San Francisco, California: Bay Area Voters Approve Transit Taxes to Fund BART and Muni

SAN FRANCISCO (Orbit Post) Bay Area voters chose higher taxes over deep cuts to public transit on Tuesday, approving two funding measures that transit agencies said they needed to keep trains and buses running across the region.

The San Francisco Chronicle called the race for both measures, USA Today reported. As of 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday, the Regional Transit Measure had 601,093 votes in support, about 61.3 percent, and 379,350 votes against, about 38.7 percent. San Francisco voters also approved Proposition H, the parcel tax for Muni, with 105,363 votes in support, about 72.3 percent, and 40,360 against, about 27.7 percent, USA Today reported.

Support was strongest in San Francisco, where 77.6 percent of voters backed the regional measure in the 9:45 p.m. count. Alameda County voted 64.9 percent yes, San Mateo County 59.5 percent, Contra Costa County 55.9 percent and Santa Clara County 53.8 percent, according to the county totals published by USA Today.

What the two taxes do

The Regional Transit Measure creates a five county sales tax for 14 years. The rate is 1 percent in San Francisco and 0.5 percent in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The tax is expected to raise nearly 1 billion dollars a year, about 980 million dollars, for more than 20 transit agencies, including BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the San Francisco Bay Ferry and Golden Gate Transit, USA Today and the New York Post reported.

Proposition H is a San Francisco only parcel tax that raises about 177 million dollars a year for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency for 15 years. A single family home pays a base tax of 129 dollars, with larger homes, multi family buildings and non residential properties paying more, up to a cap of 400,000 dollars per parcel. The tax is adjusted each year for inflation, the New York Post reported.

The cuts agencies said were coming

Ridership fell sharply during the pandemic and never fully returned as remote work cut daily commuting, so fares and parking fees no longer cover operating costs the way they once did. BART faces a deficit of 375 million dollars, Muni a gap of 307 million dollars and Caltrain a shortfall of 75 million dollars, the New York Post reported.

BART officials had laid out an alternative service plan that would close up to 15 stations, end daily service at 9 p.m. and raise fares and parking fees by up to 50 percent. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency had warned it could cut 20 bus lines, run half as many buses and end cable car service.

"Bay Area voters rightly and resoundingly recognized that our region can't function and flourish without a strong transit system and that's just what the passage of Measure RTM will help ensure," said Libby Schaaf, president and chief executive of the Bay Area Council, which backed the regional measure.

Opponents were not convinced. "Does anyone really believe that this will be the last tax increase for transit?" said Marc Joffe, president of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association. Taxpayer groups noted that the agencies already receive about 6 billion dollars a year in taxes, tolls and government grants.

Ballot counting continues after election night. The San Francisco County Department of Elections will post daily updates at 4 p.m. from November 4 to November 13 as mail ballots are processed, USA Today reported.