Wiener pauses bill to fund billion-dollar public transit shortfall with higher bridge tolls

Bay Area lawmakers announced Monday that a state bill that would temporarily increase bridge tolls to $1.50 for five years to fund public transit operations is now put on hold.

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) joined Assemblymember Lori Wilson (D-Suisun) in announcing on Monday that Senate Bill 532 required more discussion with Bay Area legislators and stakeholders on how to help fund public transit operations. Wilson, who initially did not support the bill upon its introduction, agreed to collaborate with Wiener in order to find solutions.

Wiener wrote:

“We’re deeply committed to solving this problem & breaking the political paralysis that threatens our transit systems. The Bay Area’s future depends on robust transit. Asm Wilson & I will convene stakeholders over the fall recess to work toward a solution to advance in January.”

He announced SB 532 in late June following approval of a state budget that included $1.1 billion to state funding to aid public transit agencies that faced budget shortfalls in the coming years due to a decline in ridership and sluggish economic recovery in the Bay Area.

Still, Bay Area transit agencies said that the state budget funding fell short of covering operational costs until 2026, a time when a ballot measure might be presented to voters for public transit funding.

SB 532 aimed to assist transit agencies in reaching 2026 by generating approximately $900 million in revenue.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency said in a post:

“This is very disappointing, and it’s a blow to our efforts to maintain Muni service after federal pandemic relief funds run out next year. But we’re going to keep fighting for the hundreds of thousands of people who rely on Muni every single day. We can’t afford to lose transit.”

The bill attracted seven Bay Area members of Congress who wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom expressing their concerns over SB 532. Additionally, the Bay Area Council, representing the largest employers in the Bay Area, voiced their concerns about the bill’s potential impact on low-income drivers who rely on the bridge for commuting.

An analysis by think tank SPUR challenged some of the council’s findings on how the bridge toll increase would impact drivers.

Wiener said that the solution to funding transit agencies could not only come from increasing bridge tolls but also from other sources, including additional state funding.

He wrote that allowing transit agencies to worsen would affect the recovery of San Francisco’s downtown area:

“Leaders who says they want downtown San Francisco to recover needs to step up to fight to save public transit.”