BART is Facing a Fiscal Cliff

BART is essential to the Bay Area

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how Bay Area residents live, work, and travel. It hit BART and all other public transit systems hard, decimating transit ridership and, along with it, the transit fare revenue we rely on to keep trains running.

We are in an unprecedented moment, with the survival of BART at risk. While many workers, students, and neighbors who depend on BART continue to ride, others have returned to transit more slowly and are riding less frequently. The Bay Area has the highest work-from-home rates in the nation and the slowest downtown recoveries, resulting in fewer transit trips. 

In response to the pandemic, lawmakers recognized the value of transit and provided emergency funds as an investment to keep trains and buses running. 

BART is now running service using emergency funds that will run out in 2026

Before the pandemic, money from passenger fares and parking fees covered nearly 70% of the cost to run BART service. This means that for decades, our riders carried the burden of funding the majority of the BART operating budget, even though all residents of the Bay Area benefit from BART, even those who do not ride. Now, because of remote work, only 25% of operating costs are covered by fares. That significant funding gap puts BART service at risk. Most riders have returned to BART but they are taking fewer trips than they once did. This has created an ongoing structural financial deficit, severely impacting BART’s long-term ability to deliver the high-quality transit service the Bay Area relies on. 

We can't cut our way out of the crisis

Like other transit systems across the country, BART has been fortunate to receive nearly $2 billion in federal, state, and regional emergency assistance since the start of the pandemic to keep trains running and improve service and cleanliness, but this funding will be fully used up by spring 2026. BART is facing a $35-million operating deficit in FY26 and $385 million in FY27, then an annual $300M to $400M structural deficit.

Ridership continues to slowly grow as we attract more people to take trips not related to a work commute, but BART’s historical reliance on passenger fares to pay for operations, long seen as very effective, is outdated and no longer sustainable in today's travel environment. New sources of funding are needed to avoid significant service cuts to ensure BART will continue to provide solutions for many of the Bay Area’s most pressing challenges, including traffic, affordability, housing, safety, equity, and climate change.

Even with belt-tightening, we can’t cut our way out of the crisis. That is because rail has high fixed costs to maintain our infrastructure and low marginal costs driven by changes in service. BART would have to cut service 65% to 85% to save 20% to 40%. Cutting service and scaling back on cleanliness and safety efforts will only trigger a transit death spiral. People will not use BART if they must wait too long for a train or if the experience declines. 

BART keeps costs under control

BART's operating expenses have increased more slowly than the consumer price index since 2019, despite opening the extension to Berryessa. BART's operating expenses have grown more slowly than most peer transit agencies, both in terms of our overall operating budget and the amount it costs to operate an hour of service.

A long-term and reliable funding source is needed to avoid service cuts

BART is working with the region’s transit operators, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), and other stakeholders to pursue funding to address the growing transit financial challenges, most likely with a regional tax measure on the November 2026 ballot.

If new ongoing funding is not secured, BART is facing devastating cuts that will have serious impacts on the quality of life in the Bay Area. 

BART is responding to the money crisis with these financial stability strategies:

• Improve service to keep our riders coming back and gain new riders
• Provide frequent, reliable, safe, and clean service
• Promote taking BART for non-work trips
• Install new fare gates to reduce fare evasion 
• Find as many ways to increase revenue and decrease expenses without cutting service levels
• Reduce overtime
• Modernize our financial operations and improve long-term financial planning through a new Chief Financial Officer structure 
• Offer innovative new fare products to increase ridership
• Implementing recommendations from the Office of the Inspector General to improve operational efficiencies and enhance contract oversight for cost savings
• Improve transit coordination with all transit operators by syncing schedules and developing a new, uniform approach to mapping and wayfinding
• Advocating for new state and federal funding

Potential Consequences of a Fiscal Cliff

• 60-minute train frequencies 
• 9pm closures
• Station closures 
• Line shutdowns
• No weekend service
• Mass layoffs
• Increased traffic congestion
• Negative impact on state climate goals
• Priority populations disproportionately impacted
• No BART service altogether

For the disabled, elderly, youth, and those unable to afford a personal automobile, BART is undeniably a lifeline; their travel needs will no longer be met. Those who don’t take BART can expect more congestion and longer travel times on our bridges and roadways as former BART riders take to their cars.

BART's Role in the Region

For more than 50 years, BART has served as the Bay Area’s regional connector. By providing excellent rail service to riders of all backgrounds and abilities, this system has long been a central component in the region’s mobility, cultural diversity, environmental, and economic sustainability.   

To fully understand how BART contributes to the Bay Area, we encourage the public to read the Role in the Region Study, highlighting BART’s essential role in the region’s success and the well-being and quality of life of those who reside and travel here. The study shows how without BART, traffic congestion would worsen, significant consequences would cascade across the regional transit network, greenhouse gas emissions would increase and the state would not meet climate goals, and the local economy would be severely impacted.   

Explore key findings from the study here.

BART is the backbone of the Bay Area

BART runs 220,000 trains in a year.

We serve 5 counties with 6 million people.

More than 300 bus, light rail, ferry, private shuttle, and inter-regional carrier routes connect to BART.

87% of transfers include a leg on BART.

BART helps meet housing goals, and stations are a focal point for the region's housing supply.

Taking BART every day for one month emits less CO2 than driving to the same location just once.

Without BART, there would be a daily increase of 780,000 to 1,5 million miles driven. Resulting in 35K-70K gallons of gas burned, requiring 5K-10K tree seedlings grown and sequestering carbon for 10 years to remove the greenhouse gas emissions. 

Be a transit champion

The Bay Area needs safe, clean, and reliable public transit now more than ever to advance the core values of what it means to live and thrive in the region.

• Think twice about driving and choose transit more often.
• Talk to your friends and family about riding transit and take trips together.
• Spread the word about transit in your local community and associations.
• Share our Fun Stuff content and post about your BART rides on social media.
• Ask your employer to purchase BayPass to give you unlimited transit.
• Purchase BART merch.

Ridership Trends

BART's ridership matches Bay Area return to office occupancy rates. Work related trips make up a smaller share of BART trips and riders are using the system more for personal needs. Evening, weekend, and airport service have retained ridership more strongly than commuting. Explore BART's Role in the Region study for more details about these trends.

Ridership peaked at 47% of pre-pandemic expectations in September 2024. Overall, 2024 was 43% of pre-pandemic expectations.

BART served 50.7 million trips in 2024, an increase of 2.6 million extra trips compared to 2023, representing a 5.3% increase. To put that into perspective, the SF Bay Ferry served 2.6 million trips in 2024.

Compared to 2023, weekdays grew 5.0%, Saturdays grew 4.1%, and Sundays had significantly greater growth at 8.7%

Total Fiscal Year annual ridership: 

FY24 49,609,918
FY23 45,864,475
FY22 34,549,913
FY19 118,102,114 (before the pandemic)

Presentations given to the BART Board of Directors about the fiscal cliff

October 24, 2024: Board of Directors Meeting: Update of Regional Transportation Revenue Measure
October 24, 2024: Board of Directors Meeting: Bay Area Transit Measure Survey Analysis
September 12, 2024: Board of Directors Meeting: Update on Regional Transportation Revenue Measure
June 13, 2024: Board of Directors Meeting: FY25 & FY26 Budget Adoption
May 7, 2024: Board of Directors Meeting: FY 25 & 26 Budget Sources, Uses and Rail Service Plan 
October 26, 2023: Board Budget Workshop: Financial Context 
October 26, 2023: Board Budget Workshop: Strategies to Reduce the Deficit
Feb. 23, 2023: Board Workshop: BART's Financial Outlook and Economic Context 
Feb. 23, 2023: Board Workshop: Update on Advocacy Strategy
Jan. 26, 2023: Fiscal Action Plan and Advocacy Strategy
 

June 28, 2023: Statement from BART GM on state budget agreement 

Advocacy Letters

November 2022 Transit Agencies Joint Letter to the Pete Buttigieg about Transit Recovery Assistance
January 2023 Transit Operating Coalition letter to the Ca. Legislative Budget Committee Chairs 
March 2023 Transit Operating Coalition letter to Ca. Legislative Budget Subcommittee Chairs
May 2023 Transit Operating Coalition letter to Ca. Legislative leaders