Advocates during a transit-funding event in September. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
Transit advocates celebrated gathering 46,300 signatures for the regional transit funding measure and 4,900 signatures for the Muni funding measure, approaching the threshold for getting the measures on the November ballot. “As of today, we’ve surpassed 46,300,” wrote advocate Cyrus Hall in a celebratory email. The goal was that by now they would “collect 45,000 grassroots signatures for Connect Bay Area by today.”
“BART’s growing ridership, especially during the weekends, shows that the improvements BART has made over the past several years are working,” wrote transit advocate Dylan Fabris, about recent BART ridership numbers that, to him, demonstrate that voters want the progress to continue. “More and more people are choosing BART as their way to get around and have fun.”
Of course, 46,300 signatures is still well behind the 186,000 signatures from the five counties they need by June 6 to qualify for the November ballot. But what makes the 46,300 number so significant is that it’s just unpaid volunteers. Insiders told Streetsblog that the larger, paid signature-gathering campaign is also on track, although its exact tabulations are a guarded secret. Plus, there’s $3 million in the bank to fund it. The separate Muni funding measure signature gathering efforts are also going well.
“The community/volunteer effort is doing better than expected,” said Seamless Bay Area’s Adina Levin, pointing out that volunteer gathering will still be essential. “We believe we will get there, but we need everyone to dig in for a real final push, especially because of the many state ballot measures in the field.”
Advocates, meanwhile, stress that the good news in no way means the fight is over. “If you haven’t gathered signatures yet, it’s a great time to jump in as we approach our final push,” wrote Hall. “Every event includes training, so it’s easy to start. And you can earn a ‘Fund the Bus’ hat and other swag by gathering.”
Here are more events and info from advocates about how to get involved:
May Day
May 1 is International Workers’ Day, and we’ll gather signatures for transit at May Day events across the region. Public transit runs on the efforts of workers of all stripes, and both Connect Bay Area and Stronger Muni for All are proud to be endorsed by labor unions across the Bay Area. Join us on May Day:
Party time On May 4 at 5pm, SPUR is hosting a party to help us kick off our final weeks of gathering—and all gatherers and volunteers are invited! The party is all ages, with food, drink, good company, and hot-off-the-presses May petition packets for Connect Bay Area and Stronger Muni For all. And we’ll have swag. Lots of swag.
“Fund the Bus” hats are now available at most of our signature gathering events for everyone who’s turned in at least 50 signatures. We’re also eagerly awaiting other items for higher signature gathering milestones: tees (125 sigs), transit vehicle pins (250), a map of our region’s transit (500), and hoodies (1000). The party at SPUR on May 4 will be one of the first events where you can pick up all swag that you’ve earned to date. (But if you can’t make it, don’t worry—we will also share many other opportunities throughout the Bay Area where swag can be picked up as it’s earned.)
[Jason Lai receives a Fund the Bus hat; photo by Cat Carter]
Lots of ways to engage
Refer a friend to our paid gathering program: Earn $30/hour (assuming 10 signatures per hour) by gathering whenever and wherever works for you. Learn more and apply, and please share this with someone you know who’s looking for a short-term job!
Learn how to make gathering easier and faster by joining an upcoming online training with Carter Lavin from Transbay Coalition on April 30.
Forward this newsletter to a friend who supports transit or is looking for ways to get more involved in the community, and encourage them to sign up!
Tip of the Day: Using a sign when gathering clarifies what you are gathering for and what you’re asking someone to do: sign to save transit. But it can be hard to hold a sign and clipboard. If you’re using a clipboard, you can download, print, and tape a sign to the back of your clipboard and hold it up as you gather. If you’re going to be in a busy area, a wearable sign can be best. Volunteer Jason Lai has kindly put together excellent documentation on how to make simple wearable signs.
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
