[NFBSF] *Wednesday, May 6, 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM*, East Bay Center for the Blind in Berkeley, *2928 Adeline St.*, Signature Gathering for the 5-county Regional transit measure. Deets re the Measure below.

[Sheela Gunn]

Hi, All, please share widely, but *do not* reply to all. There are 4 
listservsbeing sent to, here. Thanks for helping to amplify. :)

Pushing this to the top of your in boxes, :) and hoping you'll come and 
sign a petition to insure that this gets on the ballot in each of the 5 
counties for which it's slated. If you know anyone who wants to register 
to vote, but hasn't, we may be able to help with that, too.

One person asked about measure specifics for San Mateo County. I didn't 
ask permission to give their name, so am not giving it. :) A few days 
after getting the inquiry, I got an answer from Carter Lavin that said 
each county was still writing up their plans for how the funds would be 
used, so that info isn't available. Warren Cushman further clarified 
that each county must create an expenditure plan containing info on 
which projects would be paid for using the money from the measure. Sorry 
it took me a while to get the info, and disseninate it. *embarrassed 
frown* More info may be available, now, but I don't know how to get at 
it. I have added Carter's address at the transbay Coalition to the list 
of recipients of this message. He and Warren are following this better 
than I am.

Join us on *Wednesday, May 6th at 1:00 PM*.
East Bay Center for the Blind *2928 Adeline St., Berkeley*! If you use 
Paratransit, *please* make sure to make your reservation, and pay by 
*Tuesday, May 5* at *5:00 PM*.

S
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Do you ride BART, AC Transit, Muni, Caltrain, Paratransit or other 
public transit in the San Francisco Bay Area?

Petitions to put "Connect Bay Area," a regional measure, on the 2026 
ballot are being gathered.
You must be registered to vote in:
* Alameda
* Contra Costa
* San Francisco
* San Mateo or
* Santa Clara county to sign one. Petition signing events are happening 
near you *right now!*

Every day, people throughout the Bay Area take nearly 1 million trips on 
public transit. But our communities are at risk of losing massive 
amounts of transit service that we depend on. This would be a disaster 
for families, businesses, and our entire community.
Two ballot measures will prevent cuts and improve service (one for San 
Francisco County, and one for the five largest bay area counties listed 
above), but only if voters pass them in November 2026. To get the two 
measures on the ballot, and secure victories for both, we need 200,000 
signatures of registered voters in the five counties, and we're more 
than halfway there! There is a *signing party* scheduled at the *East 
Bay Center for the Blind* on *Wednesday, May 6th* from *1:00 PM - 2:30 
PM*. An educational event may be coming to the Ed Roberts Campus in 
Berkeley soon, and, if getting an event going at the San Francisco 
Lighthouse for the Blind is logistically feasible, we'll have an event 
there, as well.

Here's the home page of the Bay Connect campaign:
https://www.transbaycoalition.org/regional-transit-measure/
Here's the calendar of where petition takers will be collecting signatures.
https://luma.com/connectbayarea?k=c
* Possible inaccessibility alert. I had trouble with the calendar using 
NVDA.

The situation will become dire if we don’t take action.
•
BART would be forced to close up to 15 stations, shut the Blue Line 
(Dublin/Pleasanton) down entirely and reduce other lines to only peak 
hour service or shortening routes, cut train service hours by 70%, and 
cut 25% of the miles off the system.
•
Muni would be forced to cut 50% of all bus and Metro lines, including 
eliminating entire neighborhood routes, ending regular service at 9pm 
(with only bare-bones late-night service), and removing San Francisco’s 
iconic historic cable cars and trolleys.
•
AC Transit would be forced to cut up to 37% of its service which would 
also mean entire routes eliminated and worse service on the remaining 
routes. This would bring transit service down to half of pre-pandemic levels
•
Caltrain would be forced to run service only once an hour, provide no 
weekend service, eliminate weekday service after 9pm, and close 10 stations.
•
VTA and SamTrans are also looking at significant upcoming budget 
deficits which would force similarly devastating cuts.
Public transit is the lifeblood of the Bay Area. Without the bus, train, 
and ferry service our communities depend on, older folks, families, and 
people with disabilities will not be able to get where we need to go for 
work, school, visiting family and friends, medical appointments, and 
worship.

freeways would become clogged, our economy would stall, our air would be 
dirtier, and people who drive, or can afford to use ride sharing 
services would have to shell out thousands of dollars more each year on 
transportation network companies, or car payments, gas, electricity (for 
electric vehicles), and insurance.
However, there is a way we can save families money on transportation, 
unsnarl traffic, grow the economy, clean our air, and create a more 
equitable and affordable Bay Area.

"But how can *I* help fix it?"

Sign a petition to get this regional transit measure on the ballot, then 
vote "Yes" on it in November, and tell all your friends to do the same!

This 2026 regional transit ballot measure will raise $1 billion per year 
to prevent cuts and improve service.
Bay Area residents in the big 5 counties – Alameda, Contra Costa, San 
Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Mateo – will have the chance to save 
transit at the November 2026 election.
But first, we must gather over 200,000 signatures to get the measure 
*on* the ballot.
Not only will this measure save our communities from disastrous cuts, 
but it will make service easier, faster, more efficient, and affordable 
for all by funding rider-focused improvements like:
•
Free/reduced priced transfers between systems.
•
Standardized regional maps and signs to help riders easily navigate transit.
•
Infrastructure upgrades to make transit faster and more reliable.
•
Programs for low-income riders and riders with disabilities.

***Get involved in the fight to save Bay Area transit!***

Contact Warren Cushman
510-971-0959 or <porpie5472 at gmail.com>
for details.
****************