San Bruno B.A.R.T.

  The recently approved state budget is dealing local transit agencies a major blow, cutting funding by nearly two-thirds more than what was expected earlier this year.

  Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday signed the most overdue budget in the state's history. Proposition 42, which takes gas taxes to make transportation improvements, was untouched by massive cuts, but funding to local transit agencies such as Bay Area Rapid Transit, Caltrain and SamTrans was diverted at record levels.

  Caltrain, which runs Peninsula rail service from Gilroy to San Francisco, could have received $11.8 million from the state this year. It received $3.7 million. SamTrans, which runs bus and paratransit service in San Mateo County, could have received $13.7 million but the state only allocated $4.3 million, said Christine Dunn, spokeswoman for both agencies.

  "This money will probably be used to offset the cost of fuel," Dunn said.

  The massive cuts are exacerbated by rising fuel costs already forcing the agencies to propose fare increases. To bridge the state budget gap, the agencies will likely delay capital improvements such as renovating the South San Francisco Caltrain station.

  The president of the Bay Area Rapid Transit District's board of directors said yesterday the transit agency should consider adding 5 or 10 cents to the price of BART tickets to make up for money the agency is losing in the budget, according to a report from Bay City News Service.

  Board president Gail Murray said the extra money could be called a "Sacramento surcharge" and would be used "to pay off what the governor and the state Legislature have imposed on us," the report said.

  BART is getting $37 million less from the state than it originally anticipated for the current fiscal year, and $9 million less than more recent projections, the report said.

  Murray made her suggestion after BART General Manager Dorothy Dugger said she would give the board a report next month on various ways the transit agency could cope with the revenue shortfall it faces as a result of the state's budget, the report said.

  Last year's budget set a record with $1.3 billion in Public Transportation Account funds diverted, this year the total was even higher at $1.67 billion. The diversion is primarily due to record gasoline prices that drove up "spillover" - a calculation that is triggered when gasoline prices grow at a faster rate than the overall economy. The final estimate of the spillover for fiscal year 2008-09 is $1.43 billion, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

  The law once required all spillover funds to be deposited into the PTA for transit purposes. Last year, however, the Legislature altered the law to require only 50 percent placed in the PTA and the rest could go to the state's general fund. This year, 100 percent can be diverted into the general fund for transit purposes.

  The diversion moves $558 million away from the state's most flexible transportation fund, according to the MTC.

  In addition to the drafted cuts, Schwarzenegger cut $100 million with his line-item veto power.

  The current cuts do not bode well for the $20 million Caltrain was told would be written into the 2010 budget for South San Francisco station improvements, Dunn said.

  The station improvements are slated to include boarding platform widening, allowing trains to move faster through the area, Dunn said.

  Both SamTrans and Caltrain are considering fare increases. SamTrans will hold a public meeting Oct. 15 to discuss raising bus fares by 25 cents and paratransit fares by 50 cents.

  The last SamTrans fare increase occurred in 2005.

  Caltrain plans to decide next month between two proposals to increase fares. One raises fares by 25 cents per ticket. The other raises fares by 25 cents per ticket plus an additional 25-cent increase per zone.

  The last Caltrain fare increase took place in April 2007.

  Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

E-mail Dana Yates at dana@smdailyjournal.com.