And now, we’d like to introduce a new series on Crosscurrents where we round up what’s happening in transportation news in the Bay Area. We’re calling it “Getting Around the Bay.”
We’ll (sometimes literally) ride along with KALW’s transportation reporter Zain Iqbal as he covers some of the key transportation stories from the North Bay to San Jose, from public transit to cars to cycling and pedestrian issues, and we’ll look to answer your questions about how you get around the Bay, too.
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Q&A Transcript
Hana Baba: Zain, thanks for being here.
Zain Iqbal: Thanks, Hana.
Hana: So, why did you decide to cover transportation?
Zain: Well, I’ve always been interested in the movement of people, maybe because I’m constantly on the go myself. I regularly bike to work, I use BART, Muni, and AC Transit every week, and drive around on a lot of local adventures. Also, you know, transportation is always involved in a lot of other different kinds of stories. You think about politics, health, housing, inequality, et cetera. So it’s all-encompassing. And we all need transportation to get around—it affects us all.
Hana: So, let’s get started—what are you paying attention to this month?
Zain: September just happens to be Transit Month in the Bay Area! So, I am going to be sharing some stories about public transit.
Hana: I didn’t even know that. We have a transit month! Ok, cool.
Zain: We do, yeah. And the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s theme this year is “Adventure starts on transit.” Organizers are encouraging the public to discover new places that are accessible via Bay Area transit. And that’s partly because ridership is still down overall from its pre-pandemic levels.
Hana: So I've heard about ridership is down—so what’s the update, what’s happening there?
Zain: Ridership levels are one of the biggest problems for most Bay Area transit agencies. For example, in 2019 Muni averaged around 700,000 rides during the weekdays. Fast forward to this year, and Muni is averaging around 500,000 daily rides.
Hana: Wow, so that is a lot less. And that probably means less money then, less income.
Zain: Yes, that means they’re losing a lot cash. BART, for instance, made around $550 million in fares 2019. But in 2024, they made just shy of $300 million.
Hana: Wow, almost cut in half. That’s BART, so what about Muni and AC Transit?
Zain: Yeah, so, both those agencies are facing similar budget woes, or even crises. Muni made some service cuts, for example, along Market Street this summer. And now the agency is looking to make cuts across all its divisions. For example, maintenance. Maybe a maintenance schedule is delayed for six months or bus stop maintenance is put off. Or maybe some big capital projects are put on hold or delayed. AC Transit made major changes to almost every bus line. Partly because of budget constraints and decreases in ridership. On the other hand, agencies are trying to use a few marketing campaigns to move the needle on ridership.
Hana: Like what?
Zain: So, BART a couple of years ago got into the anime business with mascots. The idea is to make BART appeal to a younger generation of transit riders. Caltrain has also been trying to encourage more ridership on weeknights and weekends to make up for the loss in daily riders. Last year, they even had a themed train for a Billie Eilish concert at the SAP Center in San Jose.
Hana: [laughs] I remember that! So, is that working?
Zain: We don’t really know? It seems the agencies are trying new ideas and seeing what sticks. But then there’s the question: Do they encourage riders to ride weekends and off peak — but if ridership still doesn’t go up, it is possible those links may be the first to be cut.
Hana: Hmm. Ok, so ridership is down. Sounds like some agencies are trying lots of things to increase it. But then there’s companies like Waymo and Uber and Lyft. These private companies being let back on Market Street? Are they competing with the bus lines?
Zain: So just to back up a bit, essentially the downtown portion of Market Street has been car-free since January 2020, with the exception of buses, taxis, commercial delivery and emergency vehicles. But late last month, the SFMTA started an “evaluation period” where Waymos, Uber Black, and Lyft Black can do pick ups and drop offs at specific locations during specific hours along Market. I think it’s important to note this trial period still doesn’t allow ridesharing during the morning and evening commute. And Uber Black and Lyft Black are supposed to be driven by professional drivers; not just your average gig driver.
Hana: OK so, what’s the reason for reopening Market right now?
Zain: This is one of several levers Mayor Daniel Lurie is pulling to revitalize downtown, and he wants people to be able to access the venues, hotels, and restaurants that exist on Market.
Hana: But couldn’t that compete with bus lines, though? Isn’t this a bit counterintuitive when you think about the city’s transit goals overall?
Zain: Yeah, and I don’t think it’s just you noticing that! I attended an SFMTA Board of Directors meeting at City Hall, and there were a lot of transit advocates who were dismayed at the idea of opening up Market Street to these ride sharing services. They see this as the city backsliding, a potential slippery slope that could allow more cars back on the corridor. The changes also seem to contradict the SFMTA’s own “transit-first” policy.
Hana: Right!
Zain: When the SFMTA announced plans to close Market Street in 2020, they published data that said Market Street was “home to half of the top 10 intersections for collisions between cars and pedestrians and bicycles.”
Hana: So the city and state clearly has data on how bus lines are doing, and where their services are being used. Is this going to happen for the Market Street change?
Zain: The Mayor’s office says the city will work with the ride share services to review transportation and safety data and then expand or adjust service volumes or hours. But there’s the question if there’s a rubric or and evaluation guidelines will be made available to the public. Anecdotally, we (as in I) haven't seen or heard about that many rides hares yet—and it begs the question whether people are actually taking expensive cars to places on Market Street. So, perhaps it’s worth going out there on a night of a big concert or performance to see what’s up.
Hana: Yep.
Zain: You know, personally I’m curious on changes in data about BART ridership to and from those downtown stops along Market Street. So think Montgomery or Powell, right? And the bus or Muni train lines that also use that corridor.
Hana: Alright so Zain, what other transit news are you following?
Zain: I’m paying a lot of attention to this funding issue we’ve been talking about. So not only is fare revenue down, but federal funding in the form of COVID-19 relief money is expiring next year. So, there was big pressure on the state to step in and provide a loan that could act as a bridge. That money was on the table last week…and it was unclear if it was gonna go through…sort of an 11th hour rush just before the state legislature wrapped up this year’s session.
Hana: What happened?
Zain: So, Governor Gavin Newsom announced last week that he is promising some $750 million in relief money. (And in fact it seems former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the governor to nudge him in that direction). But it is unclear what the terms are and that is concerning to some transit folks. There’s also a state senate bill I’ve been paying attention to: that’s SB 63. That bill got passed over the weekend. It would give voters the power to create a new sales tax to help fund public transit: so that’s a half cent for Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties—and up to a cent for San Francisco. The state will still need permission from voters, but that won’t happen until next year. San Francisco Mayor Lurie is also proposing a real estate tax to help fund SFMTA.
Hana: Okay, so we could do an entire Q&A on the state of the transit budget in and of itself! Ok before we go, Zain, any good news, any silver linings on the horizon for Bay Area transit?
Zain: Well, like I said earlier, because it is transit month — I'm looking at a few events coming up. One is that you can ride BART and a ferry with a few transit leaders on September 26! So seems like a good opportunity if you heard anything in this Q&A in which you want to ask your local officials about, you can ask them directly. Oh, and finally: You can now use a credit card or Apple Pay or Google Pay on directly on BART, so give yourself a chance and try it out! Clipper cards aren’t going anywhere yet, but it sure makes it easier to just tap and ride.
Hana: Alright, transportation reporter Zain Iqbal, Thanks, Zain!
ZAIN: Thank you, Hana.