The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is set to receive $41 million in emergency funding to help keep its buses rolling and ferries floating.

The allocation is part of a larger $774 million funding package for Bay Area transit operators to address budget shortfalls and avoid service cuts as agencies struggle to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding is a mix of regional and state dollars.

Last month, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission took a step toward unlocking $300 million in regional revenue. Those funds will complement another $474 million in emergency transit funds established by Senate Bill 125. The scheme that set up the funding framework was approved last year.

The Golden Gate Bridge district, which operates regional bus and ferry service through Marin County, is in line for $20 million from regional sources and $21 million from the SB 125 funds.

“We are grateful that MTC is following through on a commitment they made a year ago,” said Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, spokesperson for the district.

“This funding provides a vital shot in the arm that helps keep our transit services running,” Cosulich-Schwartz said. “It lets us live to see another day when either travel returns in the Golden Gate corridor or some other funding source comes along, such as a regional transit funding measure.”

Across California, Senate Bill 125 provides a distribution of $4 billion in state general funds through the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program to support transit agency operations or capital improvements. It also established the $1.1 billion Zero-Emission Transit Capital Program to help agencies reduce smog.

In the nine-county Bay Area, Bay Area Rapid Transit is set to receive the largest piece of the pie: $129 million in regional funds and $223 million in SB 125 funds for a total of $352 million. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is in line for a total of $309 million. Another $33 million is earmarked for AC Transit and $25 million for Caltrain.

Neither Marin Transit or Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit are included in the funding package.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission unanimously approved the funding framework, a step needed to release the funds, at its Nov. 20 meeting.

“This item was about how we’re investing our state funds and the regional contribution, and also the accountability that goes with that,” Alix Bockelman, chief deputy executive director of MTC, said at the meeting.

The plan heads next month to the programming and allocations committee, which will be asked to authorize releasing the funds for the fiscal year 2025-26. The fiscal year begins July 1.

Bockelman said part of the plan requires transit agencies to provide information about how the funds would be spent.

The Golden Gate Bridge district will use the funding for general bus and ferry operations, Cosulich-Schwartz said.

The district uses its fares and bridge toll revenue to pay for transit operations. While bus and ferry ridership continues to grow, it remains below pre-pandemic levels. Bridge traffic is also down about 15% compared to 2019, reducing the amount of toll dollars available for transit, Cosulich-Schwartz said.

“The declines in transit fares and toll revenues mean we need other funding sources to maintain existing transit service and to bring additional service back as demand returns,” Cosulich-Schwartz said. “BART, Caltrain, MUNI, and other agencies that rely upon transit fares, tolls, and/or parking revenue to fund their transit services are in similar financial situations and are receiving a portion of these funds to maintain existing transit operations.”