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Committee tables proposed long-term FastPass agreement with BART after budget analyst warns of cost exposure
Summary
The subcommittee heard MTA and BART representatives about a proposed FastPass agreement that would raise the per-ride MTA reimbursement from $1.02 to $1.19 and tie future MTA payments to BART's fare policy; the budget analyst warned the 8½-year deal could expose the MTA to significant unknown costs (estimated $20.5M by 2018) and the committee voted to table the agreement to recommence negotiations.
The Budget and Finance Subcommittee tabled a proposed long-term FastPass agreement between the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) and BART after the committee’s budget analyst said the current draft could expose the MTA to potentially escalating costs.
Sonali Bose of the MTA explained the FastPass proposal extends a pass that has operated on Muni and BART for decades. Under current practice the MTA reimburses BART $1.02 per San Franciscan BART ride; the agreement before the committee would increase the reimbursement to $1.19 and, because of the length of the term, tie future MTA reimbursements to whatever fare policy the BART board adopts after its CPI-based policy expires in 2012. The draft also proposes an annual rate cap increase of up to 10 percent.
The budget analyst cautioned that the MTA would be committing to reimbursement rates while BART’s future fare policy remains unknown. The analyst noted the proposal could result in MTA costs of about $20.5 million by 2018 under conservative ridership assumptions and recommended renegotiation to tie reimbursement more closely to inflation and to include a not-to-exceed annual amount.
Supervisor Ross Merkremi questioned MTA motivation for the long term and whether the MTA board fully vetted the item; MTA staff said the contract was approved on the MTA consent calendar (the presenter said it was a 7–0 consent item). Given the budget analyst’s concerns, Supervisor Merkremi moved to table the item to allow renegotiation; the committee took the motion without objection.
Next steps: MTA and BART will be asked to return with revised terms after renegotiation.
