Voters in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties served by Caltrain appeared to have passed a new one-eighth-cent sales tax to fund improvements and expansion of the service. Supporters say the tax will help Caltrain survive a major drop in ridership due to the coronavirus pandemic and pave the way for ambitious expansions in decades to come.
Measure RR, which gives the three-decade-old transit agency its first dedicated source of funding, needed a two-thirds “yes” vote among all ballots cast in the three Caltrain counties to pass. With more than half of expected ballots counted in the three counties by 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the measure was passing with a 70.4% “yes” vote.
“It’s just phenomenal to have this level of support from the voters and the taxpayers,” said Dave Pine, a member of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and chair of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board that oversees Caltrain.
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