BART trains would speed right past Orinda if the system’s board follows through with a plan to close the station if a proposed November ballot initiative fails to pass. Details had not been worked out as of press time but indications are new BART funding would come through an increase in the Bay Area’s sales tax.
In a dramatic move to focus attention on a potential 2026 ballot initiative to raise money for Bay Area Rapid Transit, BART announced that 10 stations might close if the measure failed – and one of the stations on that list is Orinda.
“It’s pure insanity,” said former Orinda city council member and realtor Laura Abrams. “Nobody eliminates public transportation.”
BART director Matthew Rinn did not respond to an email request for a comment on the initiative.
There is no doubt, however, that BART’s financial picture is bleak.
The system depends on revenue from ridership to balance the budget, and the daily passenger count is just 50% of what it was prior to the pandemic. In recent years, BART and many other public agencies, have relied on federal funds that were allocated to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19, but those funds have dried up – and BART is just one of many governmental bodies scrambling to balance the books.
“It’s hitting every level of state and local government,” said Orinda Mayor Brandyn Iverson. “You cannot save your way to success.”
So BART is likely to be looking to the voters to maintain a key aspect of Bay Area public transit. The state has authorized a sales tax measure for November, but not only are the details unclear, the measure has yet to officially qualify for the ballot.
The assumption, however, is that some kind of initiative will appear on the November ballot, and this mid-February announcement looks to be the beginning of BART’s campaign to rally support for the measure.
At press time, Orinda officials hadn’t had time to investigate the impact of the potential January 2027 closure on the city’s finances, but others were quicker to respond.
“When I get a new buyer,” said Abrams, “what they say is ‘I don’t want to go anywhere that doesn’t have a BART station’.”
Realtor Christina Linezo echoed Abrams. “A lot of people living in San Francisco move here because of BART,” she said.
The BART station also allows employees at Orinda businesses to get to work in an economical and timely manner, and even though the Lafayette station would not be shuttered, public transit options between the two cities are limited.
Leonard Pirkle, a partner in the Orinda Theatre, said the closure “would have a definitive financial impact on the theater and Theatre Square restaurants.
“The number of patrons at the theater who take BART from other areas of the Bay has been steadily increasing over the years. A number of people take the train from San Francisco for special events, like the San Francisco Silent Film Festival and the Live at the Orinda! cabaret series.”
And BART ridership has been steadily increasing in the past two years. BART has taken steps to improve its image, with upgraded fare gates and a much improved on-time rate.
Still, antiquated power and computer systems have caused major disruptions in recent months, and despite its efforts to improve, BART has yet to overcome years of passenger frustration with the system.
It remains to be seen if BART can convince voters to increase their taxes to support the system, but the threat of closing Orinda and nine other stations will certainly get their attention.
