The Regional Transit Measure would add a half-cent sales tax in Alameda and other Bay Area counties to help fund transit agencies, according to The Oaklandside and Oakland North. Transit agencies have warned of service cuts if it fails. Mission Local noted that the measure needs a simple majority of votes across five counties combined.
At the stations
Oakland North reported that at 8 a.m., three people were outside El Cerrito del Norte BART with signs and flyers for the measure, and a man riding his bike to the train shouted, “Thank you for your work.” One rider told Oakland North he supports the measure but isn't sure it would lower fares.
On a rainy morning at Oakland BART stations, several riders The Oaklandside spoke with said they had voted for the measure. A business analyst who commutes from Oakland to San Jose said a public transit system should be a “shared responsibility.” A 24-year-old Alameda resident who takes a bus to downtown Oakland and then BART into San Francisco said losing service “would be very impactful.”
At the 81st Avenue Branch Library in East Oakland, a crossing guard told Oakland North around 9:48 a.m. that she wants the measure to pass. “I understand all those agencies are so inefficient, but that doesn't mean we can afford for them to cut lines,” she said.
In San Francisco, Mission Local reported that two volunteers were at Castro Station handing out BART and Muni stickers. They held handmade signs reading “Stop service cuts” and “Save Muni” and urged commuters to vote yes on Proposition H, the city's Muni parcel tax, and on the regional measure.
For background, see our Regional Transit Measure explainer.
No results had been released when this story was published. Polls and drop boxes close at 8 p.m.