CA Budgets $1B Transit Bailout; Ridership Halves From 2019

CA budgets $1B transit bailout; ridership halves from 2019

(The Center Square) — California’s budget deal includes a $750 million bailout for Bay Area transit systems amid rising costs and ridership that is yet to recover to pre-COVID levels.

Bay Area transit gets $750M loan in state budget deal, eyes 2026 sales tax measure - The Voice of San Francisco

Bay Area transit advocates and state lawmakers are celebrating a budget agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom that includes a $750 million loan to Bay Area transit agencies to hold them over until November 2026, when voters could decide on a sales tax measure to fund transit operations. The agreement also restores $1.1 billion from the greenhouse gas reduction funds that previously had gone to pay for transit infrastructure projects. “I’m extremely p…