BART is delaying its plan to potentially close up to 15 stations — several of which could be in San Mateo County — if a regional sales tax measure fails this November.
BART’s back-up plans are meant to highlight what could happen if it doesn’t significantly — and quickly — narrow its $376 million annual budget deficit by July. Voters in several Bay Area counties, including San Mateo, will decide whether to help eliminate major transit agencies’ deficits through a 14-year sales tax measure this upcoming election.
Earlier this month, BART leaders said the agency may start closing 10 stations as early as next January, including South San Francisco and San Bruno, as they have some of the lowest ridership. The next phase of station closures would have started July 2027 and would have included Colma and Millbrae.
The initial plan generated pushback from many transit leaders, including some in San Mateo County. In a meeting Feb. 26, BART board members approved a revised version of the alternative plan, which would push back any station closures until at least July 2027, though the 15 closures could still occur. A recent press release also stated that the “plan does not name specific stations to be closed.”
But BART service could still be heavily impacted if the measure fails. The updated plan states that, by the beginning of next year, the agency could eliminate service past 9 p.m., reduce overall train hours by over 60% and increase fares and parking fees by 30%.
Metropolitan Transportation Commissioner Gina Papan, who represents San Mateo County, said she was glad that the agency seemed receptive to the pushback but remains concerned over its overall approach to cutting service and reducing hours.
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“It would be nice to see more on the efficiency front,” she said.
Even if BART follows through on closures, its decision over which ones to close needs to be considered in tandem with existing agreements, which state that BART must be equitable in any potential closures throughout the system, rather than concentrating them in one or two counties, Papan added.
In the initial plan, one of the proposed station closures was Millbrae, the only station that connects both BART and Caltrain.
“That seems pretty irresponsible because regional transportation requires connectivity,” Papan said.
According to a press release Feb. 26, BART said it has “already made budget cuts across all departments and instituted a series of cost controls, including rightsizing service, labor savings, operational efficiencies, and reducing BART’s office space footprint.” It added that the agency has also worked to increase revenue by “installing new fare gates, leasing out BART parking lots, and offering new fare products such as Clipper BayPass.”
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