San Mateo County voters will decide in November whether to raise the sales tax to fund public transit across the Bay Area.
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday, Sept. 29, to place the Regional Transit Measure on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. The item appeared on the board's consent agenda. Board President Noelia Corzo presided.
The measure, formally called the Connect Bay Area Transit Initiative, would add a half-cent sales tax in San Mateo, Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties and a full cent in San Francisco. The tax would last 14 years and expire in 2041.
Across all five counties, the measure is projected to generate roughly $980 million a year, the Mercury News reported. SamTrans, San Mateo County's bus system, would receive an estimated $45 million annually. The measure needs a combined simple majority across all five counties to pass, not a majority in each county individually, the Mercury News reported.
The San Mateo County elections office lists the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot as a transactions and use tax requiring a simple majority to pass.
What's at stake for San Mateo commuters
Caltrain faces an average annual deficit of $75 million over the next 15 years, the Mercury News reported. Without new revenue, the railroad's proposed cuts include eliminating weekend service, closing more than a third of its stations, reducing trains to one per hour and ending operations around 9 p.m. instead of 1 a.m.
The measure grew out of Senate Bill 63 (SB 63), the Connect Bay Area Act, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed in October 2025, according to the Eno Center for Transportation. If voters approve it, tax collection would begin in April 2027, with the first payments reaching agencies in July 2027.
About 63% of the revenue raised regionwide would go toward preserving existing transit service. About 33% would fund local transportation improvements in each county.
One supervisor's objection
Not all local officials support the measure. San Mateo County Supervisor Ray Mueller wrote on X on Aug. 11, 2025, that he opposed it.
@ray_mueller_: "I am 'Vote No' on the regional transit measure presently. It's too much money flowing out of San Mateo County and not enough accountability. I hope the issue gets resolved, but I wont support San Mateo County taxpayers getting a bad deal."
Mueller did not publicly update his position before the Sept. 29 vote, and the individual vote tally was not recorded in available meeting records.
An EMC Research poll of 1,700 likely voters in July 2026 found 54% support for the measure, rising to 58% after voters heard about potential service cuts, the Eno Center reported.
Key election dates
County election officials will begin mailing ballots by Oct. 5, according to the NBC Bay Area voter guide. Ballot drop-off locations open Oct. 6. Early in-person voting starts Oct. 24. The last day to register is Oct. 19.
