Moving Transit Forward

Our Bay Area transit systems are careening rapidly toward a fiscal cliff. Without significant new funding by next year, BART, SF Muni, CalTrain, and AC Transit will likely go over the edge, upending our economy and the lives of Bay Area residents.

The good news: a new poll of likely voters in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties shows solid support (61%) for raising the funds from corporations through a gross receipts tax. The poll also showed that making Bay Area transit faster, more reliable, safer, and easier to use is a top priority for voters. Two-thirds support additional funding for public transit so they can maintain service and affordable fares.

A gross receipts tax is a more just solution than the one that’s currently being proposed in SB 63: a regressive ½ cent sales tax that will increase costs for workers, low-income communities, seniors, and people from disabilities. The sales tax option would also not raise enough revenue for what’s needed to help our transit system.

A small gross receipts tax on large businesses should be part of the solution.

Bay Area corporations and high-income residents are increasingly likely to receive an extension of their massive federal tax cuts. A decade ago, companies including Google and Facebook were deeply engaged in land use, housing, and transportation planning in the Bay Area to advance their own interests while failing to fund vital public services. It’s time for the corporate class to pay their fair share of our region’s costs for public transportation.

Without decisive action, the future of the Bay Area’s public transit is in doubt. False solutions – like Uber’s recent announcement of a “route sharing” service for commuters – will increasingly be the only options for workers and those who rely on public transportation.

We have the opportunity to pivot from devastating budget deficits to stabilizing and improving our transit systems by investing in them. Ridership continues to increase on MUNI and rider satisfaction is up across Bay Area systems, including BART. But the Governor’s recent budget revision includes deep cuts to transit funding and fails to provide the fiscal bridge that’s needed until we can win a 2026 ballot measure.

Support public transportation today: tell Governor Newsom and the state Assembly Transportation Committee to support a gross receipts tax on large corporations as part of any regional transit funding measure. And stay tuned here for updates on moving Bay Area public transportation forward!