BART bond money for system needs only – not salaries

BART has placed a $3.5 billion bond measure on the November ballot to rebuild our aging system for the sake of safety, reliability, and traffic relief.  Not one penny, under any circumstance, can or will be used to pay for operating expenses, salaries, or benefits. 

The money is only for improvements like replacing 90 miles of worn track and power cables and modernizing infrastructure and systems that have reached the end of their useful life.  

To suggest we would use the money for salaries and benefits directly or “indirectly” is flat out wrong.  Cutting spending from the Capital Investment Plan in order to increase salaries would undo decades of financial projections and do immense damage to BART’s capacity to improve in the future.

BART has demonstrated fiscal responsibility over the years by transferring operating funds to pay for our growing needs.  In the last 5 years alone we have allocated over $500 million to reinvestment projects. BART is one of very few transit operators that does this.  Our 10-year forecast assumes this will continue to the tune of $1.8 billion, whether the bond passes or not.

Back in 1962, the Bay Area decided to invest in its future – a future which has since yielded safe travel, reliable transit, and reduced congestion.  Ever since, we have been a proud and enduring staple of our region’s economy, workforce, and environment.  Decades of work and investment are at risk if we don’t protect what is arguably the Bay Area’s most critical asset.

This bond is no-frills. It’s for safety – not salaries