Many Bay Area voters want better public transportation and roadways — if wealthy residents and companies pay for them, according to a new poll. But a proposed bill, linked to the survey and intended to improve transit and roads, has already raised hackles at the Valley Transportation Agency, which services Santa Clara County.
The push to improve public transportation comes as the region’s transit agencies struggle to recover from huge ridership declinesThe poll of 600 likely voters indicated 57% of respondents would support a ballot measure as soon as 2026 to raise revenue for integrating the region’s myriad transit agencies and improving public transportation services, roads and infrastructure, as long as strong auditing and oversight were in place and the funding came from a 1% tax on people earning more than...
The poll was intended to help guide a ballot measure that would go to voters in the Bay Area’s nine counties. Legislation introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, in January represents the first step in the process.seeks permission for the Bay Area’s umbrella transportation agency — the Metropolitan Transportation Commission — to seek funding for transit and road improvements via a regional ballot measure.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission voted to support the bill and has presented a wish list for the ballot initiative. The agency would like to see the funding measure raise $1 billion to $2 billion annually through methods that could include a sales tax, an income tax, a payroll tax, a parcel tax, a vehicle registration surcharge or a regional vehicle-miles traveled charge.
“The more people for whom transit is a viable, attractive and competitive option to driving means fewer people competing for scarce roadway space,” Goodwin said.