After the pandemic decimated transit ridership, federal COVID relief funds saved transit agencies from bankruptcy and enabled them to sustain basic levels of service. Though riders are steadily coming back to transit, recovery has been slow - and ridership, along with income from fares,has not returned to pre-pandemic levels for agencies like BART, Caltrain and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Relief funds are going to run out as soon as 2024 for some of these agencies, and without a multiyear commitment of state funds, many Bay Area transit systems might be forced to make severe cuts that would curtail reliable access to work, school, health care, shopping and other daily needs for hundreds of thousands of residents, particularly low-income residents. Join us to speak with experts about how they’re planning to avert fiscal disaster, as well as how to advance programs and policy changes that can help any agency in the state restore and grow ridership.
Senator Scott Wiener / California State Senate District 11
Rebecca Long / Metropolitan Transportation Commission / Association of Bay Area Government Relations
Michael Pimental / California Transit Association
Emily Loper / Bay Area Council
Laura Tolkoff / SPUR
This event is presented in partnership with Bay Area Council.