BART as we know it could cease to exist by 2026.
Ridership crashed during the pandemic and has yet to recover. Changing work patterns and public safety challenges have blunted ridership recovery; fares and parking fees accounted for about 70% of BART's revenue before the pandemic.
As a result, the agency faces a financial disaster when federal and state pandemic bailout money runs out in its fiscal 2026 year, which begins in July 2025. Without an infusion of cash, BART expects to have a deficit of $385 million and would have to make drastic cuts.
Amid these challenges, BART's inspector general has uncovered fraud and waste.
The most likely scenario for saving the system would be a regional measure for new taxes or a bond to support public transportation. However, an effort in the state Legislature to place such a proposition on this year's ballot failed.
Faced with these overwhelming challenges, voters in the BART Board of Directors 9th District thankfully have a choice between two outstanding candidates in the race for an open seat to represent most of the eastern half of San Francisco.
Joe Sangirardi is the development director for the housing group California YIMBY and a member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee.
Edward Wright is a strategy and communications adviser at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and was the chief of staff for former Supervisor Gordon Mar.
In our interviews with the candidates, both Sangirardi and Wright told the editorial board that they support placing a ballot measure before voters in 2026 ― which, short of additional federal or state funding, could be the only way for BART to avoid extensive cuts that include station closures and running trains once an hour.
But the candidates also recognized that BART can't just sit back and wait for a voter bailout.
Both candidates support finding new funding sources for BART and making the agency less reliant on rider fares, such as by developing the property at its stations.
Sangirardi said BART has not maximized the revenue potential of its land holdings. He suggested if BART developed stations smartly, it could also buy additional nearby properties to create more housing where people can adopt "carbon-free lifestyles" by using transit. This housing and the increased riders it would generate would help fund the system.
"There's an incentive for local jurisdictions to work with us to do this to meet their own housing goals."
Wright, meanwhile, agreed that more housing should play a revenue-generating role for the system. He said BART needs a long-term strategy to build affordable and market-rate housing — with a mix depending on the needs surrounding a location. By making stations into social hubs, ridership would increase.
Wright also said he would pursue avenues for placing more businesses at stations to attract riders and improve public safety.
"I think one thing we could do quickly is just focus on activating stations with retail and entertainment to make it a more vibrant and welcoming environment," Wright said. "Just by virtue of having more eyes on the ground there, I think it would automatically be safer."
Both candidates wisely support pulling back on suburban expansion of the system and instead building in-fill stations — such as one in the San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland between Lake Merritt and Fruitvale stations — to attract riders in dense, underserved areas.
Sangirardi is the more aggressive candidate on housing, but there's generally little daylight between the two on their views of the system and where it needs to improve.
However, Wright's experience in public transportation makes him the stronger choice. Sangirardi is thoughtful and eloquent, but Wright's time with Muni has helped him gain a more nuanced understanding of transit systems. He offered more specific ideas for cost savings, such as partnering with other Bay Area transit agencies on procurement, negotiating for lower rates with PG&E and auditing overtime so it's used efficiently and to thwart wage theft that BART's inspector general discovered.
Wright earns the editorial board's endorsement.
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