February 23, 2026

Daniel Borenstein, in a Mercury News opinion column, says that the State’s recent short-term bail-out of regional mass transit agencies may, in fact, jeopardize the realization of South Bay transportation goals.

SJ Merc notes regional transit bailout may pickpocket VTA

In a Sunday column, the Merc’s opinion editor notes how the “temporary” loan may:

• Enable ongoing reckless spending by VTA, BART, and other regional agencies.
• Mortgage major South Bay transit goals to allow other regional agencies to make near-term payroll, as the loan will, in part, be secured by funds previously allocated to South Bay capital projects.
• Further highlight the unsustainable ballooning of the projected cost of the downtown San Jose BART extension, the cost of which has doubled since 2020 to $12.8bn (no typo).
• Expose VTA to further financial uncertainty, as the loan on funds previously allocated to VTA are expected to be repaid from the proceeds of other transit agencies in the future. {Editor’s note: Good luck with that.}