Recap of last two months as your newest BART Director

Dear reader,

Welcome to my end-of-the-month newsletter, All Aboard!, an ongoing effort to keep you informed, updated on all things BART and involved in the good fight. This month has been a whirlwind since my first BART Board of Directors meeting on December 19th. First, thank you to all who supported me on the campaign trail. I would not be here without you! I also want to thank all the BART staff who have been responsive and supportive in onboarding me and three brand-new directors.

It’s the beginning of the year, but we’ve already had our third meeting. Our Independent Police Auditor announced his retirement, and we appointed an at-large member to the BART Police Civilian Review Board. We also plan to travel to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to advocate for more resources. I will work diligently to ensure we can attain every dollar possible and will bring you along for the ride in my commitment to you in my transparency and accountability.

January has been a busy month for multiple reasons. However, on the BART side of things, not only did I have two board meetings, but I also attended the Alameda County Mayors’ Conference, Chinatown Lunar New Year Bazaar, Tet Festival at Clinton Park, SF MLK Labor Breakfast and March, and of course the community swearing ins of Speaker Emerita Pelosi and Congress Member Lateefah Simon. For more frequent looks into all the events I’m attending and sharing, please follow me on Instagram.

We voted for Board President and Vice President at our first board meeting. We unanimously elected Directors Mark Foley and Melissa Hernandez to the roles. I’m confident they will help lead us through the next two years. At our second board meeting, we approved President Foley’s appointments to BART committees and external appointments. I have the privilege and honor to serve you on the following appointments:

BART Standing Committees

• Committees of the Whole

  • Administrations

• Standing Committees

  • Personnel Review

• Special Committees

  • Labor Negotiations

  • Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Partnership (alternate)

Special Appointments

• East Bay Paratransit Access Committee

Financial Health

Many of you are aware of the significant financial challenges BART is currently facing, especially as cities confront budget deficits. We are still within the 40-50% range of daily pre-pandemic ridership and running out of Federal dollars. By 2026, we will have a $35 million deficit. From 2027 forward, we’re projecting an annual deficit between $350 and $388 million.

What Are We Doing

State Senators Wiener and Arreguín introduced an intent bill, SB-63, to craft a regional revenue measure to fund the Bay Area’s transportation agencies. BART is working with the Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC) and our regional partners to ensure we have a measure that can win on the ballot and support our service delivery. To restore confidence in BART and address customer concerns, BART has doubled train car deep cleaning rates and increased police presence, crisis intervention specialist (CIS), and ambassador presence. Staff is also working on expanding the number of CIS. BART is modernizing its fare gates, which will help reduce the amount of fare evasion.