SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom was joined by state and community leaders on Thursday in Colma to sign legislation authorizing a $590 million emergency loan to help Bay Area transit agencies.
According to the governor’s office, the loan will help BART, Muni, Caltrain, and AC Transit maintain reliable service as the region works toward long-term funding stability.
“We cannot let the system fail,” Newsom said at the bill signing at a BART station San Mateo County.
Newsom acknowledged transit systems have long faced underinvestment.
“We’ve frankly been living off our inheritance,” he said. “We’ve taken a lot of these systems for granted. We haven’t invested in these systems in many, many decades.”
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Under the agreement, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission will distribute the funds and agencies will have to repay the state within the next 12 years.
Republican lawmakers raised concerns about repayment and the state’s broader budget challenges.
“How do we know that BART has all of the safeguards in place to actually pay this loan back?” Assemblymember David Tangipa, R-Fresno, asked BART leaders during a budget committee hearing earlier this week.
Newsom said the loan is not backed by the state’s general fund but instead secured through a transportation capital program.
The agreement comes as BART and regional leaders prepare for a potential November 2026 sales tax ballot measure that, if approved by voters, would create a long-term funding stream for transit operations beginning in 2027.
BART posted on X saying that it wouldn’t use the loan unless the November transit funding ballot measure passes or another reliable source of funding was provided to the agency.
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Monica Madden
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