On Tuesday, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Director Mark Foley says station closures have been delayed for the time being, but could occur by July 2027.
At the Pittsburg City Council Meeting, during a presentation “BART Alternative Services Framework if the November 2026 Ballot Measure Fails” Foley proclaimed he had “breaking news” after speaking with the general manager. He shared based on feedback; the concept of station closures has been moved out of Phase 1 and moved as an “option” in Phase 2 which he called a significant shift.
At BART’s February 12 meeting, BART directors received a report where 15 stations could be closed over the next two years – including all East Contra Costa Stations in the City of Pittsburg and the City of Antioch E-BART. This would mean East County residents nearest station would be in the City of Concord. The plan also called for the Tri Valley to lose stations as well.
The Connect Bay Area campaign aims to bring a five county sales tax to the ballot in November 2026 through a citizen signature gathering effort. The rate will be set at ½-cent, with the exception that San Francisco will be set at a 1 cent rate to provide additional support for MUNI. This measure seeks to provide long-term operations funding for major Bay Area transit agencies and support regional projects to strengthen transit throughout the Bay Area.
Phase 1 – In January 2027:
- 63% train hours cut and 10 station closures (20% of stations)
- 30% fare increase
- Target $30M of (half-year) reductions in fleet/non-fleet maintenance, police, and system support
- Balance remainder of FY27 with one-time resources and financial deferrals
- Assess: ridership/revenue impacts; performance of system support; impacts/risks of asset closures; and determine if Phase 2 can be safely implemented
Phase 2 – If feasible, in FY28 (July 2027 service change):
- Cumulative 70% train hours cut, 15 station closures (30% of stations), and segment closures (32 miles or 25% of system length)
- Cumulative 50% fare increase
- Target over $130M of cumulative budget reductions in fleet/non-fleet maintenance, cleaning, police, and system support
- Defer remaining capital allocations
- Based on observed conditions of closed system segments, study options and tradeoffs for stopping train service
Phase 3 – When required:
- If determined BART can’t safely or legally operate with available resources, stop passenger service
- Use existing District tax revenues to secure system assets
- Work to determine system’s future
On Tuesday, Foley highlighted BART’s Cost and Revenue structure highlight while millions of riders are back on BART, they are just riding less frequently. He shared fare revenue is down $300-400 million due to remote work and post-pandemic travel patterns. They also have a $1.2 billion operating budget, with a $370 million structural deficit beginning in 2027.
“Really, a new funding model is what we need to look at. How do we bring in new revenue outside of the core Monday-Friday rider,” said Foley.
He shared that BART ridership in December was up 13% from a year ago but was quick to point out that a 5% increase in ridership only translates to a $13 million in new fare revenue—so they still need to double daily ridership to get back to a manageable budget.
In terms of Phase 1, Foley pointed out they would operate 3 routes instead of 5, while closing 10 lowest ridership stations – including Pittsburg Center and North Concord, both stations bring in 400-500 riders per day.
Foley told the Pittsburg City Council that he would not vote for anything that closed stations in Phase 1 – and they should look at down the road and the board should have full ownership of.
“I do not want our general manager to have full responsibility of deciding what stations are going to close,” said Foley.
However, Foley said that has now changed.
“The closures of the stations have been completely removed from this phase. Now what we are looking at in January 2027 is we will make service reductions and hours of operation changes as well as a 30% increase of fares,” said Foley. “We just will not close stations in this first round.”
Foley said if Plan B (phase 2) would occur if they do not get additional revenue. He shared Phase 2 would occur in July 2027 would include closing up to 15 stations – noting the Yellow Line service would end in Concord thus, cutting off service to Antioch, Pittsburg, Bay Point and force commuters in Brentwood, Discovery Bay and Oakley to commute into Concord just to ride BART (if there is parking). This would also include a 50% fare increase.
Councilmember Arlene Kobata asked several questions to Foley, including that the Yellow Line is has the most riders but also has the most station closures. She wanted an explanation.
Foley responded, cost savings on rail maintenance stating if they closed a station in the middle of a line there really is no savings because they still needed to be maintained –noting if you close e-BART, you can simply shutter that line and not have to have any maintenance expense. He said that is why staff was recommending “end of line” closures versus middle of line.
Kobata also questioned the extra tax Pittsburg paid and if that would change their taxes paid going forward. Foley responded “no”.
Kobata expressed concerns about that because not only did they pay for it, but they also had plans for the area to make it more walkable to get less cars off the roads.
She also questioned if stations do close, how would they be maintained – such as safety, camping, etc.
Foley responded, “part of the cost of even shuttering stations is police presence and maintenance presence after at stations to help prevent trespassing.”
Councilmember Jelani Killings asked Foley how BART even got to this point with a structural deficit and what has been done.
Foley explained during COVID, service was reduced 40% and only saw a 12% savings in the budget – calling it a challenge with fixed rail is that service reductions do not scale well with cost savings as they still have to operate every station. In response, they added service to bring more people to BART and it worked – more people are using it, just not in the same way of using it to get to work every day.
“The idea was BART was founded on usage pays for operations. 70% of our operating budget came from people paying the fares and when people are only riding it at 48% of the time, its such an insurmountable deficit to try and make up without decimating service,” said Foley adding its not sustainable when you built a system on ridership during the workday. “Unlike other states in this country where the model is essentially flipped, about 70% of a budget comes from federal, state or local funding, ours is the opposite, 70% comes from fares. That model, while it served us well for 50 years, is not the model for the future. That is really what the measure is about, is about giving transit operators the opportunity to reenvision how they generate revenue.”
Mayor Dionne Adams said she appreciated the push against Phase 1 station closures but questioned how Foley was coordinating with Tri Delta Transit or other transit operators.
Foley said they connect frequently and he looked at the agencies as partners since the transit operators bring them customers – called it a dependent relationship. He said his goal is incentivizing folks with discounts if they use multiple transit systems in a day.
Rashidi Barnes of Tri Delta Transit
Rashidi Barnes, CEO of Tri Delta Transit, spoke after Foley noting they serve 225 square miles of East Contra Costa County—Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley and Brentwood—said closing BART stations will have a significant impact on how people move in and around the region.
“We have already talked about how bad traffic is today, it’s going to get worse,” said Barnes who shared what Tri Delta Transit can do to alleviate some of this was still unknown. “Once BART determines what their ultimate final solution will be then we will start making plans to figure out how we can potential accommodate some of those potentially lost customers. But its going to be difficult because just like BART, we also have a structural deficit.”
He said their operating budget is approximately $35 million and a $4 million loss is a huge impact, noting they serve 2 million passengers. With the 13 routes, half of them come through the City of Pittsburg—ridership would take a hit and would see reductions in those lines through Pittsburg.
Pittsburg City Manager Darin Gale asked about a bus bridge and what it would take for Tri Delta Transit to make up the difference from East County to a closure in Concord.
Barnes explained based on the Yellow Line, Antioch to San Francisco Airport, BART projected it would take 120 buses to be able to provide the same level of service. He said they only have 53 buses (operating budget is $35 million).
“It would take a lot of us to take on that heavy lift and burden,” said Barnes.
For a video recording of the meeting, click here
Previous
- Feb 10 – Tax Measure or Bust: BART Could Shutter 15 Stations
- Feb 6 – BART Report: New Service Cuts Plan Would Set BART Back 50 Years if Connect Bay Area Doesn’t Pass
