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The BART Board of Directors reversed course last week and approved three fare hikes following initial disagreement on fare increases.
The inflation-based hikes go into effect every two years starting 2022 apart from a hike scheduled for January 2020, according to BART.
Effective Jan. 1, BART will implement a 5.4% fare increase as part of a pre-existing plan first approved in 2003 and renewed in 2013. It’s designed to avoid shockingly high increases following long periods without an increase, BART officials said during the rate discussion June 13.
According to a report presented to directors by BART staff, the 1980s and 1990s were characterized by long gaps between increases, followed by fare hikes of 30% and 45%.
The new series of increases are meant to continue the program of regular, moderate fare hikes approved in 2003 and 2013. BART derives most of its revenue from fares.
BART board members also approved a budget for fiscal year 2020.
The board voted 8-1 to approve the budget, with Director Liz Ames casting the lone dissenting vote.
Before the initial vote on fare hikes, Ames and Director Debora Allen both expressed concern that increasing the cost to ride BART would further discourage ridership, which has been in steady decline.
“I didn’t want to focus on this right now; I want to focus on ridership declines,” Ames said.
Director Rebecca Saltzman said she couldn’t see her way clear to approving fare increases while not also increasing parking fees at BART stations.
“We continue to increase fares while continuing to leave parking fees flat,” Saltzman said. “I really think we need to revisit having incremental increases to parking fees.”
Following the decision initially to keep fares flat, outgoing General Manager Grace Crunican said, “This changes everything for us.”
BART staff built the budget at least partly on an eight-year cycle of fare increases that would have raised $400 million, according to a report presented to the board.
BART Director Robert Raburn said keeping fares the same is “like quitting your job and then walking into the bank and asking for a loan.”
The $2.37 billion budget includes $947.3 million to pay the agency’s roughly 3,400 employees, as well as $262 million to buy new train cars, $201 million to repair tracks and other structures within the system, money for new police officers and fare evasion prevention efforts and $167 million to improve earthquake safety, among other things.
The board also voted last week to issue up to $600 million in new bonds and directors approved a pilot program to test the effectiveness of giving 20% per-trip discounts to low-income riders.
Assembling new BART cars in the Bay
The company that manufactures BART’s “Fleet of the Future” cars announced last Friday it is opening a rail car assembly site in Pittsburg.
Bombardier Transportation will move the assembly of the new BART cars from upstate New York to Pittsburg in the coming months.
BART officials said the new facility will employ local workers, contribute tax dollars to the local economy and greatly reduce the vehicle emissions needed to transport the cars to BART property.
The site will be about 50 miles from BART’s Hayward test track.
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BART is another example of mismanagement of funds by a California agency. First, a “temporary” 0.50% sales tax was added in BART regions in the late 1960’s to help fund BART until it was up and running, and self-supporting. That tax remains today. Second, multiple BART bonds have been passed over the past 40 years, yet we see little improvement in infrastructure, trains, service, etc. The last bond was a few years ago for $3.9 Billion and was supposed to be used solely for new trains and equipment, not salaries. Where has that money gone? BART continues to raise fares with a total disregard for the public. They are also eliminating precious parking spots in various locations to build “transit hubs” which will line their pockets with rent, but do little of ridership. Last year, I heard about a survey in which they estimated BART is losing $14 million per year from gate crashers and the lack of enforcement by gate agents. That is appalling.
Most of my friends will no longer ride BART as the system is deemed unsafe and filthy. In many respects, the system has become a mobile homeless shelter with panhandlers, drugs, fights, etc. That probably explains the drop in ridership which is quoted in the article. I certainly avoid BART and don’t let any family members take it during off-hours.
In the article, it is stated that the budget includes $943.7 million to pay the agencies roughly 3400 employees. If you do the math, that works out to about $278,000 per employee!! I assume that includes pension, medical care, and any other benefits. Regardless, it is out of line for an agency where many of the jobs only require a high school degree or GED.
I have been fortunate and travelled all over the world. I have been on public transit systems in cities like Singapore, London, Moscow, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Boston, Seoul, Frankfurt, Paris, etc. None of them are as expensive as BART and most all are cleaner, more efficient, and better systems. We clearly aren’t getting a world class system even though we are paying way beyond what others pay.