Advocates and Officers Rally to Save Transit – Streetsblog San Francisco

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Advocates held mock funerals Saturday in Oakland and San Francisco for BART, Muni, AC Transit and other agencies that may be forced to make significant benefit cuts because of ongoing Sacramento budget negotiations. From reporting in SFGate:

BART issued a statement last week outlining what those cuts would look like if the agency “fell off the tax cliff” without government funding for transit operations: Trains would only run once an hour and never after 9 p.m. there would be no weekend service and some stations and entire lines would be closed entirely. SFMTA said in a similar statement that without the necessary funding, Muni service would have to be scaled back to where it was at the height of the pandemic — meaning 40 percent fewer Muni routes and no service after 10 p.m

Another picture of the mock funeral from KidSafeSF Twitter

All interest groups, big and small, in the Bay Area participated and are working to put pressure on Gov. Newsom and the legislature.

Together, @SFBART and @SFMTA_MUNI are the fourth largest transit agency in the country, but these two systems are planning devastating service cuts as early as next year. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/3J3OWzgbDQ

— SPUR (@SPUR_Urbanist) June 1, 2023

The rally managed to draw media attention to the issue (see SFStandard, SFChronicle, NBCBayArea, theFrisk, CBS for more information). Proponents again urge members to keep up the pressure. From Streetsblog ally Friends of Caltrain:

Can you call the governor and lawmakers NOW to save mass transit? We need to cut their phone lines during the negotiations. Noon or anytime during business hours is good.

State leaders are currently negotiating possible funding, but the proposed budget bills on the table do not yet provide enough funds to prevent larger cuts.

Hundreds of people took part in rallies over the weekend, which drew widespread media attention. Now decision makers need to hear directly from Californians.

So far, the main funding on the table would cannibalize funding for large capital projects — meaning forgoing over $6 billion in federal funding — or leave the Bay Area with a life-size railroad museum — large train stations with no rail service.

Negotiations are in the hands of the state’s leaders – Governor Newsom, Budget Chairs Ting and Skinner, Senate Speaker Pro Tem Atkins and House Speaker Rendon. The new parliamentary speaker, Rivas, is waiting in the wings.

Caltrain, BART, SFMTA and AC Transit face potentially catastrophic service cuts if the transit fiscal cliff isn’t averted.

Here’s how you can help now, ahead of the June 15 budget deadline:

* Make brief phone calls to Governor Newsom and senior negotiators during business hours. We need to burn down their phone lines.

* Send a letter to the state’s leaders telling them that we cannot sustain the state’s economy and meet our climate goals if public transportation collapses

* Sign up to volunteer to distribute flyers on trains, buses and ferries

Lawmakers are negotiating accountability measures to ensure agencies are committed to improving service, increasing ridership and long-term financial sustainability. But these improvements won’t happen unless we stave off the fiscal cliff – your help is important.

Streetsblog can only confirm this message! Be sure to make your voice heard in Sacramento.