Committee forwards BART–SFMTA paratransit cost‑sharing agreement to full Board

The Budget & Finance Committee voted unanimously to forward to the Board of Supervisors a resolution authorizing the Director of Transportation to execute a new cost‑sharing agreement under which BART reimburses the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) for paratransit services provided within San Francisco.

Annette Williams, SFMTA’s director of accessible services, told the committee that BART’s Americans with Disabilities Act obligation covers paratransit trips within three‑quarters of a mile of BART stations and that BART has paid roughly 7.9–8% of the MTA’s paratransit costs historically. SFMTA provides paratransit service citywide and to portions of northern San Mateo County where BART and Muni routes overlap.

Supervisors asked how the service area maps to neighborhoods and whether the cost‑allocation methodology remains correct; Williams said SFMTA covers the entire city and that either agency can request a study to refine trip allocation. Caller David Pilpow asked that the record note the recent MTA board action and include the fully executed agreement in the official file for transparency.

The committee forwarded the resolution to the full Board with a positive recommendation; the item will appear on a future Board agenda.