This year, California jumped from the 5th to the 4th-largest economy globally. Governor Newsom took credit for this because we “invest in people [and] prioritize sustainability.” But that promise isn’t in the draft state budget this year, where he proposed slashing funding for transit and affordable housing.
Investing in people and prioritizing sustainability starts with daily needs like our biggest monthly expenses: transportation and housing. His attack on transit could not have come at a worse time. Our Bay Area transit agencies are in crisis and need emergency funding to keep service on the streets and our economy running.
Bay Area transit agencies, including AC Transit, BART, Muni, and Caltrain, face a combined budget deficit of more than $800 million and will soon have to slash service if we don’t identify funding. For example, BART may have to consider stopping service on two of its five lines and shutting down some stations altogether…