In November 2000, voters in Santa Clara County approved a $6
billion, 30-year transit tax by a 70 percent margin.
In November 2000, voters in Santa Clara County approved a $6 billion, 30-year transit tax by a 70 percent margin.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) – sponsor of the sales tax measure – promised that Measure A would not only extend BART to San Jose, but would also expand light rail and bus service, greatly improve Caltrain service, and introduce new zero-emission buses to clean the air. In short, Measure A called for the largest transit expansion in Bay Area history.
But was there enough funding for all of the projects in the plan? In fact, VTA never did have all the funding to live up to its many promises, and two years later it announced an unprecedented $6 billion long-term operating shortfall.
How did VTA collapse so quickly? The precipitous drop in sales tax revenues takes most of the blame, but it wasn’t just the economy. It was also due to skyrocketing costs for the BART extension to San Jose.
The $2 billion cost overruns for the BART project have enormous implications for South Valley residents – who will face more crowded roads as transit projects, such as Caltrain improvements, are put off. And the overruns will be felt by tens of thousands of VTA bus riders who will face service cuts of 21-70 percent.
Even worse, many of these cost overruns were totally predictable, but were ignored and obfuscated by VTA.
For example, VTA refused to divulge the most predictable cost – bond financing – and even stonewalled the county Board of Supervisors about this information in 2000. The Federal Transit Administration now estimates that bond financing will add $709 million to the cost of the BART extension. This is a cost that will come straight from projects that would otherwise benefit South Valley residents, such as Caltrain improvements.
In a similar example – which can only be described as over-optimism bordering on delusion –VTA never discussed with BART the payment of a “buy-in” fee to join its system, even though the cost of the BART extension to the San Francisco Airport included total payments of $325 million as a buy-in fee to BART.
Despite this precedent, VTA did not begin negotiations with BART until after Measure A had already passed. The end result: BART demanded and won buy-in fees costing twice as much as VTA had predicted, adding an additional $800 million that will be paid for with funds that now support bus and light rail service.
These additional costs are being added on top of three rounds of bus cuts that have taken place since January 2001. This is having devastating impacts on people who depend on transit. (VTA buses carry 84 percent of all VTA riders. Of VTA bus riders, 70 percent are people of color, and 59 percent make less than $35,000 per year.) If left unchecked, VTA would likely dismantle the countywide bus system to pay for a $6.2 billion BART line that won’t provide traffic relief to much of the county.
“How does VTA expect us to get to BART if we don’t have a bus?” asks Antonia Rose, a transit rider and mother of 5-year old Claire. “When my partner lost her job, we couldn’t afford to fix her car. Her new job doesn’t pay as well, and without the bus she can’t get to the Caltrain station to get to work.”
South Valley residents are doubly affected by the cost overruns. In addition to losing bus service, projects such as Caltrain upgrades in South Valley are now in jeopardy.
How can VTA get out of the mess that it created by not being upfront and realistic about the budget for the BART extension? In our recently released report, entitled “Transportation Injustice” (available at www.transcoalition.org), we detail seven key steps to address the fiscal impacts of the BART extension while delivering quality transportation choices that all Santa Clara County residents need and deserve.
The most important point is for VTA to build what it can afford. This means phasing the BART project by bringing it to Milpitas or Berryessa (in north San Jose) to connect with light rail. The first step is for VTA staff to immediately provide information on the financial benefits of building the extension in phases, thereby allowing the VTA Board of Directors to make an informed choice on this key decision.
This information is desperately needed, as the BART extension is already a massive $6.2 billion project that will affect the future of transportation in Morgan Hill and the rest of the county for decades to come.
County Supervisor Don Gage heads the ad-hoc committee working to resolve this crisis, and is trying hard to find cost savings. But he needs the support of his constituents to stand up to the powerful proponents of BART and to demand detailed information on the savings from phasing BART.
Stuart Cohen is executive director of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition. Readers interested in writing a guest column should contact editor Walt Glines at waltg@morganhilltimes .com or 779-4106.
