The San Joaquin Council of Governments (SJCOG) Board of Directors at its Aug. 22 meeting gave the go-ahead for agreements with seven San Joaquin County public transit agencies to transfer up to $67 million in Senate Bill 125 funding to help maintain existing transit services.
This infusion is making up for funding losses all the transit operators experienced from dramatic ridership declines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The SJCOG Board of Directors was unanimous in saying we need to help our bus and rail transit operators weather the next few years so there are no extensive cuts to transit service due to budget gaps,” Lathrop Mayor and SJCOG Board Chair Sonny Dhaliwal said. “At the height of COVID-19, many transit operators faced drops in riders as much as 75 to 90 percent. Our focus is to help transit operators so they can continue to provide vital transit to San Joaquin County residents and get ridership levels back to pre-pandemic levels.”
SB 125 is part of a $2 billion investment in public transit approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) issued the money to SJCOG, the regional transportation planning agency for San Joaquin County, which will distribute it to all public transit agencies over two years. SJCOG Board members moved to address the “transit fiscal cliff” as the highest priority for funding after collaborative discussions with transit operators on funding needs. The transit fiscal cliff is the biggest crisis facing many transit agencies where ridership and the subsequent revenue were lost in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those losses will be compounded when COVID-relief funding and other revenues cannot sustain funding to maintain transit operations.
“The SJCOG Board fully understands that an investment in public transit is an investment in our residents, specifically some of our seniors, disabled, low-income and minority residents where transit is the only option they may have to get to their destination,” Stockton Mayor and SJCOG Board Vice Chair Kevin Lincoln said. “Not everyone can afford the cost of a personal vehicle and not everyone can drive, so getting transit agencies the funding they need to provide those services is an integral part of SJCOG’s transportation mission to serve people while improving air quality.”
Gov. Newsom froze the SB 125 funding in May over concerns of possible state budget shortfalls, but unfroze the funds in mid-July. CalSTA later confirmed that the first year of funding would be distributed to regional agencies such as SJCOG by the end of August and funding for the second year by April 2025.
The money is coming from two programs created by SB 125 – the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program and the Zero-Emission Transit Capital Program.
SJCOG will audit to verify the funds will go toward warding off the transit fiscal cliff. Any excess funds not used on the transit fiscal cliff will be reclaimed by SJCOG for other public transit needs in San Joaquin County.