BART May Ask Taxpayers For The Billions It Needs To Keep Trains Running
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- BART needs billions of dollars just to keep the trains running in the future, and the transit agency may end up asking the public to foot the bill.
"We need to replace the entire guts of our system. It's not sexy stuff. We're talking about structures, our communications system, our train control system," BART Spokesperson Alicia Trost said.
BART needs a jaw dropping $9.6 billion overhaul on its tracks and trains according to a new state audit. This comes after BART spent $500 million on the Oakland Airport connector, and amid the agency's expansion to San Jose.
"We always want more, but whenever you get more, you still got to fix the roof. We forgot we need to fix the roof," Randy Rentschler of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said.
One plan to foot the bill is a possible $4.8 billion bond, to be paid back through property taxes.
Orinda Mayor and state senate candidate Steve Glazer has been a BART critic since the crippling 2013 strikes.
"They are spending money on pay raises for the union, and they are spending money for pay raises for management. None of it makes any sense," Glazer said.
If voters say no to the bond proposal, BART says it has no backup plan.