Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
The $900 billion stimulus, which was recently approved by the U.S. Congress to help address the COVID-19 crisis, also includes $14 billion in compensation for public transportation systems across the country, of which about $975 million is expected to go to the Bay Area.
Bay Area public transportation agencies had warned of possible service and job cuts after the coronavirus left severe impacts on their budgets, which could be overtaken by the stimulus that the region's operators are prepared to receive.
However, there is still an unclear picture of when passengers will return to buses, trains and ferries in large numbers, so the long-term future of the transit system network linking the Bay Area is far from secure.
BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said they will work in coordination with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to distribute the funds, which will be of great help to "avoid the need to send out layoff notices at the moment.
For his part, San Francisco's transportation director and head of the city's Muni system, Jeffrey Tumlin, noted through his Twitter account that "mass layoffs and more service cuts are off the table.
So it will now be up to the MTC to distribute the funds among the region's approximately two dozen public transportation agencies, a process expected to take place in early 2021.
It should be noted that public transport in the country has faced a serious crisis in the months since widespread closures took most passengers off the roads, although local buses and trains have continued to carry thousands of essential workers and those unable or unwilling to drive.
BART has been among the most vulnerable transport systems because it depends on passenger fares for most of its budget. While bus systems have had a relatively more stable base because they are financed primarily by tax revenues that have remained strong, they have also lost millions of dollars in passenger revenue.
A first federal aid package in March 2020 bolstered transit agencies' finances for a while, but as the pandemic dragged on and funds dried up, agencies warned of job and service cuts that would lead to more traffic, more vehicle emissions and a stalled economic recovery if aid did not arrive.
