The state’s Department of Finance wants to extend negotiations about the loan, making it unlikely transit agencies will receive any assistance before the end of the year.
The California governor’s office has indicated they will not sign off on a proposed $750 million loan to shore up Bay Area transit agencies before the end of this legislative session, reports Juan Carlos Lara for KQED.
The delay could mean significant service cuts for BART, Muni, and other regional transit operators. “But Newsom’s Department of Finance pushed back on the idea that delaying the deal would lead to immediate service cuts, saying it was the department’s understanding that local transit agencies don’t need backfill funding until the middle of 2026 at the earliest. That, the department argued, still leaves time for the deal to be finalized next year.”
BART, the Bay Area Rapid Transit agency that connects San Francisco to other cities across the bay, faces a shortfall of $350 to $400 million beginning in 2027. According to one of its board members, a lack of additional funding could mean the loss of two of its five train lines, the closure of stations, and “a dramatic reduction in our service hours and a dramatic reduction in service frequency.”
FULL STORY: Newsom Will Not Provide Stopgap Loan In Time to Prevent Cuts to Bay Area Transit, Lawmakers Say
California Revives $750M Loan to Save Bay Area Transit
The state approved a $750 million loan as a stopgap measure to fund regional transit agencies until a 2026 ballot measure that could bring more permanent funding.
BART Announces Major Service Cuts, Fare Increases in Face of $376M Deficit
If a November ballot measure fails to bring new funding, BART’s ‘alternative service plan’ would reduce frequencies to 30 minutes, raise fares by 30%, and close up to 15 stations.
BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association