Lawmakers pause proposal to raise Bay Area bridge tolls to help fund transit
SAN FRANCISCO – A proposal by Bay Area lawmakers to raise bridge tolls to avoid potential cuts to public transit has been shelved for the year.
State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Asm. Lori Wilson (D-Suisun) on Monday announced a "pause" on Senate Bill 532. The proposal would have enacted a temporary $1.50 increase to bridge tolls to fund public transportation.
The lawmakers said they would convene a working group of Bay Area lawmakers over the fall to determine which transit funding proposals to pursue in the next legislative session, which begins in January.
"While there was not enough time to reach a consensus on how to solve this looming problem, we made substantial progress on a solution. I will continue to make transit operations funding a major priority, and I look forward to continuing those discussions into the Fall," Wiener said in a statement Monday.
"Increasing tolls can be a significant burden to Bay Area commuters who are already dealing with high cost of living, inflation, and other expenses. From an equity perspective, tolls can have substantial repercussions especially for those where public transit is not a viable option." Wilson said. "Californians deserve consistent and reliable public transportation. We need to invest in our public transit agencies in a thorough and comprehensive manner."
The lawmakers said while there was support for the toll hike among Bay Area delegation, there was also "significant opposition."
Concerns about SB532 were also raised by Bay Area members of Congress, who sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders.
"We're concerned that this legislation will disproportionately impact our constituents and low-income communities who depend on driving for their transportation to and from work, and ultimately does not provide long-term, sustainable solutions for some of the operating issues of the Bay Area public transit agencies," said a letter co-signed by Reps. Mark DeSaulnier, Anna Eshoo, John Garamendi, Barbara Lee, Eric Swalwell, Linda Sanchez and Mike Thompson.
According to Wiener's office, while lawmakers were able to agree on $400 million in new operational funding for Bay Area transit in the new state budget, agencies face an estimated $2.5 billion shortfall over the next five years.
In a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter), Wiener explained the need for increased transit funding, saying cuts could happen within the next 12-24 months if an agreement is not reached. Wiener also noted that cuts to transit would be disproportionately felt by lower-income and non-white populations.
Allowing these transit systems to deteriorate will also severely undermine our economic recovery, particularly for downtown San Francisco. Leaders who says they want downtown San Francisco to recover needs to step up to fight to save public transit. To be blunt, few have done so.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) August 21, 2023
"Service cuts will make the systems less viable, prevent many people from getting to work/school/etc, undermine our climate goals & increase road congestion," the senator said. "Allowing these transit systems to deteriorate will also severely undermine our economic recovery, particularly for downtown San Francisco."
Wiener told KPIX last month that the toll hike would have been in place for a five-year period to help bridge the gap between now and a potential regional public transportation measure that would go before voters, possibly in 2026.