BART’s board of directors voted Thursday night on a plan to increase fares and parking fees as the transit company faces a budget deficit at a time when ridership has yet to recover since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a press release, fares under the plan will increase by 11% over two years. Travel costs between Antioch and San Francisco will increase from $8.20 to $8.60 in January 2024 and to $9.10 in January 2025; The fare from $4.50 for travel between downtown Berkeley and the Embarcadero will increase to $4.75 in 2024 and $5 in 2025. The board estimates that the fare increase could generate an additional $26 million in working capital through fiscal 2025.
Board members expressed concerns about the increase, but ultimately agreed to it.
Director Janice Li said this is the “biggest fare increase BART will ever make” since the inflation-based fare policy was implemented, and that many other local transit companies have recently suspended fare increases.
“What really worries me … is that public opinion about BART is deteriorating at a time when we desperately need it to get better, especially as we consider going in a direction where we care for every form.” require voters’ approval.” “We will measure sales size in the future,” Li said.
“We have to keep going, and if we don’t, we’re going to fall further and further behind, demanding more and more public money to fill those gaps.” I was very torn as to whether, given the state of the system, fare increases should be supported at all . … On most rides we’re talking about a nickel. … I’m not sure that will change a person’s decision to ride a BART,” said director Debora Allen. “…I will reluctantly support the fare increase.”
The low-income driver rebate known as Clipper START will increase from 20% to 50% in January 2024.
BART’s Board of Directors also voted to increase parking rates, the first change to its parking lot pricing system since 2013. “The new policy would allow employees to vary parking prices within a defined range based on whether the parking lots are full.” , as the agency called it. The board has not set the exact prices, but prices vary by station and time of day, and are adjusted based on car park occupancy. According to the press release, the daily fee price could increase from $3 to a maximum of $8 over several years.
The BART board of directors just approved a new parking fee policy that was last updated 10 years ago. New policies:
✅Raises floor and ceiling for parking fees
✅Increases parking costs as stations are 90% occupied
✅Allows charging in the evenings and on weekends
✅Increases future floor/ceiling with inflation pic.twitter.com/glxVjn0P05— Rebecca Saltzman (@RebeccaForBART) June 8, 2023
With help from the federal pandemic emergency funds, BART has a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The funds will be exhausted by March 2025, the agency said, and in fiscal 2025 the company faces a $93 million deficit. BART is struggling financially as May ridership was just 41% of pre-pandemic expectations.
“While we are doing our best efforts to contain costs and grow revenue through modest rate increases, we still face a structural, persistent budget gap,” said Bob Powers, general manager of BART’s board of directors, in a statement . “It is a stark reminder that BART alone cannot solve the financial crisis caused by the pandemic. Right now, BART requires temporary government funding to fill the gap while we seek a sustainable source of operating funds to advance the Bay Area and California’s economic, climate and equity goals.”