Many rely on buses, trains and/or ferries to get to school, work and other destinations. But the crucial services they provide are in jeopardy because the agencies running them are facing a "fiscal cliff," - a situation in which declining fare revenue and the end of pandemic funding from the federal government could result in significant operational cuts. In addition, our Bay Area operators rely on fare box revenue to fund operations more than transit agencies in other regions such as Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles.
Transit agencies across nine counties in the Bay Area have specifically requested an additional $2.5 billion in state funding to cover them for several years. Even though the state faces a $32 billion deficit, as Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, I support helping out MUNI, BART, SamTrans and others, but I don't want to hand over a blank check without major improvements, greater accountability and a plan towards fiscal stability.
I will be urging the transit operators to have a greater focus on you, the riders, in hopes to see more of you riding transit to work, shop and get around town. Too many people have told me they don't want to ride transit because they don't feel safe or seats are not clean. Our operators need to improve safety and cleanliness.
Our region needs to help save public transit as well. While our state may be able to provide some temporary help, ultimately, our region will have to step up to permanently support our transit operators. We will need to support a revenue measure to support our operators should it come up in 2024 or 2026.
We have a few more weeks to craft a state budget amid a deficit year. Public transportation is crucial to a strong economy and for meeting our climate goals. I'll do everything possible to make sure we avoid the fiscal cliff, so that individuals without cars and commuters aren't left struggling with service cutbacks. But, at the same time, agencies must have a plan to sustain themselves, while also ensuring systems are safe and reliable.
