Voters in 11 States Decide 22 Transit Funding Measures Nov. 3
Sixteen are sales taxes. The transit shares CFTE can estimate come to about $1.6 billion a year, two-thirds of it in one Bay Area measure
Source: APTA Center for Transportation Excellence ↗
Nov. 3 is a transit election in 11 states. Twenty-two ballot measures that fund, or decide membership in, systems that run buses are up for a vote, according to the APTA Center for Transportation Excellence, which tracks transit ballot measures nationally. One rail-only measure, Colorado’s Front Range passenger rail tax, is left out here, and so are the 2026 measures voters have already decided.
The headline number is big and lopsided. The center puts a transit dollar figure on 18 of the 22, and together those estimates come to about $1.6 billion a year. One measure, Connect the Bay Area, is $1 billion of it: a 14-year sales tax across five counties meant to keep BART, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Caltrain and AC Transit from major service cuts.
The other end of the list is just as telling. Benton Harbor, Michigan, is asking voters to renew a dial-a-ride millage worth about $133,000 a year. Both questions, the billion-dollar one and the $133,000 one, land on the same ballots Nov. 3.
Most of these are not new taxes. By the center’s descriptions, 12 of the 22 ask voters to keep, extend or replace a tax they already pay. Stark County, Ohio, is the clearest case: SARTA’s 0.25% sales tax expires in June 2027, and the county is back with a straight renewal after voters narrowly turned down an increase in May.
Sales taxes carry the load. Sixteen of the 22 are sales taxes. Michigan supplies the three property millages. San Francisco is the lone parcel tax, Arlington County, Virginia, the lone bond, and Converse, Texas, votes on whether to leave VIA Metropolitan Transit altogether.
Transit is often a slice, not the whole pie. In Charleston County, South Carolina, about 20% of a $4.25 billion, 25-year tax goes to transit. In Greenville County it is 3%. Cobb County, Georgia, sets aside $13.25 million of a $1.2 billion renewal for CobbLinc. The chart’s transit share per year column pulls the transit money out of those packages so the measures can be compared side by side.
Seven measures name bus service outright, and they read like a fleet manager’s to-do list. Pierce County, Washington, wants to grow service 40% with four new routes and two bus rapid transit overhauls. Macomb County, Michigan, is renewing the millage behind SMART’s fixed-route, paratransit and dial-a-ride service. Routt County, Colorado, would fund the regional transit authority its voters created in 2025. Lawrence, Kansas, is paying to stay fare-free.
Three entries come with asterisks in the center’s tracker. Contra Costa County’s measure depends on a state bill, Fresno’s entry still describes signatures awaiting verification, and Greenville County’s says voters could decide in November.
| Measure | State | What it funds | Revenue type | Transit share per year | Annual revenue, all purposes | Total over the measure’s life |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area, CA | CA | Transit including rail | Sales tax | $1,000,000,000 | $1,000,000,000 | $14,000,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Save regions transit agencies from funding cliff. Per CFTE’s tracker: Voters in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and San Francisco counties decide on Connect the Bay Area, a 14-year regional sales tax: 0.5% in the first four counties and 1% in San Francisco. About $1 billion a year would head off major service cuts and improve regional transit at Bay Area Rapid Transit, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, Caltrain and AC Transit. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| San Francisco, CA | CA | Transit, mode not specified | Parcel tax | $160,000,000 | $160,000,000 | $2,400,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund Muni operations and service improvements. Per CFTE’s tracker: The ”Stronger Muni For All” campaign qualified a 15-year parcel tax for the November ballot. It would raise about $160 million a year for Muni, $150 million of it toward the budget deficit and $10 million for service quality. Bills would depend on property type and square footage: $129 a year for a single-family property, $249 for multifamily, $799 for non-residential parcels, and more for larger properties. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Seattle, WA | WA | Transit including rail | Sales tax | $138,000,000 | $138,000,000 | $1,380,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund King County Metro bus service, Seattle Streetcar operations, low-income ORCA passes, transit access programs, Sound Transit 3 planning support, and transit infrastructure improvements. Per CFTE’s tracker: Voters decide in November on a renewed and expanded Seattle Transit Measure: the 0.15% sales tax that expires in March 2027 would become a 0.3% tax for 10 years. CFTE projects $1.38 billion over the measure’s life, all for public transit: King County Metro buses, the Seattle Streetcar, ORCA passes for low-income riders and transit infrastructure. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Pierce County, WA | WA | Names bus service | Sales tax | $64,000,000 | $64,000,000 | $640,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Expand Pierce Transit operations, frequency, and BRT service. Per CFTE’s tracker: A 0.3% sales tax increase would grow Pierce Transit service by 40%: four new bus routes, more frequent trips on dozens of existing routes, and overhauls of two bus rapid transit lines in the agency’s Stream BRT system. No sunset date; CFTE’s total assumes 10 years. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Fresno, CA | CA | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | $61,666,667 | $246,666,667 | $7,400,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund public transit. Per CFTE’s tracker: The ”Better Roads. Safe Streets” proposal would keep Measure C, the expiring transportation sales tax, in place for 30 more years, with 25% of the money reserved for public transit. CFTE’s entry records that supporters delivered more than 32,000 signatures to the Fresno County Elections Office on April 14, 2026, giving the clerk’s office 30 business days to verify them. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| San Bernardino County, CA | CA | Transit including rail | Sales tax | $52,201,040 | $250,000,000 | $7,499,999,983 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund rail, transit, and senior and specialized transportation operations. Per CFTE’s tracker: Measure I, the county’s half-cent transportation sales tax, would run past its March 2040 expiration until voters repeal it. From April 1, 2040, it would raise about $250 million a year for local roads, regional highway and transit projects, and transit operations. Rail, transit, and senior and specialized transportation would get 25% of San Bernardino Valley revenue and 10% of Mountain and Desert revenue. CFTE’s revenue figures rest on the expenditure plan’s estimate of $7.3 billion over the first 30 years. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Macomb County, MI | MI | Names bus service | Property tax | $37,000,000 | $37,000,000 | $185,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund SMART bus and paratransit operations. Per CFTE’s tracker: A five-year renewal of the countywide property tax behind SMART bus service, at 0.94 mills, a touch below the current 0.95. CFTE estimates about $37 million in the first year to keep fixed-route, paratransit and dial-a-ride service running. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Charleston County, SC | SC | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | $34,400,000 | $170,000,000 | $4,250,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund public transit including downtown route study implementation. Per CFTE’s tracker: A new half-cent sales tax for 25 years would replace the 2004 transportation sales tax, which expires in 2027. CFTE projects $4.25 billion over the measure’s life for roads, public transit and land preservation, with about 20% of it for public transit. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Stark County, OH | OH | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | $19,000,000 | $19,000,000 | $190,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund SARTA operations. Per CFTE’s tracker: Voters decide on renewing, for 10 years, the 0.25% sales and use tax SARTA already collects for all transit purposes, about $19 million a year. The current tax runs out in June 2027. In May 2026 a proposal to raise it to 0.35% narrowly failed at the primary. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Delaware County, OH | OH | Names bus service | Sales tax | $16,000,000 | $16,000,000 | $320,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund DCT operations, on-demand service expansion, and fleet expansion. Per CFTE’s tracker: A new permanent 0.2% sales tax for Delaware County Transit, about $16 million a year by CFTE’s estimate and all of it for public transit, would keep on-demand service running in Delaware, Sunbury and Galena and extend it to Powell, Liberty Township, Orange Township and the county’s rural areas. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Tempe, AZ | AZ | Transit including rail | Sales tax | $10,000,000 | $50,000,000 | no estimate |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund transit improvements. Per CFTE’s tracker: A new permanent 0.5% sales tax, about $50 million a year by CFTE’s estimate, would pay for transportation, public safety, and early childhood care and preschool programs. A tenth of a percent of it would be set aside for transit, bicycle and pedestrian projects, among them a possible extension of the Tempe streetcar to Mesa. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Routt County, CO | CO | Names bus service | Sales tax | $7,700,000 | $7,700,000 | $154,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund Yampa Valley Regional Transportation Authority transit service. Per CFTE’s tracker: Voters across the Yampa Valley Regional Transportation Authority district, unincorporated Routt County plus Steamboat Springs, Craig, Hayden, Oak Creek and Yampa, decide on a new 0.5% sales tax for the authority they created in 2025. CFTE puts it at about $7.7 million a year, to start and grow regional bus service in the valley. There is no sunset; CFTE’s total assumes 20 years. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Lawrence, KS | KS | Names bus service | Sales tax | $6,000,000 | $6,000,000 | $60,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund Lawrence Transit operations, fare-free service, and downtown transit center. Per CFTE’s tracker: Voters decide whether to repeal the 0.2% transit sales tax now set to expire in 2029 and replace it with a 0.3% tax running from April 1, 2027, through March 2037. About $6 million a year, all for public transit, would fund Lawrence Transit, keep buses fare-free at today’s route frequencies, and support a downtown transit center. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Greenville County, SC | SC | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | $4,125,000 | $137,500,000 | $1,100,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund Greenlink and other public transportation. Per CFTE’s tracker: A new 1% sales and use tax, for as long as eight years, could go to voters in November. Of the transportation money it raises, 3% would go to Greenlink public transit, about $33 million in all. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Cobb County, GA | GA | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | $2,208,333 | $200,000,000 | $1,200,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund CobbLinc transit facilities, including a new Cumberland Transit Center. Per CFTE’s tracker: A six-year renewal, 2028 through 2033, of the county’s 1% special purpose local option sales tax. CFTE projects $1.2 billion in all for public safety, roads, parks, libraries and other capital projects; CobbLinc transit capital improvements would get $13.25 million of it. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Eaton County, MI | MI | Names bus service | Property tax | $1,306,667 | $1,306,667 | $6,533,335 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund EATRAN operations. Per CFTE’s tracker: A five-year renewal of the countywide 0.25-mill property tax behind EATRAN’s demand-response and connector bus service, about $1,306,667 in the first year. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Douglas County, GA | GA | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | $800,000 | $26,666,667 | $160,000,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund county transit upgrades. Per CFTE’s tracker: A six-year, 1% transportation special purpose local option sales tax, a TSPLOST, would raise up to $113 million. CFTE lists what it would pay for: maintaining and widening local roads, improving intersections and traffic signals, building sidewalks and trails, and upgrading transit. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Benton Harbor, MI | MI | Names bus service | Property tax | $132,952 | $132,952 | $2,659,040 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund TCATA Dial-a-Ride. Per CFTE’s tracker: A 20-year renewal, 2028 through 2047, of the 1.25-mill property tax behind Twin Cities Area Transportation Authority Dial-a-Ride. Voters approved the current millage in 2007; it ends in 2027. The renewal keeps up the city’s local match while TCATA becomes part of a new countywide transit authority. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Contra Costa County, CA | CA | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | no estimate | no estimate | no estimate |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund public transportation. Per CFTE’s tracker: The county would ask voters to double its Measure J transportation sales tax, from 0.5% to 1%, with the money still going to public transit, highways and local streets, and biking and walking infrastructure countywide. The vote depends on SB 1408 clearing the state legislature and being signed into law. Amount, duration and spending plan are undecided; the Contra Costa Transportation Authority would set them if the bill passes. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Riverside County, CA | CA | Transit, mode not specified | Sales tax | no estimate | $280,000,000 | no estimate |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund public transportation as one of three RCTIP categories, alongside Highways and Regional Corridors and Local Streets and Roads. Per CFTE’s tracker: Voters decide in November on renewing Measure A, the county’s half-cent transportation sales tax. CFTE estimates about $280 million a year with no fixed end date, spread across highway and freeway work, local streets and roads, and public transportation. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Converse, TX | TX | Agency membership vote | N/A | no estimate | no estimate | no estimate |
| Per CFTE’s tracker: In a special election, Converse voters decide whether to leave VIA Metropolitan Transit. The suburb of roughly 32,000 people, next to Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in eastern Bexar County, has belonged to VIA since the system began. CFTE notes that under Texas Transportation Code Section 451.613, a city voting to withdraw from a transit authority does not immediately keep its sales tax. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
| Arlington County, VA | VA | Transit including rail | General Obligation Bond | no estimate | no estimate | $69,745,000 |
| Purpose, per CFTE: Fund Arlington’s share of WMATA capital improvements. Per CFTE’s tracker: Voters decide on up to $69,745,000 in general obligation bonds for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority capital projects and other transit, pedestrian, road and transportation work; about $46.3 million of it is the county’s share of Metro’s capital program. CFTE tracker. CFTE’s source for this measure. | ||||||
Use the chart below to sort the 22 by state, by what each measure funds or by revenue type, switch the bars from transit dollars to total revenue, and click any measure for a short summary drawn from the center’s tracker with a link to its source. Where the center gives no estimate, the row says so.
