An independent committee charged with overseeing how BART spends its $3.5 billion Measure RR bond says the agency is meeting the bond’s requirements and promises to voters.

The Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee released its 2026 Annual Report on Thursday, Aug. 27, concluding that BART is delivering projects on time, improving system reliability and safety, and following industry best practices. The seven-member panel reviews project data presented by BART staff and publishes its findings each year.

The report offers a counterpoint for Walnut Creek commuters who heard a grimmer financial picture in May. A Contra Costa County Civil Grand Jury report found BART faces a $375 million structural operating deficit beginning in Fiscal Year 2027, when roughly $2 billion in one-time federal and state emergency aid runs out.

Measure RR funds capital rebuilding projects, while BART’s operating deficit concerns the money needed to run daily service.

Measure RR, approved by more than two-thirds of voters in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties in November 2016, funds capital rebuilding of aging infrastructure. The operating deficit stems from fare revenue that has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. BART said in a July 17 statement that fare revenue still falls short of what is needed to sustain operations and that a new funding source is needed.

One committee member, Janey Wang, commutes from Walnut Creek to San Francisco State University, where she is an associate professor with expertise in local fiscal policy, debt management and public finance, according to BART's oversight committee page. The committee has seven members appointed by the BART Board of Directors, each serving two-year terms.

Among the Measure RR projects listed in the program's prior annual report is a substation at Walnut Creek, part of the agency's effort to renew power infrastructure. As of March 2024, BART had invested $1.81 billion of bond funds across 157 projects, with 61 complete. Updated spending figures from the 2026 report were not available for review.

BART posted the committee's conclusion on its official X account, linking to the full report.

A regional sales tax measure on the Nov. 3 ballot, the Connect Bay Area Measure, would provide BART an estimated $310 million annually if approved. That funding would address BART's operating needs rather than Measure RR capital projects.