As the Bay Area inches toward a return to normal, BART leaders are wrestling with how to rebuild a ridership decimated by the pandemic.
During a workshop on Thursday, staff painted a dire portrait of the recovery.
"So of course we have our recent collapse in ridership, which is a crisis without precedent in our history," said BART’s financial planning director, Michael Eisemam. "Overall, the estimated revenue impact of the pandemic is well over a billion dollars through fiscal year 2022 projections."
The agency expects it will take years for a majority of riders to return and is preparing for multiple scenarios, including the possibility that it takes until 2027 for 60 percent to 90 percent of riders to come back.
Members of the Board of Directors agreed that they can no longer rely on commuters.
"We see the telecommuting phenomenon, so I don’t think we can stop that. It was starting before the pandemic," said Director Liz Ames.
It is not just a matter of when workers start going back to the office; the speed of the vaccine rollout, the public’s willingness to ride mass transit and a shift away from downtown centers are all factors in the recovery.
Ames said providing more options for short distance trips could help offset the losses.
Director Rebecca Saltzman suggested targeting riders outside of the main commute hours.
"We’re not going to have all those five day commuters, but what if we have two or three day commuters and they’re also going out at night and on the weekend?" she said.
The agency is working to figure out the most effective way to cut the budget while saving jobs.
Related
