CALPIRG Blog

Read the Los Angeles Times article here. CALPIRG had warned the media of the pending cuts to public transit in events last week in Los Angeles and San Francisco last week. One of the biggest projects whose funding was put on hold was the Expo Line in Los Angeles. 

In the meantime, Senate Republicans proposed to take an additional $100 million from public transit in the budget yesterday. Their proposal would give only $306 million to statewide public transit for operating costs. To put that number into perspective, the Department of Transportation receives more than $8 billion in state revenue, almost all of which is spent on roads and highways. 

The Senate Republicans falsely stated, “While paying down the debt services, public transit will still receive $1.8 billion.” If you are confused, you should be. They are counting all of the funds that have been cut from public transit in their numbers!

If you haven't already, please write to your Senator and ask them to oppose the draconian cuts to public transit in the budget. And stay tuned for CALPIRG's next steps on this campaign. Clearly, if California is going build world-class transportation around the state, $306 million doesn't even come close to getting us where we need to be.