In a bit of transit news even better than learning the liquid you sat in is only water, the group organizing to put a five-county BART rescue measure onto the ballot announced today that it has cleared its signature-gathering goal — by a lot.
The group Connect Bay Area had until June 3 to collect about 186,000 signatures to qualify a measure that will provide a financial lifeline for BART and other area transit agencies for the November ballot. It ended up with around 305,000, easily enough to avoid being disqualified by the odd bogus signature or duplication.
Barring unforeseen lunacy, Bay Area voters will have the opportunity this year to vote yea or nay on a sales tax that could provide an estimated $310 million for BART.
Considering the transit agency is facing a looming $376 million deficit, the cash transfusion is expected to prevent BART from drastically reducing schedules, maintenance and cleanings — or even, in a realistic worst-case scenario, folding altogether.
“Major milestone achieved!” said Sal Cruz, the president of AFSCME Local 3993, which represents BART’s supervisory and professional workers. “Supporters of public transit from across the Bay Area demonstrated with their intensity and dedication just how important this mission is for all of us.”
Transit workers and enthusiasts, gathering signatures on their own time, had an outsized effect: The campaign expected they would bring in some 28,000 signatures. They brought in near triple that: 77,000.
While signature-gatherers received a notably cold shoulder from passengers on transit, they evidently had better luck elsewhere: At farmers markets, No Kings rallies, Giants games and the Hunky Jesus contest. Gas prices spiking to infinity and beyond may also have helped.
Once the signatures are ratified, the next move is to fundraise and campaign for the actual measure.
To pass, the measure only needs a majority of votes across the five counties: San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara. November 2025 polling put the measure at 56-percent approval, and there is no significant campaign being run against it.
The measure, unsurprisingly, polls far higher in transit-rich San Francisco and Alameda Counties. The strategies to win over each county will differ.
While the measure does not need to pass in every county, it is notable that the it will provide transit dollars not just for BART but for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, AC Transit, CalTrain, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, the Contra Costa County Transportation Authority, the San Mateo County Transit District and other regional outfits.
In addition to providing funding, the legislation will also mandate BART (as well as Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, etc.) to be subjected to independent financial efficiency reviews by a third-party for how they use the funds raised by the measure. If they fail to comply, their money could be withheld.
“A few months ago, we were all a little bit nervous: The paid signature-gatherers were so overstretched because of all the stuff happening at the state level,” said Sen. Scott Wiener, who, after three years of legislative bus-driving, has finally qualified a transit revenue measure for the ballot. “The volunteer transit nerds saved the day.”
The focus now turns from qualifying the revenue measure to passing it. Wiener, who says he “wakes up every morning worrying about service cuts,” describes the measure as “truly existential.”
