BART Board Puts $980 Million Earthquake Safety Bond Measure on November Ballot; Bond Money Would Strengthen Transbay Tube, Stations & Elevated Tracks.

News Editors

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 10, 2004

Today BART's Board of Directors voted to strengthen the Bay Area's regional rail system to withstand future powerful earthquakes by putting a general obligation property tax bond measure on the November 2004 ballot in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties.

Should voters approve the measure by a two-thirds margin, BART would use the $980 million in bond revenues to strengthen its Transbay Tube, stations and elevated tracks.

The estimated average yearly tax rate would be approximately $7 per $100,000 of assessed value over the life of the bonds. BART Directors called the $980 million bond a "truly wise investment" saying that the yearly cost to the average property taxpayer would be minimal but the benefits of passing the measure would be immense.

"When you boil it down, the average property owner will pay less for this bond than they do to fill up their vehicle with gas, or buy a ticket to a Bay Area theme park, or even take their family out to the movies," said BART Director Lynette Sweet. "Meanwhile, the bond revenues would prevent massive gridlock, save lives and save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars in BART rebuilding costs should a major earthquake rock the Bay Area."

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, there's a 62% chance of at least one magnitude 6.7 earthquake striking the Bay Area by 2032. "The ground motions and associated ground deformation from a major earthquake will be stronger than anything this region as ever felt since 1906, and that is what causes the damage," said USGS Geologist David Schuartz.

In the 1960's and 1970's engineers designed and constructed BART well beyond the earthquake standards of the time but earthquake science has improved dramatically since then. BART's 2002 Earthquake Safety Program study found that a powerful quake could likely cause many BART structures to fail, risking passenger safety, unless strengthened to today's seismic standards.

Cost to Rebuild BART

BART's 2002 Earthquake Safety Program study, which two panels of independent, world-renowned geologists and engineers reviewed, found a massive quake would likely shut down BART for two and a half years or longer and cost taxpayers upwards of $15 billion to rebuild the system if isn't strengthened for an earthquake.

The Effects of a BART Shutdown on Traffic, Economy

-- An April 2004 U.C. Berkeley study found that the evening rush

hour commute from Oakland, thru the Caldecott Tunnel and into

Concord would take at least five times as long if an

earthquake knocked out BART service.

-- BART carries 310,000 weekday commuters. A BART shutdown could

add 310,000 trips to Bay Area roadways, many of which would

likely be closed after a major quake.

-- A BART shutdown could gridlock transbay commutes. BART carries

150,000 transbay commute trips, and during peak commute hours

carries the passenger equivalent of a deck full of Bay Bridge

traffic.

-- The 2002 Earthquake Safety Program study estimates there would

be a $3.4 billion loss in worker productivity for employees

who would otherwise be at their jobs if they weren't stuck in

traffic. This figure does not calculate the estimated tens of

billions of dollars in economic loss to Bay Area businesses.

Cost of Bond Measure

The estimated average yearly tax rate would be approximately $7 per $100,000 of assessed value over the life of the bonds. Assessed values are often lower than market value. For example, if the assessed value of a Bay Area home is $400,000, then the property owner would pay on average, over the life of the bonds, approximately $28 per year in taxes. "That's the cheapest insurance policy on earth," said BART Director Dan Richard. "Especially when you consider it will ensure traffic doesn't come to a standstill after a massive earthquake and that taxpayers won't have to rebuild BART, which is valued at an estimated $15 billion."

Bond Measure Pays a Portion of Total Funding

The $980 million bond measure is designed to pay a portion of BART's $1.3 billion Earthquake Safety Program. The remaining funds will come from a combination of state and federal dollars as well as passenger revenues.