Bay Area residents approve $1 billion tax for public transit
(The Center Square) - San Francisco Bay Area residents approved multiple new taxes to fund public transit in this year’s election, including a $1 billion annual sales tax. Supporters of the tax say the increased income could be a lifeline for the struggling Bay Area Rapid Transit, Caltrain and other regional public transit systems that had warned of major service cuts if the measure were not passed. But amid economic stress in the region, opponents questioned the transit system’s spending practices. “Transit is worth the investment,” read a BART statement after the regional ballot Measure RTM passed. "RTM" stands for "Regional Transit Measure." A spokesperson for the transit system declined an interview request from The Center Square for this story. Measure RTM asked voters in five Bay Area counties - Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco - to increase sales taxes over the next 14 years to support BART, Oakland’s AC Transit, Muni, Caltrain and several other regional public transit systems as they struggle from the post-pandemic ridership drop. The tax is 0.5% in all the counties, except for San Francisco, which will see a 1% tax. The tax will cost residents outside of San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Area, CA · 17h
