Time is Ticking for MUNI and Bart

San Frn, and several transit agencies in the Bay Area, are bracing for possible cuts and service reductions if two measures on the Nov. 3 ballot fail to pass. 

The proposed cuts would be devastating for transit agencies that have been struggling with ridership and financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Muni would cut service by 30% and cancel 20 bus routes, end regular evening service and even cut cable cars. Likewise for BART, they would close up to 15 stations, only run three lines and cut service by 70%. Caltrain would run once per hour, end weekday service at 9 p.m., and completely end weekend service. AC Transit would see 16% of its service reduced. 

The Regional Transit Measure is a ballot measure that would establish a 14-year sales tax for five Bay Area counties, gathering $1 billion per year to preserve public transit. 

The tax would be 0.5% in four counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara — and 1% in San Francisco. Five percent of the revenue would be used to fund rider-focused improvements like discounts and coordinated fares, wayfinding and accessibility to make transit “more seamless.” 

Additionally, Proposition H is a proposed San Francisco parcel tax for Muni that would generate $150 million annually “to reduce deficit,” and $10 million to “make marginal service quality improvements.” The parcel tax would be based on residential type and the square footage of the building.

“If only one of them passes, we're still looking at huge cuts to Muni service,” said Dylan Fabris, community policy and policy manager of San Francisco Transit Riders. “It's really important that people are voting yes to both Measure H and to Measure RTM.”

SPUR believes that transit is “vital for the region’s economy,” implying that half of transit trips are work related and support access to job opportunities. 

“A lot of students and a lot of workers are heavily reliant on transit in the Bay Area," Tolkoff said. “Half of all of the trips on BART are work related.” She added that it’s close to “400,000 people a day” who rely on BART to get to work.

A study by SPUR titled “Bumper to Bumper,” which is also posted on Connect Bay Area’s website, shows that Muni lines account for more than 55,300 weekday boardings and 37,870 weekend boardings. Route eliminations would affect “more than 10% of Muni’s weekday boardings and approximately 17.8 million trips per year.”

“Instead of, you know, an eight-minute service, you’re looking at a 16-minute service,” SPUR Transportation Director Laura Tolkoff said, adding that “they would reduce nighttime service again” by ending at 9 p.m.

In San Francisco, some advocacy work has been done to spread awareness of the RTM and Proposition H, particularly by San Francisco Transit Riders, an organization involved in fighting for affordable and accessible public transit. 

“We're trying to be the biggest cheerleaders for both of the measures,” Fabris said. “We have to pass both, each of them fills about half of Muni’s deficit.”

Fabris and the organization are involved in “flyering, postering, phonebanking and working with other campaigns,” in an effort to get the word out to make sure RTM and Proposition H passes. You can learn more about San Francisco Transit Riders at https://sftransitriders.org/