Bay Area transit funding spotlighted in Padilla visit to San Francisco

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) visited San Francisco last week, highlighting additional funds Bay Area transit agencies received under the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan.

Mayor London Breed, BART General Manager Bob Powers and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director of Transportation Jeffrey Tumlin joined Padilla Tuesday at the Powell Street Station to announce that BART will receive $270 million, and the SFMTA $115 million.

Federal funding has played a critical role for the Bay Area transit agencies during the Covid-19 pandemic as revenue dropped due to low ridership.

Padilla said:

Public transit strengthens our economy, not only by connecting workers with their job sites, but by connecting consumers with a lot of local businesses.”

The senator added that funding will allow transit systems to prepare for workers and tourists to return to the Bay Area:

Investing in public transit is critical to our economic recovery.”

BART board Director Janice Li said the transit system saw a 23 percent increase in ridership at downtown stations in The City during the month of March:

We know that this rebound means that we have to keep doing better.”

Tumlin said federal funding investments during the pandemic has been key in the SFMTA’s recovery as the agency faced its worst economic crisis in its history, leaving the agency with 1,000 vacancies.

He said the $115 million from the American Rescue Plan is the exact amount needed for the SFMTA to “confidently push the throttle” up in hiring.

One crucial job vacancy that needs to be filled are Muni operators. The SFMTA has already delayed the return of Muni service since the start of the pandemic due to the ongoing operator shortage.

Other Bay Area transit agencies received additional funding from the American Rescue Plan, including $75 million for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, $38.8 million for Caltrain, and $26 million for the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.