Senators Wiener and Arreguin Respond to Department of Finance’s Decision to Stop Bay Area Transit Funding Agreement

SACRAMENTO – With just days remaining until the end of the legislative session, the Governor’s Department of Finance informed lawmakers it will not be finalizing a critical bridge loan to prevent serious service cuts to BART, Muni, AC Transit, and other Bay Area public transit operators next year. Not authorizing the loan now could lead to quick service cuts by major Bay Area transit systems. Senators Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Jesse Arreguin (D-Oakland) have been working for months to try to finalize loan terms.

The June budget included a $750 million loan from the state to Bay Area transit systems, to be paid back over time, to prevent service cuts between now and 2027. The Legislature is advancing legislation by Senators Wiener and Arreguin to authorize a regional funding ballot measure for November 2026, but funding from that measure will not begin until 2027.

Without this bridge funding, BART, Muni, and other Bay Area transit systems will be forced to cut service starting this year or early next year, a disaster scenario illustrated by yesterday’s BART technical outage that left major roadways throughout the Bay Area clogged with traffic throughout most of the day.

Senators Wiener and Arreguin issued the following statement in response to the news:

“Bay Area lawmakers, along with transit operators and advocates for public transportation, worked all summer proposing various terms to implement the loan to Bay Area transit operators, as contemplated in the June budget agreement. It’s essential that this loan happen. California has a long and bad history of not adequately funding public transportation, particularly compared to other large blue states. The state needs to step up and ensure we don’t see debilitating service cuts at BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, and other operators.

“This failure by the Department of Finance is unacceptable. Public transportation is the lifeblood of the Bay Area, as we were all reminded yesterday when a technical problem caused a system-wide outage at BART through most of the day. Even on a Friday, when fewer people commute to the office, BART service shutting down meant our roads were choked with bumper to bumper traffic throughout the day, children and working people lost access to school and work, and our air got more polluted. Without the funding in this deal, conditions like these could soon become a daily reality.

“Bay Area residents deserve better. Public transportation is absolutely essential to meet our commitments on return to work, downtown recovery, improving air quality, combatting the climate crisis, and basic day to day life. While Republicans are defunding transit systems in Pennsylvania and other purple and red states, California must lead by example and protect the vital service our transit systems provide every day.”

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