Foster CityApril 6, 2026
Connect Bay AreaLocal Investment Plan
1 •SamTrans Snapshot•Key Issue•Connect Bay Area Measure•Transportation Funding in San Mateo County•SamTrans Financial Outlook•Local Investment Plan•Take the Survey and Spread the Word Agenda
2 Established in 1976 – Celebrating 50 Years! •San Mateo County, parts of San Francisco, City of Palo Alto•315 buses serving 76 bus routes, 10 million annual boardings•Other services: Redi-Wheels and RediCoast paratransit, Ride Plus on-demand rideshare (two zones), shuttles•School-oriented bus serviceRider Profile•94% low income (68% extremely low income) based on SMC affordable housing metrics•Lowest household income among major Bay Area transit agencies•40% speak a language other than English at home•Nearly 80% do not drive/own a car•98.8% of pre-pandemic ridership3 SamTrans Snapshot
•Caltrain, BART, SFMTA, and AC Transit are facing deficits as post-pandemic fare revenue lags and operating costs rise •Despite ridership gains and cost efficiency measures, expenses are outpacing revenues•Federal and state support has declined•Need for a stable, predictable source of funds to keep these agencies going 4 Key Issue
•14-year, 1/2 cent sales tax in 4 counties (San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa), full cent in San Francisco •Would generate approx. $980 million annually•Includes accountability and oversight provisions•24% of SMC sales tax to Caltrain, 27% to BART, 7% to Muni, 37% SamTrans Local Investment Plan5 Connect Bay Area Measure
•Approximately $50M annually for 14 years for public transit in San Mateo County; Total = $700M•Funds may be used for:•Public transit operations and capital•Public transit components of larger capital projects•Targeted pavement repairs on local roads served by fixed-route transit 6 Connect Bay Area Measure – San Mateo County
Transportation Funding in SMC
7 Measure A generates approximately $120 million annually. Measure W generates approximately $60 million annually for SamTrans local transit and $60 million annually for SMCTA to allocate for broader transportation improvements and operations throughout the county. 8 SamTrans Financial OutlookFY26-FY36 Operating Outlook (assumes zero new tax revenue) $M
•Operating deficit projected tobegin in FY28•Average annual deficit over next 10 years of nearly $30M•Increased labor, energy, and contracted services costs •Cost saving measures•No new positions approved, reducing consultant use •Cuts across all discretionary spending $- $100
$200
$300
$400
$500
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FY26FY27FY28FY29FY30FY31FY32FY33FY34FY35FY36
Operating + Debt Service Only
Net Operating SurplusNet Operating DeficitTotal SourcesTotal Uses •SamTrans’ Local Investment Plan will be informed by: •San Mateo County Transit District Strategic Plan and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)•SamTrans Board of Directors•Stakeholder and Agency Advisory Group meetings•City Council presentations•Public outreach•Goal is to have a Board-adopted plan in June 20269 Local Investment Plan: Your Input Matters!
Local Investment Plan Categories
10 Local Investment PlanFebMarAprMayJunStakeholder and Agency Advisory Group Meetings: February – April, May (if needed)Public Communications Effort: March – MayCity Council and other presentations: March – MayBoard Information Item: May 6Board Action Item: June 3 11 Approximately 10 weeks for public engagement
Take the Survey and Spread the Word!
12 Visit https://www.samtrans.com/projects/LocalFundingPlan•Multilingual online survey + printable mail-return version•Multilingual fact sheets•Social media toolkit•Translations in Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Tagalog•Additional support and language assistance available at 1-800-660-4287
Questions/Comments?
13 Contact [email protected]
Thank You
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