A proposed tax to support Bay Area public transit was certified Tuesday to go on the California general election ballot this November.
The Connect Bay Area initiative, if approved by a majority of voters, would implement a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara, as well as a one-cent sales tax in San Francisco to help fund local transit agencies.
A petition for the measure collected an estimated 241,964 valid signatures, exceeding the threshold to qualify for the ballot, according to the Public Transit Revenue Measure District, the regional entity established by the state law that also authorized the measure to go in front of voters.
“We are incredibly proud of the work of our broad coalition and the largest transit grassroots effort the Bay Area has ever seen to qualify this measure,” wrote Connect Bay Area campaign spokesperson Jeff Cretan in a statement.
Exceeding the signature threshold means the measure would be put on the ballot by a citizen initiative. Because of this, the measure will only require a simple majority to pass instead of a two-thirds supermajority.
The proposed tax comes as public transit agencies in the region face severe budget shortfalls in the current fiscal year. BART is $376 million in the red, while the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has a deficit of $307 million. If the measure passes, almost two-thirds of the projected $1 billion in revenue would go toward operating costs.
If the measure fails, BART will cut up to 70% of service, Caltrain will shut down weekend and evening service, Muni will eliminate at least 20 routes and Alameda-Contra Costa Transit will cut at least 16% of service.
“Passing this measure will prevent catastrophic transit service cuts and help deliver affordable, efficient transit across the entire Bay Area,” Cretan said.
