Governor wastes millions of dollars on planning for a boondoggle transbay tunnel despite plummeting ridership.
last week announced that the state has awarded $11.3 million for planning for the second transbay train crossing. The money officially will go to the Link21 Program, run by BART and Capitol Corridor to improve rail service in 21 counties from the northern San Joaquin Valley to the Monterey Bay area. Make no mistake: BART is driving the Link21 train.
One would think that, with state lawmakers facing tough choices on cuts for the upcoming fiscal year, the Newsom administration would be selective about how it hands out money. But that’s not the case. The idea of a second transbay BART crossing from Oakland to San Francisco has been discussed for decades. The idea was that it would enable the transit district to run more trains across the bay and accommodate more passengers. The price tag back in 2002 was peggedBay Area Council
business group put out a study touting a new BART crossing. It was understandable given that, at the time, coming out of the Great Recession, average weekday transbay ridership had increased 39% from 2009 to 2015. The group doubled down on the idea in, before it was clear how much shifting work habits would indefinitely hurt BART ridership.
But today, says the group’s spokesperson, Rufus Jeffris, the analysis would look a lot different. “We believe investments in safety, cleanliness and better service are critical right now. And should be prioritized above a lot of other things,” he said in an email.
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