Council Joins State Leaders to Reimagine Future of Bay Area Public Transit

The Bay Area Council joined top transportation leaders at a Senate Select Committee hearing convened by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) on Monday (Nov. 27) to discuss opportunities to improve our region’s public transit system. While new state funds that the Council helped secure this year pushed off the fiscal cliff for a few years, transit agencies across the Bay Area still face a looming financial crisis as ridership and fare revenue has not recovered from the pandemic. Council Vice President Emily Loper testified about opportunities to regrow transit ridership and necessary steps to rebuild voter confidence as the region looks to future funding measures to sustain transit long term.

Loper highlighted the recent safety and cleanliness improvements BART has made in response to the Bay Area Council’s advocacy, which has significantly improved conditions on the system and helped draw commuters back in recent months. More work needs to be done to ensure that all riders feel comfortable riding the system again, but we are on the right track. The Council is also encouraging the transit agencies to make progress on creating a more seamless, connected transit network and demonstrating more cost-efficient operations before asking voters to approve any new funding. To engage in the Council’s transportation work, contact Vice President Emily Loper.