BART is headed toward a financial cliff, according to a newly released Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury report that warns the transit agency faces a projected $375 million structural deficit beginning in Fiscal Year 2027 while also raising concerns about oversight and accountability.
The report, titled “BART at a Crossroads: Structural Deficit, Governance Accountability, and the Choices Ahead,” concludes that the agency’s long-standing reliance on passenger fares, combined with post-pandemic changes in commuting habits, has created a financial crisis that cannot be solved through service cuts alone.
According to the Grand Jury, annual ridership has fallen from approximately 128 million trips before the pandemic to about 59 million trips today, while staffing levels have increased nearly 8% since 2019. Meanwhile, BART is operating nearly 19% more service hours than it did before the pandemic despite carrying less than half the number of passenger miles.
The report states that BART’s financial model was built around commuters traveling to and from downtown San Francisco. However, the rise of remote and hybrid work has permanently altered ridership patterns, leaving the agency with significantly less fare revenue than it once collected. Before the pandemic, fares covered nearly two-thirds of BART’s operating costs. Today, they cover only about one-quarter.
To stay afloat since 2020, BART has relied heavily on approximately $2 billion in federal and state emergency funding. That money is expected to run out after Fiscal Year 2026, exposing what the report describes as a long-term imbalance between revenues and expenses.
The Grand Jury also examined BART’s efforts to cut costs and generate new revenue. Those efforts include reducing train lengths, leasing parking lots, installing new fare gates to reduce fare evasion, and leasing fiber and cellular infrastructure. However, investigators found that those measures address only about 11% of the projected deficit.
BART is counting on the proposed Connect Bay Area Measure, a regional sales tax expected to appear on the November 2026 ballot, to help close the gap. If approved, the measure could provide BART with roughly $310 million annually. But even that would fall short of the agency’s projected deficit, leaving additional budget cuts or new revenue sources necessary.
Beyond the financial challenges, the Grand Jury identified several governance concerns. Investigators found that BART’s Internal Audit function lacks sufficient independence from management, audit reports are not consistently provided to the Board’s Audit Committee, and nine of ten recommendations from recent Inspector General audits remain unimplemented. The report also notes that the Audit Committee has not conducted required reviews of BART’s Employee Code of Conduct since the committee was established in 2021.
The Grand Jury concluded that BART’s financial and governance problems are closely linked, warning that the agency needs strong oversight and accountability as it confronts some of the most significant financial challenges in its history.
I remember some members from the BART board saying: “It’s not a crime to be unhoused”. As justification for their trains being homeless a refuge. This is unacceptable!! The BART board also should NOT be out there protesting BART policies such as eating on BART trains.
No more FREE money for them.
DO NOT VOTE MORE OF OUR TAX MONEY FOR BART. Time to learn the hard lesson, end the grift, stop the steal, no more waste, and most importantly NO MORE FRAUD. Burn it all down, BART is a cesspool of inefficiency, mismanagement and illegal activities.
Vote NO in November. They clearly don’t care to implement the recommendations given to them so until they actually, like ACTUALLY, try and struggle like most people, then they don’t get anymore bailouts. Also, why is their staff growing and them providing more train services when ridership is down almost half. What’s their thought process?
Maybe the state democrat government(and those who vote them into office) should start thinking about actually using taxpayer dollars for services to taxpayers, for a change.
BART’s labor costs are through the roof. It seems like every few years the unions threaten strike, then the BART board caves in by acceding to the outrageous union demands. I personally don’t want to see service cuts, but for me to vote in favor of November’s tax measure I have to be convinced that BART unions won’t threaten strike when the current contracts expire.
This 5-county sales tax measure isn’t just going to fund the mess that is BART, but it’s also going to fund other transit agencies, including buses, ferries, trains, and MUNI. We’ve heard nothing about the actions these other transit agencies have taken to reduce their deficits. BART would receive about 30% of the almost $1 billion this sales tax measure is projected to raise, we should know much more about how the other 70% is going to be spent. If this measure does pass it’ll still leave BART with an estimated $65 million budget deficit. How is BART going to close this yearly $65 million budget deficit??? The time has come for government agencies to live within their means. VOTE NO ON THIS BALLOT MEASURE MONSTROSITY!!!
BART needs to meet with all of their unions and do concessions regarding cost sharing of benefits. Their employees pay hardly anything for their share of benefits. They should consider furloughs and no salary increases for staff. They have squandered public money for years and I personally will vote no to any increased taxes to support BART which is poorly run and managed.
No more bailouts, no more tax increases, no more bonds, just NO! BART has refused to address their spending problem – their entire board should be replaced… management salaries need a 10% cut, union contracts need to be re-negotiated or wages frozen for at least 5 yrs. Benefits need to be brought to reasonable standards as well as pensions need to be looked at……..
mr right,
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Right away!!! The estimated $310 million per year that BART would receive would still leave BART with a $65 million budget deficit expected to continue well into the future. The BART Board has waited way too long to get spending under control. That’s because a majority of the BART Board were too focused on mission creep into social issues and housing instead of focusing on running a transit agency with the mission of moving people from one place to another. Who can forget the proposal from some BART Boardmembers to pay the homeless $20.00 an hour to ride BART as “BART Ambassadors.”
IF. The fast, semi-fast train is ever fully built out… It will need taxpayer support to operate..