☆ Do Bay Area train riders need a 14-year sales tax hike to keep their stations open?
A Mercury News piece whips up fear that BART will raise fares and shut down stations, if voters don’t agree to a half cent sales tax. Quote: “it’s an attack on the lower class.” But transit expert Tom Rubin says the top 20% of income earners would be the most impacted. Should the Bay Area’s poorest suffer a regressive sales tax to bail out rich commuters? An Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to the Merc.
The Mercury News: If the proposed measure fails, BART is considering widespread cuts in 2027 that would include laying off 1,200 employees, closing 10 to 15 stations, raising fares and parking fees by up to 50%, cutting train lines and reducing train hours.
Tom Rubin:
Why didn’t the transit industry start trying to cut costs years ago? Why did they wait until the last moment so they could do this “sky is falling” presentation once again?
Merc: “If they close BART, it’s an attack on the lower class,” said the 42-year-old [Shakira Moore], who uses a wheelchair and relies on buses and trains to get most places.
TR: Longer distance transit is highly utilized by the top quintile, the top 20%. Caltrain, BART, and ferry service are used by upper income people disproportionately. The cuts affect everybody, but oddly enough, it’s the highest income individuals that are most impacted.
Opportunity Now: So a sales tax would disproportionately benefit the top 20%? Meanwhile, don’t sales taxes do most harm to the poor?
TR: Yes, sales taxes are generally considered to be regressive, so that lower income people pay a higher portion of their income to sales taxes than higher income individuals.
Merc: Other public transit riders who take BART, Caltrain, MUNI and other services to get around the Bay Area are depending on a 14-year tax measure that transit officials are banking on to save the region’s trains and buses from deep service cuts and station closures.
TR: I think it is very misleading to say this is a 14-year tax because at the end of 14 years, the need is not going to go away. It is still going to be there.
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