Billion-dollar Bay Area transit sales tax will go to voters

"California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed SB 63, a bill that will lead to a ballot measure that could save and expand Bay Area mass transit. The measure, which voters will weigh in on in next year's general election, on Nov. 3, 2026, will propose a regional sales tax that would fund public transit in the Bay Area for a generation."

"If the measure passes, the tax will be in place for 14 years and, according to a California Senate analysis, could raise more than $1 billion annually for Alameda County, Santa Clara County, Contra Costa County, and other participating jurisdictions. The tax would be 0.5% for those three counties and 1% in the City and County of San Francisco. The signing of the bill comes after months of negotiations between state legislators and members of the governor's staff."

"The ballot measure idea emerged after several earlier attempts to stabilize the finances of transit agencies that have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in passenger revenue, which crashed during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional agency that will distribute the tax revenue if the measure is approved, at the height of the pandemic, Caltrain saw a 98% decline in ridership, BART lost 88% of its riders, and AC Transit ridership declined by 72%."

Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 63 to place a regional sales tax measure on the Nov. 3, 2026 general election ballot to fund Bay Area public transit for 14 years. The tax could raise more than $1 billion annually for Alameda, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, and other participating jurisdictions, with a 0.5% rate in the three counties and 1% in the City and County of San Francisco. The measure includes a financial accountability committee to oversee fund management. The ballot measure follows efforts to stabilize transit finances after passenger revenue collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caltrain, BART, and AC Transit experienced steep ridership declines and have not fully recovered to pre-2020 levels.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org