BART lawsuit on hold

However, BART is asking for $11 million and so far, SamTrans has said it cannot agree to that without a reduction in service.

BART President James Fang said the conditions connected with the payment of the $8.9 million were unacceptable in an earlier letter to San Mateo County Supervisor Mike Nevin, who chairs the SamTrans Board of Directors.

After negotiations last week, SamTrans offered to pay $8.9 million of the $11 million it owes BART in unpaid operating costs associated with the expansion into San Mateo County. SamTrans is required to pay for operation costs of the new extension.

BART officials said they've already made concessions including the reduction of services levels and costs on Feb. 9. Making any further cuts to services would only hurt Bay Area commuters, Fang said.

"Trying to force BART to accede to service cuts as the sole solution to SamTrans' problem is not good for San Mateo and not good for the Bay Area," stated Fang in the letter to Nevin.

During the mediation period, the agencies will try to create a new affordable service plan that could include service adjustments, ridership development and revenue generation. They will also create a schedule for BART to repay SamTrans for capital costs and real estate purchases.

The battle between the two public agencies erupted last week when BART announced it would pursue a lawsuit against SamTrans. SamTrans shot back by admonishing BART for not paying it $10 million borrowed to construct the extension to SFO. Officials also said BART was billing them based on outdated estimates of riders.

When SamTrans agreed to pay the operating costs at the San Bruno, Colma and Millbrae stations, officials expected to pay about $6 million a year. The current bill is something closer to four times that, Nevin said.

BART has billed SamTrans based on "phantom riders" - a 1995 ridership projection that never became a reality, SamTrans General Manager Mike Scanlon said last week.

BART estimated more than 50,000 riders a month, but the number is actually closer to 24,000. Last fall, Scanlon told BART officials that its bills exceeded the district's budget for extension service because it was working with the outdated numbers. The result is a loss of about $1.8 million a month.