Due to continuing low ridership, the finances for mass transit systems across the state are so bad, select Senate committees are looking into how, if, and when we can keep them from falling of a financial cliff.
The Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Public Transit held a hearing on Tuesday looking for ways to overcome the many barriers to mass transit recovery. "Bay Area transit agencies face a $2.5 billion operating shortfall over the next five years. They'll be forced to enact massive service cuts that could induce a death spiral," said Sen. Scott Weiner, San Francisco, the committee chairman.
Last week, the governor's updated budget proposal left in place $2 billion in cuts to public transit. "We cannot and we will not allow our public transportation systems to collapse by inaction on the part of the state of California," said Senator Wiener. It's not just buses and it's not just rail. It is literally all forms of public transit, even some private transit, having real problems because not enough people are going back to their offices. "Today there are 150,000 fewer people in downtowneach weekday as compared to pre-pandemic. The amount of available office space for lease in downtown San Francisco is equal to 20 Salesforce Towers," said Golden Gate Transit General Manager Denis Mulligan.
Even now, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, SamTrans is down 70% from pre-pandemic days, VTA down 63%,
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