Local BART riders may take the system for granted until the train they need is no longer running and the Orinda station is taken out of service. Those possibilities are at the heart of a regional transit funding measure that Orinda voters will consider Nov. 3.
Called the Connect Bay Area Transit Measure, the initiative would impose a 0.5% retail transactions and use tax for 14 years in Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and a 1% tax in San Francisco. It qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot in all five participating counties, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission confirms.
BART faces a $376 million deficit for fiscal year 2027 if no new operating revenue materializes, according to its financial-crisis report. Ridership remains about 50% below pre-pandemic levels, BART said, a gap that has hollowed out fare revenue.
Should the measure fail, and no other operating revenue emerge, the BART Board has already adopted an Alternative Service Plan mapping out major service and staffing reductions.
Beginning January 2027, the plan calls for a 63% reduction in train hours, three-line service at 30-minute frequencies, a systemwide 9 p.m. closing, 30% increases in fares and parking fees, and approximately 600 layoffs.
If further cuts prove necessary in July 2027, BART could reduce service hours by 70%, close up to 15 stations, raise fares and parking fees by as much as 50% and eliminate another 600 positions.
Which stations or line segments would ultimately close, remains a decision for the BART Board, but the agency’s own staff has already put forward a list of candidates.
Ten stations, chosen for having the lowest ridership systemwide, are named in that Phase 1 proposal: Castro Valley, North Concord, Pittsburg Center, San Bruno, South Hayward, South San Francisco, Warm Springs, West Dublin/Pleasanton, Oakland International Airport – and Orinda.
For Orinda residents, the issue is more than a BART balance sheet. The station connects daily commuters, students and airport travelers to Oakland, Berkeley, San Francisco and beyond. How the region votes this November will determine whether that connection holds.
Should the measure pass, BART estimates it would receive approximately $74 million during the final quarter of fiscal year 2027 and about $310 million annually beginning in fiscal year 2028.
The agency reports $516 million in operating savings between fiscal years 2020 and 2025, achieved through service reductions, workforce controls and other efficiencies.
Orinda’s BART station could close if voters reject Measure RTM
