Description
Years after the pandemic emptied trains and buses, Bay Area transit agencies still face anemic ridership and rising costs. Measure RTM, a new regional transit measure that voters put on the November ballot, aims to shift the tides. It would add a 0.5% sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and 1% in San Francisco, to raise an estimated $14 billion over 14 years. Supporters hope it will fund BART, Muni, Caltrain, SamTrans, VTA and AC Transit and better connect the systems, while critics call it a regressive tax that hits lower-income residents hardest.
For more on the upcoming election, visit kqed.org/voterguide.