BART says it needs state funding to stay afloat

BART and Muni say they are on a "fiscal cliff" and are asking for financial aid from the state to fund operations. 

"Without state funding, we will have no choice but to scale back Muni to pandemic levels of service," the San Francisco-based public transit agency said in a statement.

BART is facing a similar issue as it runs out of federal funding.

"One-time federal funds are dwindling even with BART’s stringent cost controls and will be exhausted by early 2025," Janie Li, the BART board president, said. "If transit operations funding is not included in this year’s state budget, BART must begin making severe cuts to service and staffing, as early as this year."

Those cuts could include no weekend trains and hour-long wait times. 

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"For people that work on the weekend, people who want to go to ballgames, I think it would be a really tough way to go," said BART rider Andrew Takich. 

"I believe BART should be prioritized, even on weekends and late night service," said BART rider Kenneth Licuean. "Because you have people working on weekends or coming home late at night."

BART ridership has not recovered to what it was pre-pandemic. Recently, a survey by the Bay Area Council found safety to be a major concern. Forty-five percent of those surveyed who choose not to rider BART said it’s because they don’t feel safe. 

BART said it is trying to increase ridership. The agency also said it is adding police to patrol trains and BART plans to crack down on fare evaders with new fare gates at all stations by 2026.