Bay Area Voters Weigh Five-County Transit Tax as Turnout Surges

SAN FRANCISCO — Sixty-four (64) years after voters approved the creation of BART in 1962, voters across 5 Bay Area counties—Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara—headed to the polls on Tuesday, November 3, to decide the Regional Transit Measure (RTM), a 14-year sales tax supporting more than 20 public transit agencies that carry nearly 8 million passengers a month.

The Regional Transit Measure and Proposition H: Avoiding 2027 Service Cuts

As reported by The San Francisco Standard, the Regional Transit Measure (Connect Bay Area Transit Initiative) proposes a 14-year half-cent sales tax across Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and a 1-cent sales tax in San Francisco, where voters are also deciding Proposition H, a 15-year parcel tax for Muni.

Transit officials warn that without new revenue, deep service reductions will begin in 2027:

• BART ($375 Million Deficit): Serving 5 counties across 50 stations (funded by a permanent half-cent sales tax first enacted in 1969 and made permanent in 1977), BART warns it would close up to 15 stations, run trains every 30 minutes on just 3 lines, end service at 9 p.m. 7 days a week, and raise fares and parking fees by up to 50%, with former board member Tom Radulovich calling the measure "existential."
• Muni ($307 Million Gap) & Caltrain ($75 Million Shortfall): The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency faces a $307 million deficit projected to reach $434 million within 5 years and warns it could cut 20 bus lines, end cable car service, and start Owl service 3 hours earlier at 9 p.m. Caltrain, which serves 3 counties across 28 stations (and passed Measure RR in 2020), warns it would close more than a third of its stations, eliminate weekend trains, end service at 9 p.m., and run hourly instead of every 15 minutes at peak and 30 minutes off-peak.
• Support, Opposition & Polling: Former BART director Debora Allen and Marc Joffe of the Committee for Affordable Bay Area Transit oppose RTM—with Joffe proposing that lawmakers divert $1 billion in cap-and-invest funds from California’s $126 billion high-speed rail project (approved in 2008), a plan UC Berkeley’s Ethan Elkind called unrealistic—while Connect Bay Area cited 58% support in a July poll and an October 5 Mercury News poll found 48% in favor, 34% opposed, and 18% undecided (after Contra Costa voters rejected a healthcare sales tax, Measure B, with 43% in June).

Early Turnout Reaches 6.5 Million Statewide as Bay Area Counties Release Schedules

According to NBC Bay Area, KTVU FOX 2, Richmond Confidential, The San Francisco Standard, and The Almanac, early participation surged across the region alongside major local contests:

• San Francisco & Alameda County: Statewide early voting reached 6.5 million ballots (27% of the electorate), with Alameda County at 27% (where Aisha Wahab and Melissa Hernandez compete in Congressional District 14) and Santa Clara County surpassing 28% (alongside San Jose Council Districts 5, 7, and 9). In San Francisco, where Supervisor Connie Chan greeted 38R bus riders at 7:15 a.m. at Geary and Park Presidio and State Sen. Scott Wiener campaigned in a poncho at the Church St. Muni stop in the Congressional District 11 race to succeed Nancy Pelosi (alongside Prop. B for a public bank and Prop. G on the Great Highway), Elections Director John Arntz reported 140,000 processed ballots (27% turnout) toward a projected 60% to 65% total, with the first tally at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday and daily updates at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
• Contra Costa & North Bay: Contra Costa Clerk-Recorder-Registrar Kristin Connelly projected 75% countywide turnout even as an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll showed 58% trust in the U.S. mail and elections spokesperson Dawn Kruger confirmed the county denied U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian’s request—delivered 11 days before Election Day—to verify the citizenship of 407 people, while voters decide Richmond’s mayoral race and firehouse bond, San Pablo’s Measure S rent cap, Solano County’s Measure E data center tax, and Sonoma County’s Prop. 50-redistricted seat between Mike McGuire and James Gallagher.
• San Mateo County: Assistant Chief Elections Officer Jim Irizarry reported countywide turnout at 34.35% as of November 2 across 50 vote centers—exceeding 2018’s pace toward a 70%+ goal—with Menlo Park at 37% (45% in District 5 as voters weigh developments on 8 downtown parking lots and Council Districts 1, 2, and 4), Portola Valley leading at 46% on a charter town and real estate transfer tax, Redwood City deciding Measure E, and Half Moon Bay voting on Measures Q and U. San Mateo County’s first results release at 8:10 p.m. Tuesday (covering mail ballots received by November 1), followed by hourly vote-center updates starting at 9 p.m. and daily mail-in updates starting November 5 for ballots postmarked Tuesday and received by November 10.

BART, Caltrain, and SamTrans Add Service for Wednesday's Valkyries Championship Parade

Meanwhile, NBC Bay Area reported that Caltrain, BART, and SamTrans are adding capacity for Wednesday’s noon parade in San Francisco celebrating the Golden State Valkyries’ first WNBA championship—won Saturday in a 68-63 Game 7 Finals victory over the Atlanta Dream at Chase Center in the expansion franchise’s 2nd season.

For the parade from the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero to 2nd and King streets, Caltrain will run 2 additional special trains—northbound train 901 departing San Jose Diridon Station at 9:13 a.m. and southbound train 902 departing San Francisco Station at 2:40 p.m.—plus 2 afternoon local trains (914 at 3:10 p.m. and 916 at 3:40 p.m., connecting south of Tamien via 814 and 816). BART will run extra and longer trains to Embarcadero, Montgomery, and Powell Street stations (connecting to Muni’s T Third line to 4th and King streets), while SamTrans riders can take Route 292, FCX, or EPX to the Salesforce Transit Center or transfer to Caltrain at Millbrae via Route 292 or Route ECR.