US News
Bay Area voters approve transit measures projected to raise $1 billion yearly
The Guardian reports voters approved two transit measures, and the Regional Transit Measure won 62.2% support across five counties.
The short version
- Bay Area voters approved two transit measures this week, according to The Guardian's reporting.[The Guardian]
- The Regional Transit Measure, a sales tax, is expected to generate about $1 billion annually for the region's four largest transit operators.[The Guardian]
- The Regional Transit Measure won 62.2% support across five counties and 78.6% in San Francisco, where a Muni parcel tax also won 73.6%.[The Guardian]
- Anti-tax groups could still bring legal challenges that tie up the funds in escrow accounts for years.[The Guardian]
Key facts
- Voters in the San Francisco Bay Area approved two transit measures this week.[The Guardian]
- The Regional Transit Measure is a 0.5% sales tax across four Bay Area counties and a 1% sales tax in San Francisco.[The Guardian]
- The Regional Transit Measure is expected to generate about $1 billion annually for the region's four largest transit operators.[The Guardian]
- The Regional Transit Measure received 62.2% support across all five counties that voted on it and 78.6% in San Francisco.[The Guardian]
- In San Francisco, 73.6% of voters approved a parcel tax to fund Muni.[The Guardian]
- Thousands of volunteers collected 77,000 of the 305,000 signatures that qualified the measure for the ballot.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- The $1 billion annual figure is a projection, not a realized revenue total.[The Guardian]
- The measures could still face legal challenges from anti-tax groups, which could tie up funds in escrow accounts for years; the reporting does not say whether any challenge has been filed.[The Guardian]
- A report by Laura Tolkoff estimated Bay Bridge and other chokepoint delays would more than double during peak hours without the measures; this is an estimate attributed to that report.[The Guardian]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.