BART could close up to 15 stations, cut service frequency by 63%, raise fares and parking fees by 30% and end all service at 9pm as early as 2027. Its future hinges on November transit-tax votes after ridership remained too low to sustain its funding model.
The regional measure would raise about $1bn annually for 14 years for the four largest transit operators through a half-cent sales tax across four Bay Area counties. San Francisco voters also face a separate 1-cent sales-tax proposal, one of two transit taxes on the city’s November ballot.
BART gets 60–70% of its operating revenue from fares, leaving it exposed to low ridership and the shift to remote and hybrid work. A Spur report says peak-hour delays on the Bay Bridge and other chokepoints would more than double if the measures fail. Spur estimates displaced riders could need to drive an additional 10 miles each way to reach an open station and incur $3,280 in extra annual transportation costs; low-income workers and people with disabilities would be hit hardest.
