SMART seeks your input on proposed service reductions

Monday, May 11, 2020 - 10:30am

Petaluma, CA—The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District and its Board of Directors are in the process of analyzing several strategies to reduce expenses that will have a direct impact on train service. As a part of this process, we are seeking valuable input from the communities we serve in Sonoma and Marin counties, in the form of a short survey.

The information gathered through the survey will be presented to the Board of Directors during a public meeting and used to inform the difficult process of making budgetary cuts.

Some of the budget reductions the Board of Directors is considering include:

Eliminating all weekend service
Reducing the level of weekday service
Suspending free onboard WiFi service

Through this survey, SMART hopes to receive input from a broad range of transit riders and community members. The survey can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/1ASMARTsurvey

Please help us by sharing the survey link with your readers and listeners. The survey will be open from Monday, May 11 through Sunday, May 17, 2020.

Budgetary Update: Measure I, the proposed sales tax revenue extension on the March ballot, would have enabled SMART to lower its debt interest payments by $12 million annually, allowing SMART to use these funds to maintain current service levels. Although the majority of voters (52% in Sonoma and 56% in Marin) approved Measure I, it unfortunately did not receive the two-thirds majority needed to pass. Additionally, the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis, now require that SMART take further steps to bring its budget into balance.

If you have any questions or would like more information about this survey, please email info@SonomaMarinTrain.org.