State senators Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, are pausing a controversial transit funding bill, which had the support of the regional financing agency but faced backlash from several agencies on the Peninsula and South Bay.
The bill was introduced in March and would have authorized a nine-county ballot measure to bolster funding for Bay Area public transportation. It would have also called for an assessment detailing ways to consolidate the Bay Area’s 27 transit agencies, something that was a continuous point of contention between the lawmakers and agencies such as Caltrain and SamTrans.
The bill was put on hold “due to the need for more time to work through various regional differences,” according to a May 31 press release.
“It’s very simple. Bay Area public transit needs consolidation, better governance, and efficiency over service and funding. Riders deserve that, and stakeholders need to prioritize these efforts to save public transit,” Wahab said in an email.
But agencies such as Caltrain and SamTrans didn’t hold back in their disapproval of the bill, both because of the its attempt to strengthen the authority of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission — the regional transit financing organization — and because of what some leaders considered an effort to consolidate Caltrain and BART, the latter of which is staring down a $300 million budget deficit. The friction between the two rail agencies has only festered, with Caltrain leaders remaining wary of any legislation that would put Peninsula taxpayers on the hook for BART’s shortfall.
San Mateo County is not a part of the BART district — which comprises San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties — meaning it does not contribute the same level of sales and property tax revenue to the agency as participating districts. Currently, San Mateo County conveys 2% of Measure A tax revenue to the agency for operating costs — amounting to $2.3 million last fiscal year — and $800,000 of Proposition 42 funds each year.
“We appreciate the dedication and hard work that went into this attempt to address transit operating deficits faced by systems across the region. We will continue to work with our leaders at every level to find a path forward,” Caltrain Executive Director Michelle Bouchard said in a statement.
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