Bay Area Lawmakers Push State to Strengthen Cash-strapped Transportation Agencies

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State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is leading a statewide coalition petitioning legislative leaders to bail out billions in public funding for struggling transportation agencies, according to a letter released Thursday.

“We are writing to formalize our call for the state to provide much needed funding for transit operations within the budget for the next fiscal year,” the legislators wrote. “California’s transit agencies are facing a severe funding gap – in some cases as early as this year – that will severely impact their ability to maintain service to Californians, including our most vulnerable residents.”

The letter calls on lawmakers to restore previous commitments to the Transit and Inter-City Rail Capital Investment Program (TIRCP) and to extend until 2025 pandemic relief measures such as waivers of financial penalties and flexibility on public funds.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 10 unveiled a budget proposal that cuts nearly $6 billion in capital programs, including for climate and transportation infrastructure. The cuts are part of an effort to close the state’s projected $22.5 billion deficit.

Secretary of State for Transportation Toks Omishakin also said local transportation agencies would be asked to tighten their belts. Transportation agencies facing financial cuts will hopefully get more help from the federal government, he said.

In San Francisco, the Municipal Transportation Agency, which manages Mooney’s transit systems as well as street projects, has suffered financial setbacks, including failing to deliver a $400 million bond last year, and continues to suffer from a structural deficit.

Both Muni and BART have been able to use federal Covid aid to stay afloat until 2025 but then face financial cliffs with gaping deficits of $76 million and hundreds of millions of dollars, respectively.

Viner, along with fellow Senators Ben Allen of Redondo Beach and Katherine Blakespear of Encinitas, as well as Assembly members Matt Haney of San Francisco, Wendy Carrillo of Glendale, Miguel Santiago of Los Angeles, Mia Bonta of Oakland, and others, signed the letter. It was sent to Senate President Tony Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and their respective budget chairs on Wednesday.

In a series of tweets Thursday, Wiener reiterated that while he understands Newsom’s predicament in dealing with the deficit, any short-term savings gained from cutting transit programs will incur long-term damage.

The lawmakers warned in a letter that cuts to transportation services increase traffic congestion and carbon emissions, and reduce the mobility of Californians.

The legislature has until June 15 to pass the budget, and hearings on transit reductions can be held at any time.

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