A higher sales tax, locked in for 14 years.

“First segment opened, it's not meeting expectations, why would you quadruple down on the expense? ... Just because we've moved some ground doesn't mean it can't stop.” — Thunder Parley

“The Bay Area ‘transit industrial complex’ is once again demanding more money from hard pressed consumers... lifting the total tax take to as high as 11.25%... Even MTC's own benefit-cost analysis assigns it less than 50 cents of estimated benefits for every dollar spent.”

“The simplest fix would be to temporarily divert money now earmarked for California's woebegone high-speed rail project to Bay Area transit operations... Rather than wait out the federal government, VTA should cancel or truncate this project.”

“Locking in new sales taxes for 14 years will only exacerbate the Bay Area's cost-of-living crisis without forcing transit agencies to rein in runaway operating expenses.”

“The proposed 14-year, $1.2 billion-per-year sales tax under SB 63 / Measure RTM locks in bloated cost structures, high compensation, and skyrocketing operating subsidies for agencies whose ridership remains 30% below pre-pandemic levels.”

“Proponents know voters are fed up. That is why they snaked this measure onto the ballot as a citizen initiative to exploit a legal loophole, deliberately evading the traditional two-thirds voter approval required for special taxes... We cannot continue acting as an endless bailout ATM for transit agencies that refuse to reform.”

“[The ballot question uses] manipulative framing—such as asserting the measure will ‘prevent major service cuts’ and ‘preserve BART’—instead of offering voters neutral ballot language.”

“Transit officials violated California Elections Code by replacing neutral language with persuasive polling-tested rhetoric... extracting upwards of $17 billion under the guise of an emergency bailout.”

“Even the VTA board subcommittees are realizing that VTA needs to get way more serious about responding to withering critiques of the disgraced South Bay agency (often characterized as the ‘worst-performing agency in the country’) by a Civil Grand Jury.”

“Supporters of the Transit Measure need to use misleading advertising because voters won't pass the measure if they have the real story that it is a regressive tax falling hardest on seniors and low-income families for 14 years.” — Gregg Dieguez

“The (VTA board of directors) has recognized the need for additional oversight and guidance, but the board has failed to exercise its obligation to provide the strategic direction needed for a successful project,” the report reads.

“'Preserving BART' implies that it's at risk in some way, whereas funding it implies what it is, giving it more money to continue to operate... The committee argues that transit operators could utilize existing capital funds to cover operating costs, reduce overtime pay or evaluate contracts with labor unions.” — Gregg Dieguez

“We are being asked to hand a blank check bailout to agencies that have already received over $6 billion in pandemic aid over the last six years and are still staring down nearly a billion dollars in annual structural deficits... Together, we must demand Fixes Before Funding.” — Thunder Parley

“Voters are experiencing deep fatigue over stacked taxes while transit boards refuse to touch administrative overhead or hold management accountable.” — Debora Allen

“Media narratives framing opposition as ‘trying to kill transit’ ignore that working families are being asked to subsidize agencies that refuse to balance their budgets or adapt to remote work.”

“When the overwhelming share of every operating dollar at these agencies goes to labor rather than fares — including roughly a dozen employees earning more than $500,000 a year — voters deserve a clear answer about what exactly their next dollar is buying.”

“The measure will push sales tax rates above 11% in several Bay Area cities to subsidize agencies that already take in $6 billion annually, all under unenforceable, non-binding oversight mechanisms.”

“Let's stop spending huge amounts of money on planning and constructing very stupid mega projects without a purpose and use that money for other purposes, such as operating what we have now.” — Tom Rubin

“The sales tax is inherently regressive and disproportionately burdens lower-income residents to subsidize higher-income commuters on systems like Caltrain and BART, while transit boards refuse to negotiate union labor reforms.”

“VTA does not face large, near-term operating deficits... Measure RTM functions as an unnecessary burden on Santa Clara County that acts as an indirect bailout for BART extension construction overruns.” — Marc Joffe

“The VTA Board failed in its fiduciary oversight of the BART Phase II extension — whose estimated costs surged from $4.7 billion to $12.75 billion with opening pushed to 2037 — while ridership on Phase I remains 86% below initial projections.”

“For January 2026, ridership was 86% below estimates... VTA's cost-estimation practices, along with its lack of transparency around changes to project scope and cost, were identified as significant deficiencies... the board has failed to exercise its obligation to provide the strategic direction needed for a successful project.”

“Bay Area consumers are already squeezed by high taxes and inflation; tacking on another multi-billion-dollar sales tax hike to bail out struggling agencies is unsustainable.”

“A 60% surge in labor expenses with a 60% collapse in ridership between 2014 and 2024... Rigid collective bargaining agreements prevent the agency from restructuring operating costs, pushing it into an ongoing financial death spiral.”

“Watchdogs and critics characterized the plan as a high-pressure political tactic to coerce voter approval of new taxes.”

“Inflation-adjusted transit spending has doubled since 1980 despite flat or declining transit ridership... Voters must demand work-rule reforms and contracting flexibility before any new tax revenue is authorized.”

“California voters aren't choosing between SB 63 and ‘catastrophic cuts.’ They are choosing between continuing a spending model that has already failed or demanding accountability before approving another tax hike.”