Bay Area Transit Funding Measure Inching Closer To A Ballot Could Have Big Impacts On Contra Costa Commuters

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA — California lawmakers approved a bill today that paves the way for a regional sales tax to pay for Bay Area transit.

If approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bill would allow a public transit revenue measure to be placed on the November 2026 ballot.

That measure would establish a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties, and a one-cent sales tax in San Francisco.

If approved by voters, the measure would fund transit operations in the Bay Area for 14 years.
The income from the tax would be used to stabilize and expand transit service in those counties, but would affect non-resident commuters.

The money will go to BART, Muni, AC Transit, VTA, SamTrans, Caltrain, Golden Gate Transit, WETA ferries, and to smaller bus operators, according to Ryan Jones, spokesman for the Central Contra County Transportation Authority, or County Connection.

The Concord-based public transit agency operates fixed-route buses and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) services in and around central Contra Costa County.

The bill — SB 63, or Connect Bay Area Act — divides the money among the agencies.

BART, Caltrain, AC Transit and SF MUNI carry the bulk of transit riders in the region.

But for smaller operators like County Connection, the funding is a lifeline for restoring service to pre-pandemic levels, Jones said.

Service still has not recovered from the loss of ridership, which had a huge impact on the agency's operating revenue, Jones said. "As a result, we had to cut back on service and, though we’ve been adding back service, we’re not what we were in 2019," said in an email.

“For too long, bus operators like ours have stretched every dollar just to maintain basic service, County Connection general manager Bill Churchill said.

Other East Bay transit operators, including Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LATVA), Tri Delta Transit, and WestCAT, cheered the bill's passage on Tuesday.

They echoed state lawmakers' arguments for the potential to provide stable, long-term funding to maintain essential services, as well as reduce congestion and meet climate goals.

“SB 63 gives our communities a chance to secure reliable funding that ensures students can get to school, seniors can access essential services, and workers can depend on us to reach their jobs," LATVA Executive Director Christy Wegener said.

The agency operates WHEELS, which connects riders with BART, the Altamont Commuter Express (ACE), and County Connection.

Contra Costa County’s most vulnerable populations depend on frequent, safe and reliable bus service, Rashidi Barnes, head of Tri Delta Transit, said.

In Eastern Contra Costa, he said, transit is essential to both economic mobility and quality of life.

In Western Contra Costa, WestCAT connects riders to the rest of the Bay Area,” Rob Thompson, general manager of the agency, said.

Funding for Bay Area transit has long been anemic despite being the center of biomedical, tech, and other industries. The pandemic exacerbated funding issues for transit agencies here and across the country, according to Scott Wiener, who authored the bill with Jesse Arreguín (Berkeley).

Wiener and other lawmakers helped avert deeper service cuts in 2023 with $1.1 billion in state funding. That money is due to run out in mid-2026.

According to Wiener's office, the funding measure authorized by SB 63 will be implemented as a sales tax in San Francisco, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties, with an option for San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties to opt in by July 31, 2025.

The default rate is set at half of a cent, with the exception that San Francisco may have up to one cent to provide additional support for MUNI. The exact rates have to be negotiated and finalized by July 31, 2025, by which time the transit agencies and local governments must also submit a spending plan to allocate revenue generated by the measure, according to Wiener's office.

SB 63 will also require transportation agencies to make changes to improve financial efficiency and coordination with other systems to receive funding. BART, MUNI, Caltrain, and AC Transit will be required to comply with the MTC’s Regional Network Management policies and programs, and MTC will be required to conduct an independent financial review to identify cost-saving measures for those operators. After the assessment, they will be required to submit implementation plans to MTC detailing cost-efficiency measures they plan to implement.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Oct. 12 to approve or veto the bill.