Proposition RTM: Public Transit Revenue Measure District, California, Create Sales Tax to Fund Regional Transportation Systems Initiative
California
Nov 3
Create a sales tax for a 14-year period to fund transportation programs in the region
Recommending "Yes"
5
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San Francisco and California urbanism
Led by Barak Gila · 39 voters
YIMBY Action's Voting Group
Led by YIMBY Action · 5 voters
Abundant San Francisco
Led by Abundant San Francisco · 3 voters
SF Solidarity Club
Led by SF Solidarity Club · 1 voter
Seamless Bay Area
Led by Seamless Bay Area · 0 voters
The situation will become dire if we don't take action.
BART would be forced to cut 70% of service. This would mean stopping service at 9pm, closing 15 stations, reducing frequencies to every 30 minutes, ending Blue line service, ending Yellow line service past Concord, increasing fares by 50%, and more.
Muni would be forced to cut 50% of all bus and Metro lines, including eliminating entire neighborhood routes, ending regular service at 9pm (with only bare-bones late-night service), and removing San Francisco's iconic historic cable cars and trolleys.
AC Transit would be forced to cut service by up to 31% of pre-2019 levels meaning less frequent buses, eliminating segments of bus routes, and ending early morning and late night service.
Caltrain would be forced to run service only once an hour, provide no weekend service, eliminate weekday service after 9pm, and close 10 stations.
VTA and SamTrans are also looking at significant upcoming budget deficits which would force similarly devastating cuts.
Public transit is the lifeblood of the Bay Area. Without the bus, train, and ferry service our communities depend on, freeways would become clogged, our economy would stall, our air would be dirtier, and people would have to shell out thousands of dollars more each year on car payments, gas, and insurance.
However, there is a way we can save families money on transportation, unsnarl traffic, grow the economy, clean our air, and create a more equitable and affordable Bay Area.
The Regional Transit Measure is the regional Connect Bay Area sales tax across five counties, funding Muni, BART, Caltrain, and the smaller regional operators. The regional nature of the BART necessitates a financial backstop that has united 3 county governments in this effort. BART has already cut over a billion dollars in costs since 2019 and without new revenue, it may face a 63% cut in train hours, three lines instead of five, 9pm closures, and fare hikes of up to 50% starting in 2027, followed by station closures and mass layoffs. A regional economy this large cannot function with a gutted BART, and a modest, sunsetting sales tax is a far better outcome than losing the system.