Caltrain Funding Measure Gets OK for November Ballot

The Bay Area Council applauds an agreement hammered out this week by leaders in Santa Clara, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties that will enable a Caltrain funding measure to head to the ballot this November. The last-minute deal came after a dispute over governance of the critical mass transit system threatened to scuttle the measure, which proposes a 1/8 cent sales tax to provide Caltrain with a dedicated source of revenue. Without the funding and with ridership at record lows due to the COVID shutdown, some feared Caltrain could be forced to close by the end of the year.

The Council has been an ardent and long-time supporter of Caltrain for the important role it plays in serving the region’s most economically productive corridor. We were instrumental in helping move forward the electrification and modernization project now underway, which will increase Caltrain’s future ridership capacity, speed up trains, reduce noise, and also support the arrival of high speed rail in the future.