The Measure RTM Campaign Kicked Off Yesterday. The Fate of Regional Transit Is In Your Hands.
Bay Area transit advocates officially kicked off the campaign for Measure RTM, aka the Regional Transit Measure, yesterday taking their message to streets, stations and public spaces.
The September 17 Day of Action featured a rally in each of the five counties with transit agencies needing the measure to pass. Measure RTM would raise roughly $1 billion annually for 14 years through a half-cent sales tax in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and a one-cent tax in San Francisco. The campaign is trying to convince voters to approve the measure as BART, Muni, Caltrain and AC Transit confront a combined annual funding gap of more than $800 million beginning in 2027-28.
More details on the measure can be found at the bottom of this article.
In Oakland, advocates rallied at Frank Ogawa Plaza, where supporters from TransformCA, Bike East Bay and other organizations were joined by state Sen. Jesse Arreguín, D-Berkeley, one of the authors of Senate Bill 63, the legislation that created the legal framework for putting a regional transit tax before voters.
The co-author of SB 63, State Senator Scott Wiener, was at a concurrent rally in San Francisco near the Powell Street Cable Car turnaround with local officials, labor leaders, and transit supporters.
In attendance was Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who recounted her own story of growing up transit-dependent in an immigrant household. Without adequate transit, many of the opportunities she was able to take advantage of that led to her political career would not have been available to her. Her story put a personal face on one of the campaign’s central arguments: that transit funding is not simply about keeping buses and trains running, but about preserving access to jobs, schools and opportunity.
Myrna posted all of her speech to Instagram.
Other rallies took place in Orinda, Millbrae and San Jose.
Your Turn
The campaign is now looking to expand on the region-wide volunteer effort that got Measure RTM on the ballot in the first place. Events are continuing up to election day on November 3, with canvasses, phone banks and outreach at community events planned.
For people who want to get involved, the campaign is asking supporters to sign up for an event, volunteer, bring friends and neighbors into the conversation, and help spread the word about the measure across the Bay Area. You can learn more about volunteering via the Connect Bay Area Events Calendar on Luma or you can register directly for updates and campaign alerts via Seamless Bay Area’s Regional Measure Hub
This weekend’s voter outreach includes:
📍 Saturday, 11:00 a.m. | Cal football game, Berkeley
📍 Saturday, 5:00 p.m. | BART Anime Fest, Warm Springs
📍 Sunday, 10:00 a.m. | Canvass in West Portal
📍 Sunday, 3:00 p.m. | Phonebank at Democratic Volunteer Center, Mountain View
What Is the Regional Transit Measure?
If passed, Measure RTM will implement the following sales tax increases depending on the county:
- 1.0% (1 cent per dollar) increase in the City and County of San Francisco. This would bump San Francisco’s base sales tax from 8.625% up to 9.625%.
- 0.5% (half-cent per dollar) increase in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
The tax is expected to bring in roughly $1 billion every year until it expires in fourteen years. Money will be distributed to transit agencies across the five-county region with these percentages.
- BART: 31%
- Muni (SFMTA): 16%
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA): 25.1%
- Caltrain: 7%
- AC Transit: 5%
- San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans): 4.7%
- Contra Costa Transportation Authority: 2.5%
- Contra Costa County small transit operators: 1.5%
- Alameda County Transportation Commission: 1%
- San Francisco Bay Ferry: 0.7%
- Alameda County small transit operators: 0.5%
- Golden Gate Transit: 0.1%
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