Photo: SFMTA Photography Department
Introduction
The half-cent sales tax for transportation generates approximately $100 million annually (pre-pandemic) for improvements like new buses and light rail vehicles, street paving, bike lanes, pedestrian safety improvements, and more. The Transportation Authority administers the half-cent sales program according to an Expenditure Plan.
San Francisco voters in November 2022 approved Proposition L, the Sales Tax for Transportation Projects measure that will direct $2.6 billion in half-cent sales tax funds over 30 years to help deliver safer, smoother streets, more reliable transit, continue paratransit services for seniors and persons with disabilities, reduce congestion, and improve air quality.
Prop L is in effect as of April 1, 2023, superseding Prop K. Learn more about Prop L.
Sales Tax Stories
See how sales tax dollars work for you. Go to Sales Tax Stories to see how people across San Francisco benefit from the city's half-cent sales tax for transportation.
Projects Funded by Prop K Transportation Sales Tax
Half-cent sales tax revenues are invested in projects and programs contained in four major categories.
Learn more about projects funded by the half-cent sales tax.
Half-cent sales tax signature projects
Transit
BART station improvements
Caltrain state of good repair
Paratransit
Streets and Traffic Safety
Transportation Systems Management/Strategic Initiatives
Contact
Introduction
Whether you are a San Francisco resident, worker, or visitor, it is likely you have already experienced an improvement supported by half-cent sales tax transportation funding.
In November 2003, 75% of San Francisco voters approved Prop K, extending the existing half-cent local sales tax for transportation (Prop B, approved in 1989) and the accompanying 30-year Expenditure Plan (PDF) identifying projects and programs to be funded by the sales tax. The 30-year Expenditure Plan prioritizes $2.35 billion (in 2003 dollars) and leverages another $9 billion in federal, state, and local funds for transportation improvements.
Expenditure Plan
The sales tax revenues are invested in projects and programs contained in four major categories, which are shown below along with the percentage of overall half-cent sales tax revenues that each category will receive over the life of the Expenditure Plan.
- Transit: 65.5%
- Paratransit Operations: 8.5%
- Streets and Traffic Safety: 24.6%
- Strategic Initiatives: 1.3%
The Expenditure Plan describes the types of projects that are eligible for funds. It explicitly calls out four major capital projects, including:
- Central Subway
- Caltrain Electrification
- Presidio Parkway
- Caltrain Downtown Extension to the Salesforce Transit Center
The Expenditure Plan also includes a paratransit operations category and twenty-one programmatic categories comprised of projects ranging from street resurfacing to new and upgraded traffic signals to pedestrian safety improvements to transit vehicle replacements. The Transportation Authority works with city agencies in five-year cycles to program half-cent sales tax funds to specific projects eligible for funds from the programmatic categories.
The Expenditure Plan identifies eligible agencies for each line item and establishes limits on sales tax funding by Expenditure Plan line item. It also sets expectations for leveraging of sales tax funds with other federal, state, and local dollars to fully fund the Expenditure Plan programs and projects. The Expenditure Plan estimates that $2.35 billion (in 2003 dollars) in local transportation sales tax revenue will be made available to projects over the 30-year program; however, it does not specify how much sales tax funds any given project would receive by year. The Expenditure Plan requires that the Transportation Authority develop and adopt periodic updates to the Strategic Plan as well as five-year project lists to guide the implementation of the program while supporting transparency and accountability.
Prop K Strategic Plan and 5-Year Project Lists
The Prop K Strategic Plan sets policy for administration of the half-cent sales tax program to ensure prudent stewardship of taxpayer funds. It also reconciles the timing of expected sales tax revenues with the schedule for when project sponsors need those revenues, and provides a solid financial basis for the issuance of debt needed to accelerate the delivery of projects and their associated benefits to the public.
Concurrent with updates of the Strategic Plan every five years, the Transportation Authority works closely with eligible agencies to develop lists of projects to be funded from each of the twenty-one programmatic categories, including scope, schedule, cost, funding information for Prop K plus all other fund sources, and performance measures. The Strategic Plan and five-year project lists were updated for funding cycles beginning in 2009, 2014, and 2019.
Resources
Prop K 2021 Strategic Plan (PDF)
Prop K 2021 Strategic Plan, Enclosure (PDF)
Prop K Expenditure Plan, 2003 (PDF)
Prop K Expenditure Plan Summary (PDF)
Prop K 2019 Strategic Plan (PDF)
2019 Strategic Plan Policies (PDF)
Prop K 2014 Strategic Plan (PDF)
Prop K 2009 Strategic Plan (PDF)
Prop K 2005 Strategic Plan (PDF)
Prop B Expenditure Plan (PDF)
MyStreetSF Interactive Map
Visit MyStreetSF to see a map of projects funded by the half-cent transportation sales tax.
Projects Supported by the Half-Cent Transportation Sales Tax
$443 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds is committed to purchasing new SFMTA transit vehicles, including light rail vehicles, hybrid electric motor coaches, electric trolleybuses, and paratransit vans.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds supports the purchase of new Muni vehicles
Nearly $90 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds has supported implementation of a complex suite of communications improvements providing real-time data links that connect a state of the art control center with transit vehicle location and mechanical status sensors, signalized intersections, train control systems, subway information and safety systems and much more.
The half-cent transportation sales tax-supported Valencia Bikeway Improvements project identified bikeway design options to upgrade the existing bike lanes given the high volume of cyclists on Valencia Street, history of bicycle-motor vehicle crashes, and evidence suggesting that illegal parking and loading within the bike lane is prevalent.
The half-cent transportation sales tax fund-supported Better Market Street project will deliver transformative transportation and street improvements along 2.2 miles of Market Street between Octavia Boulevard and Steuart Street.
Nearly $70 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds has supported construction of new transit vehicle maintenance facilities and improvements for existing facilities to support SFMTA's fleet expansion and modernization effort.
The half-cent transportation sales tax fund-supported Caltrain Electrification project will bring fully electrified service to Caltrain.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds supported the Salesforce Transit Center, San Francisco’s new regional transit hub, features a rooftop public park, service for five bus systems, art installations, retail shops, restaurants, a gym, pop-up shops, and more. The transit center accommodates more than 100,000 passengers each weekday and up to 45 million people per year.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds supported Downtown Rail Extension project will extend Caltrain and future California High-Speed Rail service from the existing 4th and King railyard to the newly-constructed Salesforce Transit Center.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds supported the Arguello Boulevard Safety Project will increase safety for people biking and walking along Arguello Boulevard though bike lane improvements, pedestrian refuge islands, sidewalk extensions, a transit boarding island, and more.
Street safety improvements are coming to “the Hairball,” a busy intersection between Potrero Hill and the Mission. Proposed improvements supported by the half-cent transportation sales tax include widened sidewalks, new and improved bike lanes, and new street lighting.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds supported Presidio Parkway, which serves as a regional gateway between the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of San Francisco. The parkway is a replacement of Doyle Drive, a 1.6-mile segment of U.S. 101 that reopened on July 12, 2015.
More than $12 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds have supported new bicycle infrastructure from bike parking to protected bike lanes.
Nearly $4 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds have supported capital improvements to San Francisco's famous cable car system.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds supported ConnectSF, a multi-agency collaborative process to define a 50-year vision for an effective, equitable, and sustainable transportation system for San Francisco.
$163 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds have supported track and trackway improvements to Muni's light rail system.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds support infrastructure improvements and non-infrastructure programs to help make the journey to school safer.
The half-cent transportation sales tax supported Geary Bus Rapid Transit project will improve Geary Boulevard with much-needed safety improvements and faster, more reliable bus service for the 54,000 people who use the 38 Geary and 38R Geary Rapid bus routes every day.
More than $140 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds have supported SFMTA's innovative Paratransit program, which provides public transportation services to persons with disabilities who were unable to use Muni’s regular fixed-route transit services.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds supported Central Subway, connecting riders from Chinatown to Sunnydale and the region.
Nearly $16 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds supported planting and establishment of trees along public streets.
Half-cent transportation sales tax funds construction of hundreds of curb ramps each year to make sidewalks and streets safer throughout San Francisco for people with disabilities.
The Transportation Authority has approved $10.7 million in half-cent transportation sales tax funds and Lifeline Transportation Program funds for Balboa Park Station and station area improvements.
Sponsor Resources
View Project Lists for all 5YPPs (Google Sheet) (Current)
Standard Grant Agreement Sample (PDF) (Updated October 26, 2020)
Portal Guide for Sponsors (PDF), for quarterly progress reports, amendment requests, and closeout/de-obligation requests. The Portal Guide is also available from the Portal's Help menu.
Forms
We are now accepting Prop AA and TNC Tax applications through our online grant administration website. For access to this website, contact Amelia Walley, Program Analyst or email propk@sfcta.org.
Accessibility: The Word and/or Excel documents on this page are required by state and/or federal regulations and can be provided in an accessible form upon request.
Contact
Expenditure Plan
The Prop K Expenditure Plan describes the types of projects that are eligible for funds, including both specific projects and programmatic (e.g. non-project specific) categories, establishes limits on sales tax funding by Expenditure Plan line item, and sets expectations for leveraging of sales tax funds to fully fund the Expenditure Plan projects and programs. These projects and programs are intended to help implement the long-range vision for the development and improvement of San Francisco's transportation system, as articulated in the San Francisco Transportation Plan.
Prop K Expenditure Plan, 2003 (PDF)
Prop K Expenditure Plan Summary (PDF)
Strategic Plan
The Prop K Strategic Plan is the financial tool that guides the timing and allocation of Prop K revenues over the 30-year Expenditure Plan period. It reconciles the timing of expected Prop K revenues with the schedule for when project sponsors need those revenues in order to deliver projects by taking into account the schedule for availability of state, federal and other funds beyond Prop K, the Transportation Authority's debt issuance capacity, the Transportation Authority's own assessment of the deliverability schedule for proposed projects, and the costs associated with project escalation and debt financing. The Prop K Strategic Plan also sets policy and provides guidance for the administration of the program ensuring prudent stewardship of the funds. Finding a balance between the availability of funds and project delivery is an iterative process that requires examining policy, analyzing agency capabilities to delivery projects consistent with the schedule and costs they have proposed, and maximizing fund leveraging opportunities without which the Expenditure Plan program of projects cannot be delivered.
Prop K 2021 Strategic Plan (PDF) Prop K 2021 Strategic Plan, Enclosure (PDF)
Prop K 2019 Strategic Plan (PDF) 2019 Strategic Plan Policies (PDF)
Prop K 2014 Strategic Plan (PDF)
Prop K 2009 Strategic Plan (PDF)
Prop K 2005 Strategic Plan (PDF)
5-Year Prioritization Programs
The Prop K Expenditure Plan requires that each programmatic category (i.e., not project-specific) develop a 5-Year Prioritization Program (5YPP) prior to receiving Prop K allocations. This requirement applies to twenty-one programs such as street resurfacing, new signals and signs, traffic calming, and transit enhancements. The Expenditure Plan establishes limits on funding for each of the twenty-one programmatic categories, and describes the types of projects that are eligible, but does not detail specific projects for funding within each category nor the timing for receipt of funds. The 5YPPs provide input to the Strategic Plan, which aggregates all projects and programs for purposes of overall financial management of the sales tax revenue.
The 5YPPs are intended to provide a stronger link between project selection and expected project performance, and to support on-time, on-budget project delivery, and timely and competitive use of state and federal matching funds. Important elements of the 5YPPs include: establishing prioritization criteria, performance measures, identifying projects to be funded in the next five years, and incorporating public input. The desired outcome of the 5YPPs is the establishment of a strong pipeline of grant-ready projects that can be advanced as soon as funds (Prop K, federal, state, and others) are available.
The process of updating the 5YPPs allows the Transportation Authority Board, project sponsors, and the public to have a clear understanding of, and a tangible impact on, how projects are prioritized and selected for the best use of Prop K funds over the next five years.