BART will be able to maintain its current service level through at least mid-2025 due to federal emergency funds, even if its ridership remains flat, according to the transit agency’s budget officials.
While the transit agency’s long-term financial outlook remains bleak, BART budget officials said Thursday that a recent allocation of $271 million in federal relief funding will push the agency’s projected fiscal cliff from mid-2024 to September 2025.
BART has received some $1.5 billion in federal relief funds since the COVID-19 pandemic began. BART budget officials said last month that the agency was using roughly $25 million per month from that relief funding pool to maintain its current operating schedule and staff size.
“Though this one-time funding will not solve our long-term ongoing financial deficit … we do want to emphasize how grateful we are for this continued and necessary financial support,” BART Budget Director Chris Simi told the agency’s Board of Directors.
While BART’s weekend ridership has begun to reach half of its pre-pandemic levels, weekday ridership has continued to hover around 30-35 percent as Bay Area continue working remotely, hindering the agency’s fare revenue.
BART officials project ridership to return to just 70 percent of its pre-pandemic levels by the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
As a result, the agency is projected for annual deficits ranging between $112 million and $174 million at the end of the decade and at the start of the 2030s.
“A $112 million deficit in (fiscal year 2026) cannot be closed without some form of service cuts or impacts to our capital program,” Simi said. “It’s simply too high a percentage of our budget to trim back.”
Simi said the agency intends to reduce its projected deficits for the 2026 fiscal year and beyond by roughly $23 million per year via targeted spending reductions and potential revenue increases, although where that revenue may come from remains up in the air.
BART officials said last month they have begun the exploratory phase of putting a revenue-generating ballot measure in front of voters in the coming years, most likely in November 2024.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has also considered a funding measure that would support transit agencies in all nine Bay Area counties.
BART officials also plan to move to a two-year budget process in response to the financial instability, arguing that presenting a two-year budget outlook each year will enable the board to make better financial decisions.
Board Director Rebecca Saltzman said she hopes the agency can expand service during “off-peak” hours in its upcoming budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, citing that the return of weekend ridership has outpaced weekdays.
“I’ve gotten a lot of constituent complaints about this – people trying to get to the airport, people trying to get to an event and they’re just finding that the service isn’t enough and they feel like they don’t want to take BART on weekends or at night,” she said.
BART budget officials are expected to issue their preliminary budget memo for the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years this week.
14 comments
BART now has US taxpayers subsidizing their operation, not just the people of the Bay Area. That’s a definite NO on any future “revenue generating ballot measure” from me. Time for massive budget cuts including layoffs and pay and benefit reductions.
Well, this gives them an incentive to make it profitable, said no one ever.
Now they can continue all the garbage that cuts ridership, like thugs and drug addicts on the trains, dirty cars, car break-ins, reducing parking for housing like they’re planning in Lafayette. Oh and no incentive to stop fare cheats.
Watch the Board of Directors give themselves and the cheese’s fat raises.
One would believe that Bart could figure out how to avoid financial issues with three years of warnings.
I guess that isn’t the case for government agencies.
Just let them waste more money and then give them more money.
We need better government.
Wow. I wish I was given free money to ensure I’m
Financially healthy until 2025 with no worries at all.
Obviously these BART board people have no clue when people are actually riding. Unfortunately I need to ride the system on weekdays and in the last couple months the number of available seats has reduced to zero on the commuting time trains. The morning train at Concord at 5:40 AM rarely has any seats when just 6 months ago there was hardly anyone. In the evening both the 4:55 train and 5:15 train at Powell are standing only with no seats. They claim the numbers are low, they need to get out of their cushy chairs in some board room and get their butts on the trains to see when the people are riding the trains. I say bring back the commuter trains in the morning from Pleasant Hill -> Montgomery and in the evening the trains that turn back at 24th street so people can actually get a seat, and please (this will never happen though) bring back only 2 door trains, the 3 door trains suck due to the lack of actual seats for those who need seats.
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“Relief Funds” = BAILOUT
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Funny the people that post on here without any knowledge of how it works.
“BART now has US taxpayers subsidizing their operation, not just the people of the Bay Area. That’s a definite NO on any future “revenue generating ballot measure” from me. ”
Well, ALL public transportation is subsidizing their operations. ACTUALLY BART is very good at farebox recovery as well as other income. As compared to other transit systems.
“Incentive to make it profitable”
It’s government, it can’t be “profitable”…
Also the Federal money came with strings, they can’t just lay a bunch of employees off or reduce service. That’s part of the deal.
They will balance the trains according to use, they want people to ride.
Last thing is BART has not risen as much as Inflation, they need to keep up. If they don’t keep up the service will decline and they could run low on money.
BART needs to change their formula to keep up with inflation. AND that it is inflation so they don’t think “Fat Cats” are getting any money. (people really need search for who are the highest paid from taxes. You’ll be surprised your money goes to ball games.)
It’s true that many here including me are not experts on public finance. However, the NY subway has 850 miles of track while BART is only 130 miles of track, and on the NY subway I believe the fixed price is $2.75 regardless of how far you ride, while BART fares vary by distance and are much more expensive. The DC metro is also cheaper and very clean and safe. BART train operators according to SF Chronicle stories get six figure salaries for pushing buttons to close doors and stare out of a window.
@To Do List …. Very Well Said! The people getting the highest salaries are running one of the very worst systems.
Somebody has been drinking the koolaid, Anonogod! It’s nice to be an optimist, but one must be a realist. While it’s true that federal tax dollars are funneled to transportation in all states, the bond measures passed by local voters are paid for by the local voters. You don’t reward mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibility by just throwing more money at it. However that seems to be the California illogical logic. Sacramento is full of financially ignorant politicians and many voters have been duped by them. Time to right the wrongs!
… another bailout for the mismanaged … I’d like a job where I could fail & then keep my job and then be made whole for it anyway
Over a billion dollars in bonds and tax-funded grants spent before the first train ran a mile…… (Bond vote passed the minimum votes needed by only 1%) Over 50 years of fare hikes and even non-riders being taxed and bond-assessed and taxed some more to pay for a Government money pit with one of the highest paid, least accountable, Boards and workforce in the Country.
Wait ’till the real string-pullers of your duly elected assembly folks demand that —in adherence to their own Gov’t Money-pit boondoggle,AB2923— the parking lots become high-rise–low-income– pseudo-shelters, causing the actual BART riders to park a mile away in YOUR neighborhood.. 😂😂😂
…….===>>>
Here’s where we (snicker) “circle back” …. Will the millions of citizens, who have spent 50 years choking up another million $ here and there with higher taxes, get a copper cent in rebate from the sale/rental of said real estate? Au contraire! My fellow serfs. Au contraire!
It’s got to be great to get paid to manage and perpetuate an unsuccessful business.
Actually I would find it a rather hollow experience. It would suck to cash a paycheck you haven’t earned.
I would like to see BART do something with its underfunded pension plan. Change it so employees are required to put more of their money into the pension. Or, get rid of the pension and move to a 401/403 model. The BART is dirty, disgusting and dangerous. In all my years of riding it hasn’t improved. Do a better job keeping the homeless off the trains and maybe paying customers would ride more often. Maybe the Board members can meet with NYC to learn how to run a subway system.
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