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11/11/2025
Caltrain is preparing for potential service cuts if a ballot measure to fund Bay Area transit agencies with sales tax revenue is not approved by voters next year.
California Senate Bill 63, which was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 13, places the future of Bay Area transit funding on November 2026 ballots. Voters in a five-county region will consider a 14-year regional transportation sales tax that would generate approximately $980 million annually for improving transit across the counties, according to an Oct. 13 news release from the Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Caltrain, which serves the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley region, is one of several transit agencies across the Bay Area are facing structural budget deficits as post-pandemic travel patterns have shifted commuter behavior. If the sales tax measure fails, Caltrain would need to take actions to reduce the funding gap.
Potential impacts include closing more than a third of Caltrain stations, no weekend service, reducing service to once an hour, ending operations by 9 p.m. and cutting segments of service, Caltrain officials said in a Nov. 7 press release. No timeline on the potential service cuts was given.
These service cuts would undermine the progress Caltrain has made in recent years to rebuild ridership, improve service reliability and support clean air goals through electrification, Caltrain officials said.