6/11/2026: Stop cuts to transit, affordable housing, and clean air and water!
$2 billion in annual funding for public transit, affordable housing, and climate investments are now at risk after Governor Gavin Newsom's appointees voted on amendments to California's Cap-and-Invest program.
This decision puts essential transit funding in jeopardy – along with the state’s largest program to fund affordable housing near transit – and it does so to subsidize major corporations, giving them greater access to pollute our environment. The two transit programs that are set to get slashed have funded essential Bay Area transit projects like:
Caltrain electrification.
Free and discounted fares on Muni and in Contra Costa County for people with disabilities, older adults, and youth.
New housing development at Ashby, El Cerrito, and Lake Merritt BART.
Operations funding to support AC Transit, Caltrain, BART, and SMART service.
Rail extensions such as VTA light rail to the Eastridge Transit Center and SMART to Healdsburg.
And much, much more across our region and California.
However, there is still time to fight back.
A coalition of organizations, state legislators, and thousands of people opposed to the change are preparing to bring the fight for this critical funding to the ongoing state budget debates and legislative process.
Please call Governor Newsom and key elected officials, urging them to fund transit, affordable housing, and climate programs. See the provided script, as well as phone numbers, linked above and in the button below.
For more information, read our recent blog for a more in-depth overview of what happened.
Speak up for better transit in Alameda County!
VTA and SamTrans just adopted priorities for how they will spend local funds from the regional transit ballot measure, with high priorities on maintaining and improving local transit service for riders.
Now, Alameda County is also deciding how it will spend its $9 million in annual, discretionary public transit investments if a regional transit ballot measure passes in November.
The Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC) has a pretty good proposal that also prioritizes funding operations to ensure no service gets cut and then funding existing transit programs like free/reduced price fare programs, improvements that make transit more reliable and faster, accessibility improvements for paratransit, and better amenities for riders at bus stops and BART stations.
Please send letters to ACTC Board Members supporting the staff proposal that prioritizes investing in funding operations and rider-focused improvements – not for road paving.
Get up to $1,000 to host your 2026 Transit Month event
This upcoming September is Bay Area Transit Month, a region-wide celebration of the central role public transit plays in our communities. Throughout September, community-based organizations, individuals, transit agencies, and other groups put on events like group ride-alongs, transit to hikes, rallies, happy hours, educational forums, contests, art fares, and much more.
This year, we are offering grants of up to $1,000 to help community-based organizations in the Bay Area plan and host events.
The application that can be found here, including grants criteria and more information.
The initial deadline is July 17th at midnight. Applications received after then will be accepted on a rolling basis, as funding allows – so apply sooner than later!
Everyone in the Bay Area deserves a convenient, reliable, and accessible transit network. Since 2018, Seamless Bay Area has been spearheading advocacy to transform Bay Area public transit into a world-class system – and this year, we're working hard to pass the Connect Bay Area ballot measure to prevent dire service cuts to transit across our region.
Please consider supporting our work by making a donation. Whether you can give $10, $25, $100, or $500, any amount helps sustain our advocacy and organizing.
As a thank you, we have some brand new swag for donors! We partnered with local Bay Area artist, Bionyo Illustrations, to design a new The Bay Moves Together series with stickers, art prints, and t-shirts. Donate by June 30th and you will have the option to choose from our selection of fun swag!
If you want to double your impact, consider making a donation through employer matching. Some companies in the Bay Area that match employee donations include Apple, Adobe, Autodesk, Google, NVIDIA, LinkedIn, Kaiser Permanente, and many more! Use this tool to see if your employer offers matching charitable donations to Seamless Bay Area Alliance, our affiliated 501(c)3.
New from our blog!
The House released a bipartisan markup of a Surface Transportation Re-Authorization called Build 250. This legislation would govern transit, rail and other modes for the next 5 years. Overall, the proposal has significantly lower investment in transit and rail relative to roads and bridges, as well as greater uncertainty for rail and transit year to year. There are some other beneficial policy provisions with opportunities to enable wiser and more cost-effective investments in planning and strengthening the ability to invest in the core capacity of existing rail and transit systems.
The success of this effort was built on one of the largest grassroots transit organizing efforts the region has ever seen. Seamless Bay Area and Transbay Coalition co-led this effort which mobilized more than 1,000 volunteers across 600 events in a four month period.
Vote by California regulators puts at risk billions in public transit and affordable housing funding
Changes to the Cap-and-Invest program puts at risk billions per year in funding for critical transit, affordable housing, and climate investments. The decision by the California Air Resource Board gives away free allowances to companies to pollute and poses a major setback to our state's ability to fight climate change and make the state a more affordable place to live.
Last week, the SamTrans and VTA decided on their priorities for locally controlled funding from the regional transit ballot measure, with high priorities on maintaining and improving local transit service for riders. And next week, the Alameda County Transportation Commission will be making their decision about priorities for locally controlled funding. Read this blog to learn more and take action.
As a reminder, please consider making a donation to support the movement for a world-class Bay Area transit network. You'll get swag if you donate before June 30th!
Also, you can help build the movement by sharing one of our newsletters, blog posts, events, or following us on social media (Instagram, Bluesky, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter). Thank you!