Supporters of a proposed sales tax that would shore up the Bay Area's transit agencies garnered over 300,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot.
A campaign to get a proposed sales tax to fund the Bay Area's struggling public transit agencies onto the November ballot was successful, blowing well past the necessary 186,000 signatures needed to qualify the measure.
As Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman explains in an article for KQED, "The Connect Bay Area Act would create a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and a one-cent sales tax in San Francisco County for 14 years, which is expected to generate around $1 billion annually for BART, Muni, AC Transit and Caltrain, among others Bay Area agencies, which are facing steep budget deficits due to pandemic-related drops in ridership and revenue." The Connect Bay Area campaign says they collected over 300,000 signatures, which will be verified by county election officials.
According to a report released last week, the four regional transit agencies saved over $1 billion between July 2019 and 2025 through "efficiencies and revenue-enhancing measures." The report was mandated as the first phase of a fiscal efficiency review required for the sales tax to be possible. "The second phase of the financial review will happen only if voters approve the Connect Bay Area Act in November."
Read the full story: Campaign to Fund Bay Area Transit Smashes Signature Gathering Goal
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