Dear Lawmakers: Don't Fund Decline—Demand Accountability at BART

OPEN LETTER –  

Dear California State Lawmakers,  

I am a proud Clipper Card carrier who rides BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and SF MUNI — and also I’m a taxpayer, so I write to you today about SB 63, which proposes a tax increase for [Bay Area] public transit.

In 2019, BART served 128 million boardings with 3.985 employees on whom BART spent $557 million.

In 2024, BART served 55 million boardings with 4.292 employees on whom BART spent $734 million. 

Between 2019 and 2024, BART’s boardings fell 57 percent yet staffing grew and annual payments to employees rose an astounding 32 percent. That’s a big problem because payments to employees now amount to $171,000 per employee, up from $140,000 in 2019, and constitute 54 percent of BART’s net operating expenses.

Employee productivity at BART is poor and moving in the wrong direction. Before you ask taxpayers for more money for transit agencies, you must require transit agencies to dramatically improve employee productivity. I know that frightens you because of the political power of public employee unions but public transit is a public good that must be run for the benefit of the public. If you stand tall and together, you can prevail. 

(David Crane is President of Govern for California, a political philanthropy that works to counter special interest influence over California governments.)