bay Area, the Regional Transit Measure (RTM) will appear on the November ballots for many Bay Area voters, and Greenbelt Alliance is excited to endorse a YES vote on RTM.
If the Regional Transit Measure passes, the roughly $1 billion in revenue per year will support public transit agencies’ improvements to safety, cleanliness, convenience, seamless integration of transit services, and specific capital projects. The new revenue will be sourced from a 1% sales tax in San Francisco County and a 0.5% sales tax in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties.
The measure aims to prevent catastrophic funding cuts that could impact regional public transit as soon as 2027. These major impacts will particularly hurt BART, Muni, AC Transit, and Caltrain, but will have many downstream consequences for our entire region. If we don’t approve it, the Bay Area will lose its transit backbone, making our weekly commutes longer, causing a dramatic increase in pollution, and leaving us with less time to be with our friends and family.
RTM supports a resilient and sustainable future where our communities are able to use public transit with ease, and we can protect our environment from further greenhouse gas emissions from cars. Please join Greenbelt Alliance, alongside organizations such as 350 Bay Area, SPUR, and Public Advocates, in endorsing the Regional Transit Measure! Vote YES on RTM in November to save the Bay Area’s public transit and fight against climate change.
Additionally, learn more about Proposition H in San Francisco to further strengthen the Muni transit system in San Francisco.
Why It Matters
The Bay Area is facing its biggest threat to public transportation in decades. With a looming fiscal cliff, major transit agencies—including BART, Muni, Caltrain, and AC Transit—may soon have to make difficult decisions to close stations, reduce frequencies, and shorten hours of operation.
To avert this looming crisis, a coalition of advocates came together to launch the Connect Bay Area campaign. Earlier in May, the campaign announced it collected more than 305,000 signatures to qualify a regional transit funding measure for the November ballot—crushing the minimal threshold of 186,000 required signatures.
Greenbelt Alliance was proud to be part of this grassroots coalition and endorse the Connect Bay Area Campaign.
How We Got Here
"The Bay Area's public transit is a core pillar of our region's ability to usher in a climate-smart, affordable, and just future. Greenbelt Alliance is excited to be a part of this grassroots coalition to help protect and enhance our public transportation and reduce pollution."
Funding for transit agencies in the Bay Area relies heavily on fares and local revenue sources, so when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and ridership plunged, a substantial amount of that funding disappeared. For a while, agencies were able to stay afloat due to the federal relief stimulus, but that has quickly dried up, and California has not stepped in to address those deficits. Without yearly State funding and with ridership only slowly recovering to pre-pandemic levels, agencies are not seeing the revenue needed to continue operating at full capacity.
To put this into perspective, here is what will happen in 2027 if we do not pass the transit measure:
- Red and Green lines will be phased down to just peak hours in January 2027. The Grey line will close at this time, too. The blue line will close in July 2027.
- 15 stations with the lowest ridership will close, including Millbrae and Warm Springs, by July 2027.
- 70% reduction in train hours and 25% reduction in system miles by July 2027.
- 30% fare increase in January 2027, and a 50% increase in July 2027.
- The agency will face a $355-$385 million budget deficit (30% of the operating budget)
- Without a funding pathway by mid-2028, BART may have to stop all operations. See more details here.
- There will be a 50% cut of Muni services
- There will be an elimination of fare discounts and pass programs for youth and seniors
- The agency will face a $322-$398 million budget deficit (25% of the operating budget)
- There will be a nearly 40% cut to services
- The agency will face a $51-$72 million budget deficit (10% of the operating budget)
- The agency will run 1 train per hour and cut all weekend service
- The agency will face a $65-$76 million budget deficit (42% of the operating budget)
These monumental disruptions to operations are direct consequences of the fiscal cliff. However, it does not account for the myriad ramifications down the road for managing traffic, tackling climate change, meeting our housing needs, and ensuring an affordable California for all.
“Fuming” with Greenhouse Gases
With 41% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transportation sector, losing major parts of our public transit system will allow for even more cars on the road and weaken our ability to fight the climate crisis. Without BART, drivers can expect their commute to extend by 12 more hours per week and see traffic across the Bay Bridge surging by 73%. This means less time with family and friends doing the things we love.
In the long term, this may lead to worsening climate hazards, including droughts, flooding, and wildfires. More cars will also be a direct threat to our health and well-being, causing more air pollution, compromising air quality, and increasing respiratory-related illnesses. By maintaining our public transit system, we can reduce GHG emissions and avoid these catastrophic changes to our communities.
Communities Connected to Transit
Three words encapsulate our housing abundance strategy: transit-oriented development (TOD). In the last two decades, many urbanists have turned their attention to creating walkable, affordable, and resilient communities that are well-connected to the places where people work, study, and play. A cornerstone of this vision is built on the idea that we should promote more homes near our public transit corridors.
BART TOD projects like MacArthur Station provide residents access to the vibrant Temescal neighborhood, while allowing easy access to commute to downtown Oakland or San Francisco. Even new project proposals like the Caltrain-adjacent Hillsdale Reimagined in San Mateo demonstrate the durability of TOD in renovating underutilized buildings and turning them into lively community spaces.
That is why Greenbelt Alliance co-sponsored Senate Bill 79 in the California legislature, which makes it easier and faster to build homes near public transit. While SB 79 is now law, the risks of public transit’s fiscal cliff diminish the law’s application by making fewer sites viable for TOD upzoning. Other proposed TOD projects funded by transit agencies will likely be reevaluated, too. This could all delay much-needed affordable housing in the Bay Area and worsen the housing crisis.
Saving public transit goes far beyond just our means of commuting. A healthy public transit system reduces traffic, protects us from pollution, reduces GHG emissions, creates resilient neighborhoods, and supports new housing.
This November, vote YES on the Regional Transit Measure.
