Bay Area transit agencies plan for first wave of CARES funding

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) last week released a framework for the allocation of more than $780 million of federal funds for transit agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief an Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law last month.

The proposed allocations, which were developed through a partnership between MTC and transit agency staff, represents the first of two distributions of the estimated $1.3 billion in CARES Act funding for which Bay Area transit agencies are eligible and will be considered by the commission on April 22, MTC officials said in a press release.

"These funds will help save a lot of jobs for the bus drivers, train operators, mechanics, dispatchers, cleaners and others who are making it possible for other essential workers to get to and from their jobs all around the Bay Area; and will help our transit agencies recover their footing when this public health emergency finally is behind us," said MTC Chair Scott Haggerty.

The commission is expected to act later this year to distribute remaining CARES Act funding once transit agencies have had time to assess the full scope of revenue losses, which were caused by dramatic drops in ridership due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related social distancing requirements. Transit agencies will be developing new demand forecasts and recovery strategies, MTC officials said.

Agencies and proposed allocations for the first distribution of CARES Act funding include:
• Bay Area Rapid Transit, $251,637,050;
• San Francisco Muni, $197,190,672;
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, $73,023,596;
• Caltrain, $49,292,725
• Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, $10,375,471; and
• Altamont Commuter Express, $2,680,453.