Critical transit services and projects could get cut or eliminated without new state investments.
By Arianna Smith
Managing Editor
Transit California 
In an effort to help address looming funding shortfalls impacting transit agencies statewide, the Association is joining a broad coalition of organizations to request new transit funds in the state budget.
A March 5 letter to legislative leadership explained why the group is seeking $2 billion in state funds for transit agencies in this year’s budget proposal – and what Californians could lose if the state doesn’t appropriate the funds. Over 60 organizations signed the letter, including transit agencies, transit rider advocates, business organizations, environmental justice advocates, clean energy organizations, labor unions, and community groups.
The coalition is asking for $2 billion in new flexible funding over two years, beginning in fiscal year 2025-26. Transit operators would use the funds to address operating shortfalls and deliver capital projects while working toward more sustainable revenue sources, a goal that many agencies have been working towards since the 2020-21 pandemic shutdown.
However, the budget request comes amidst a deeply uncertain budget picture: a possible looming recession, proposed cuts to other state services and programs in the Governor’s January 2025 budget proposal, threatened or implemented cuts to federal agencies and grants, and shifting federal priorities.
Further, lawmakers are considering the much needed $2 billion request this year after the 2023-24 budget cycle, which, after aggressive and effective Association advocacy, concluded in the $5.1 billion “SB 125” funding package.
In spite of the difficult budget climate, investment is necessary for transit agencies to provide essential services. “Transit agencies are still recovering from the pandemic’s impacts on their ridership and budgets. This lagging recovery, when coupled with the growing cost pressures of the state’s mandated transition to zero-emission technology across all modes, will require additional state funding in the near-term,” testified Michael Pimentel, Executive Director of the Association, in a recent legislative committee hearing.
Some lawmakers support the effort to appropriate the funds for transit agencies. After being urged by the coalition, transit champions in the state Senate and Assembly are now making the case for the funds to their colleagues. State Senator Jesse Arreguín and Assemblymember Mark González have led the effort amongst their colleagues, recruiting over a dozen legislators to sign on to letters to legislative leadership and the Budget Committees in support of the $2 billion request. “[Agencies] are grappling with high vacancy rates, deferred maintenance, and stalled capital projects. These cutbacks harm vulnerable communities, hinder ridership recovery, eliminate good-paying union jobs, and increase long-term repair costs,” they wrote in March 2025 of the need for the investments. The letter continued: “We must prioritize investing in public transit as our most vulnerable communities cannot afford to lose this public service nor can we fail on the global stage,” a reference to San Francisco hosting the World Cup in 2026 and Los Angeles hosting the Olympics in 2028.
What’s at stake if legislators don’t approve the budget request
Agencies across the state are already projecting what could happen if the state declines to approve the critical funds.
“If San Diego MTS does not receive funding support to assist with the budget shortfall, we could need to reduce bus and rail service by as much as 25 percent,” said Sharon Cooney, Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) Chief Executive Officer and Association Board Chair. “MTS ridership is at 93 percent of pre-pandemic levels and continues to climb. I am hopeful our leadership at the State level will recognize how important protecting transit is for California’s success, and help us avoid these severe service reductions while we work on long-term solutions to balance our budget.”
Northern California agencies face similarly dire circumstances and possible cuts. “BART is doing its part by working to eliminate what was a projected $35 million budget deficit for the next fiscal year through cuts and strict cost control efficiencies but structural deficits of $350 million to $400 million loom in the following years unless new funding sources are identified. State budget funds are worth the investment right now as ridership is growing, people are returning to the office, and the region is focused on economic recovery,” said Alicia Trost, Chief Communications Officer of Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART). “A 90% cut in BART service would be the equivalent of closing services at 9 p.m., reducing 4,200 weekly train dispatches down to 500, and closing 9 out of 50 stations. It would mean we would be running only three of our five lines which means less frequent service, fewer one seat rides, and more transfers would be needed to get to your destination. It would be the equivalent of laying off 1,050 employees.”
Reductions in transit services that would result from lawmakers not investing the $2 billion in transit would affect far more Californians beyond those who are its riders and workers. “If we let our transit network atrophy, or worse, collapse in the years ahead, we will push our riders into cars, create gridlock on our roads, and deprive countless Californians – who cannot or should not drive – of the freedom of mobility,” said Pimentel. “What’s more, we will undercut our state’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which in California today, are largely derived from the transportation sector.”
How Association members can support the budget request
One way Association members can join the effort to support the $2 billion funding request is by registering to attend the Association’s Spring Legislative Conference on May 8 to participate in the afternoon legislative lobbying meetings with state policymakers.
But there’s no need to wait until May: Transit agencies and other Association members can spread the coalition message to support the $2 billion request right now.
“The success of this campaign depends on agencies clearly and consistently conveying their near- and long-term funding needs to decision makers,” said Laura Tolkoff, Transportation Policy Director for the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), a non-profit urban policy organization rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is one of the leading members of the coalition. “It is equally important to translate dollar figures into the tangible direct and downstream ways that funding shortfalls are going to be felt by real people in your communities. And finally, connect groups like SPUR to your local organizations, unions, and businesses that are supportive of transit and who are natural allies to grow the coalition.”
Jeff Cretan, a Partner with West Advisors and a spokesperson for the coalition, said, “Transit impacts everyone and is essential to meeting some of the most pressing problems our state is tackling today: affordability, economic recovery, livability, climate change and more.” He added advice for how transit agencies should talk about the need for the new funds: “We need stories and arguments that are data driven, but also ones that tell the human impacts of what transit provides for the people of California. It's one thing to say that transit is essential for our state to be an affordable place to live, it's another to tell the story of who rides transit and why they rely on it. The workers who need it to get downtown to their job that provides for their family, the senior who needs it to get to a medical appointment, the student who relies on it to get to school. These are the lives that buses and trains support every day.”
What happens next?
The 2025-26 state budget negotiations are underway now in the State Capitol. Budget Subcommittees in the California State Assembly and Senate are currently meeting throughout the spring to consider the Governor’s January budget proposal alongside legislative budget concerns and priorities. In late May, the Budget Subcommittees will report to the full Budget Committee, and the Legislature will consider the full Budget Bills. The main Budget Bill must be passed by June 15, and the Governor has until late June to sign the measure into law. However, as many Association members are aware, the Legislature and Governor may consider additional budget trailer bills that may provide new funding or make cuts through August and into September.
Association leadership emphasizes that the $2 billion request would address near-term needs; the Legislature must engage in longer term discussions to protect transit for their constituents in the longer-term. In closing his testimony at a recent state budget hearing, Pimentel concluded, “The broader discussion we will invite will focus on the uncertainty in historic revenue sources for transit agencies and the need to shore up this base as we build toward greater state and regional support for public transportation.”