Commission eyes 2026 tax measure to preserve and improve Bay Area transit

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission this week adopted a set of principles to guide its pursuit this year of state legislation that would enable Bay Area voters in 2026 to consider a transportation tax measure designed to improve the customer experience for transit riders and avert deep service cuts by BART, San Francisco Muni, AC Transit, Caltrain and other transit agencies. 

These agencies face an combined annual operating deficit estimated at $500 million to $800 million as early as the 2026-27 fiscal year. State senators Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Jesse Arreguín of Berkeley recently introduced Senate Bill 63 to authorize placement of such a measure on the November 2026 ballot. But the legislation is still a spot a bill and does not yet include any details. 

"I will request a meeting with Senator Arreguín and Senator Wiener to share MTC's priorities with them," said MTC Chair and Pleasant Hill Mayor Sue Noack. "I will let them know that I would like the Commission to sponsor their bill, which would give us a seat at the table when amendment discussions take place."

MTC's support will depend on the bill being amended to ensure any regional tax measure:

1. Be capable of passing: Because a half-cent sales tax is the highest tax rate most local elected officials and other key leaders are broadly willing to support, MTC recommends legislation be structured to authorize a sales tax of up to a half-cent in each participating county unless there is demonstrated political support for a higher rate in one of the counties; that both the enabling legislation and the resulting ballot measure be focused and easy to understand; and that enabling legislation establish a clear path for a multi-county measure to be placed on the ballot via signature gathering, which would enable passage by a simple majority.
2. Prevent major service cuts for regional operators: A measure must raise enough money to prevent unacceptable service cuts by multi-county transit operators, which would damage the Bay Area economy, decrease mobility for many residents, and hinder progress on emissions-reduction, economic opportunity and quality-of-life goals; and it also must allow all local transit operators that serve a county included in the measure and face an operating deficit to receive funding from the measure if needed to avert major service cuts.
3. Take into account local transportation needs: To balance the need for new regional funding with the need to maintain funding for local priorities, decisions about the duration of a multi-county tax measure should be developed in coordination with participating counties that also have local transportation sales tax measures that expire within the next 10 years.
4. Fund and deliver rider-focused improvements: Bay Area residents want and deserve a connected and customer-friendly transit network. For MTC to support a measure — and for it to succeed at the polls — the measure must fund rider-focused improvements and must make transit agencies' eligibility for money from the measure contingent on compliance with Transit Transformation policies and programs established by the Bay Area's Regional Network Management framework.
5. Be fair: A multi-county measure must be considered fair by all participating counties. All counties whose residents are served by regional transit service should contribute their fair share toward an agreed-upon funding level for those operators; and taxpayers in participating counties need assurance that they will benefit fairly from the measure.
6. Include meaningful accountability provisions: Enabling legislation should include provisions to ensure transparency about how the funds are spent and should provide greater oversight of transit agencies' financial information so members of the public can more easily access the agencies' budget information and the agencies are encouraged to manage their funds efficiently.

After MTC's pursuit last year of enabling legislation for a 2026 regional transportation measure stalled in Sacramento, the Commission established a Transportation Revenue Measure Select Committee to help state and local elected offiicals, business and labor groups, and transportation advocates build consensus for a new bill that could both win support in the Legislature and allow Bay Area voters next year to consider a tax measure that would sustain robust regional transit service, deliver a better experience for transit riders and attract new passengers. 

The work done last year by the Select Committee, as well as a January 2025 poll of voters commissioned by MTC, indicates a shorter-term measure with a 10-year or 11-year duration stands a chance of winning voters' support in counties served by BART, Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit.