BART approves first two-year budget

Bay Area Rapid Transit's board yesterday approved a two-year operating and capital budget of $2.5 billion for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

The agency's first two-year budget includes a less-than-inflation fare increase of 3.4% effective July 1, BART officials said in a press release. That increase is projected to generate $15 million in revenue over the two fiscal years. The increase was initially scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, but was delayed.

The average fare of $3.78 will increase by 15 cents. Fares are based on distance traveled, rather than a flat rate, and the transit agency doesn't offer weekly or monthly passes.

The two-year budget is part of a strategic approach to long-term financial planning, agency officials said in a press release.

The budget funds service changes designed to provide more efficient, equitable and rider-friendly service, such as BART trains running at more consistent intervals. Current evening service is not spaced well enough apart due to single tracking for construction work. That pattern will end, reducing wait times.

BART will also make a major investment in Saturday evening service by running five-line service until closure, which increases frequency and reduces transfers. All trains run until midnight every day of the week.

"Reducing wait times and having trains depart at more evenly spaced intervals better fits the way people travel. Using transit should be easy," said BART Board President Rebecca Saltzman. "The service plan enabled by this budget makes taking BART more convenient and less complicated."

The largest amounts of capital funding will go toward purchasing new train cars, Measure RR rebuilding projects (a regional funding initiative passed in 2016 that provided BART with $3.5 billion for infrastructure upgrades) and the Transbay Corridor Core Capacity Program to increase service levels. As of March 2021, about 25% of Measure RR work had been completed. The capacity program – comprised of $1.2 billion in grants from the Federal Transit Administration disbursed in 2020 – calls for BART to operate up to 30 10-car trains per hour (300 cars) in each direction during peak hours.

Another key budget component calls for accelerating the hiring and training of critical staff as BART struggles with pandemic-induced labor challenges. The transit agency plans to hire more train operators and rail controllers.