State lawmakers are proposing a bridge toll hike to help public transportation agencies that are experiencing dire financial struggles.
Bay Area mass transportation rider numbers plummeted during the pandemic, and they're still very low. Some say transit systems such as BART could fall off a "fiscal cliff" if they're not bailed out.
Two lawmakers from the Bay Area say they have a plan that would help, but it’s going to cost drivers: State Sens. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Josh Becker (D-San Mateo) on Monday introduced a bill to raise bridge tolls $1.50.
The increase, if passed, would put tolls at all Bay Area bridges – except the Golden Gate – at $8.50.
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"Transit is not optional," Wiener said. "I think for anyone who is thinking about this, the question you need to ask yourself is will the Bay Area be a better place or a worse place if we see massive transit service cuts?"
More than 220,000 cars per day go through the Bay Bridge toll plaza on average, so that rate hike would raise $330,000 a day just on that span.
Wiener said transit systems across the region face a $2.5 billion shortfall over the next five years. Senate Bill 532 would bring in nearly $1 billion for the systems over five years.
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If BART and other agencies can't find the funds, massive cuts will be coming, including the end of some weekend service, layoffs and possible station closures.
"We will lose a lot of riders if we have to implement these cuts, sending us into a death spiral that would dramatically impact the quality of life in the Bay Area for everyone," BART Board Director Rebecca Saltzman said. "Not only would BART fail, but Bay Area transit would fail."
Critics argue transit systems don't need more money – they need better oversight in spending the money they already have.
"We know the systems will need to make some sort of reforms going forward, but you can't reform a defunct transit system," Wiener said. "If a transit system falls apart than having oversight is irrelevant."
Wiener and Becker said, if passed, the toll hike would be temporary. Lawmakers hope to introduce a bill in 2026 to address long-term solutions to funding public transportation.
