California’s transit agencies are asking Democrats, who control the state’s government, to rescue them, as Democrats in New York recently did.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Sadaf Zahoor has bucked California’s car culture by never owning one, yet she and other residents who rely on public transportation fear the bleak financial outlook will soon leave them stranded at empty train stations and bus stops.
The agencies operating public transit systems, particularly in San Francisco and Oakland, where Zahoor lives, have been surviving on billions of dollars in federal aid that will soon expire.
Ridership plummeted by up to 94% during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a significant budget deficit. Farebox revenues have recovered slightly, with more people working from home, but many systems have not returned to even half of their previous levels.
The transportation agencies have asked Democrats, who control California’s government, to rescue them, following the example of Democrats in New York with a $227 billion spending plan. However, this request is proving to be a more challenging proposition in the nation’s most populous state, where majestic mountain highways and sprawling suburban communities have made it more reliant on automobiles than much of the Northeast.
“If there were any major changes, that would definitely affect my ability to get to work,” said Zahoor, 36, who believes she would have to rely on friends to carpool because she cannot afford a car on her own.
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The California Transit Association claims transit agencies will have a collective shortfall of about $6 billion over the next few years. The state, which relies on taxes paid by wealthy individuals, is projected to have a $31.5 billion budget deficit this year amid a struggling stock market and layoffs in the tech industry.
Instead of bailing out public transit agencies, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting $2 billion from their system funding to help balance the books. J.D. Palmer, spokesperson for the California Department of Finance, said Newsom’s proposed budget cuts to various agencies “were necessary to address the shortfall,” but the governor has pledged to restore the funding when revenues rebound next year.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has warned that if the state doesn’t provide assistance, it could force the organization to shut down after 9 p.m. and on weekends, while limiting regular service to just one train per hour. Advocates for transit say reducing services will only worsen the problem.
“It’s like the chicken and the egg,” said Stephanie Lotshaw, acting executive director at TransitCenter, an advocacy group for transit systems across the U.S. “If you disinvest in it, then people won’t use it. But if you invest in it, arguably more people will use it because it actually becomes a service that’s viable.”
The pandemic has been particularly challenging for BART as up to 70% of its revenue came from fares, far higher than most transit systems, according to Janice Li, president of the BART board of directors. Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city, relies less on public transit than San Francisco, although riders have shown support for it in recent years.
At the very least, Li said California lawmakers should pass a stopgap measure to keep transit running until the 2026 election, when local voters could decide whether to invest more. “We are not asking for the world, and we are not asking for the world indefinitely either,” Li said.
The White House has said states have flexibility to redirect some of the federal money typically used for highway construction and repairs to transit operations, but many critics consider this a non-starter.
“We have the highest gas tax in the country, and the roads are still in terrible condition,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a California group opposing tax hikes. “If we’re talking about transportation generally, the money is best spent on those systems that people actually use, which in California is roads and highways.”
Transit officials are making their case by appealing not just to regular riders but also to drivers who may face even more congested traffic if alternative options disappear. According to BART, almost twice as many people travel during rush hours across the Bay Bridge by train compared to by car.
Supporters have turned to creative marketing, selling flip-flops featuring BART’s service map and organizing a mock funeral for transit last weekend in Oakland. “We’re doing well but not sure what is coming next,” said Vinita Goyal, executive director of San Francisco Transit Riders, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Leaders in the legislature have pledged to reject Newsom’s $2 billion in cuts and make it possible for agencies to use most of that money for operations. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who represents San Francisco, believes that’s still not enough.
“In every community in California, there are people who rely on the bus, and they are not the most powerful people. They tend to be low-income. They tend to be non-white. They tend to be disproportionately seniors or students,” Wiener said. “Why on Earth we would for a moment contemplate allowing these systems to fall apart is beyond me.”
Gabriel Goffman, a resident of San Francisco, bought his condoThe California Transit Association claims transit agencies will have a collective shortfall of about $6 billion over the next few years. The state, which relies on taxes paid by wealthy people, is projected to have a $31.5 billion budget deficit this year amid a struggling stock market and layoffs in the tech industry.
Instead of bailing out public transit agencies, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting $2 billion from their system funding to help balance the books. J.D. Palmer, spokesperson for the California Department of Finance, said Newsom’s proposed budget cuts to various agencies “were necessary to address the shortfall,” but the governor has pledged to restore the funding when revenues rebound next year.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) has warned that if the state doesn’t provide assistance, it could force the organization to shut down after 9 p.m. and on weekends, while limiting regular service to just one train per hour. Advocates for transit say reducing services will only worsen the problem.
“It’s like the chicken and the egg,” said Stephanie Lotshaw, acting executive director at TransitCenter, an advocacy group for transit systems across the U.S. “If you disinvest in it, then people won’t use it. But if you invest in it, arguably more people will use it because it actually becomes a service that’s viable.”
The pandemic has been particularly challenging for BART as up to 70% of its revenue came from fares, far higher than most transit systems, according to Janice Li, president of the BART board of directors. Los Angeles, the nation’s second-largest city, relies less on public transit than San Francisco, although riders have shown support for it in recent years.
At the very least, Li said California lawmakers should pass a stopgap measure to keep transit running until the 2026 election when local voters could decide whether to invest more. “We are not asking for the world, and we are not asking for the world indefinitely either,” Li said.
The White House has said states have flexibility to redirect some of the federal money typically used for highway construction and repairs to transit operations, but many critics consider this a non-starter.
“We have the highest gas tax in the country, and the roads are still in terrible condition,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a California group opposing tax hikes. “If we’re talking about transportation generally, the money is best spent on those systems that people actually use, which in California is roads and highways.”
Transit officials are making their case by appealing not just to regular riders but also to drivers who may face even more congested traffic if alternative options disappear. According to BART, almost twice as many people travel during rush hours across the Bay Bridge by train compared to by car.
Supporters have turned to creative marketing, selling flip-flops featuring BART’s service map and organizing a mock funeral for transit last weekend in Oakland. “We’re doing well but not sure what is coming next,” said Vinita Goyal, executive director of San Francisco Transit Riders, a nonprofit advocacy group.
Leaders in the legislature have pledged to reject Newsom’s $2 billion in cuts and make it possible for agencies to use most of that money for operations. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat who represents San Francisco, believes that’s still not enough.
“In every community in California, there are people who rely on the bus, and they are not the most powerful people. They tend to be low-income. They tend to be non-white. They tend to be disproportionately seniors or students,” Wiener said. “Why on Earth we would for a moment contemplate allowing these systems to fall apart is beyond me.”
