Shoppers in Pleasanton and the rest of Alameda County will pay an extra half-cent in sales tax for transit starting in the spring of 2027 if early returns hold, after the Regional Transit Measure built a wide lead across the five Bay Area counties voting on it.
Initial results showed Measure RTM with a 61.6% yes vote, KQED reported early Wednesday. The station's results tracker, updated at 12:59 a.m., listed 708,996 votes in favor and 443,928 against across Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
The measure needs only a simple majority of all votes cast in the five counties combined, because supporters qualified it by gathering signatures rather than having the Legislature place it on the ballot. The count is unofficial and will keep changing as mail ballots are processed.
What voters approved
The 14-year tax is half a cent in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties and a full cent in San Francisco, with collection scheduled to begin in April 2027, according to Bay City News reporting published by the Post News Group.
It is expected to raise about $980 million a year for BART, AC Transit, Muni, Caltrain, the Valley Transportation Authority, San Francisco Bay Ferry, Golden Gate Transit and other operators.
About 5% of the revenue is set aside for rider improvements such as cheaper transfers between systems, a larger Clipper START low-income discount, accessibility work and better maps and signs, according to the League of Women Voters of the Bay Area's pros-and-cons guide.
Under SB 63, the 2025 state law that set up the vote, the major agencies must also go through financial efficiency reviews, and an oversight committee checks that money is spent according to the law's plan.
Ahead of the vote, transit agencies warned of deep cuts if the measure failed, KQED reported, among them as many as 15 BART station closures, a 9 p.m. end to BART service each night and a 16% reduction in AC Transit service.
