State Transit Funds Shrink as SolTrans Sets Up Fare Hike Fight
Board of Directors • Solano County TransitOctober 15, 2026
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The state budget kept a promised $230 million transit payment alive, but two key grant programs that Solano County Transit (SolTrans) relies on are projected at a fraction of their usual size. That warning set the tone for Thursday's Oct. 15 board meeting, where directors also mapped a tight timeline toward a fare increase and asked who should actually decide Solano Express fares. With ridership climbing, the gap between demand and dollars is getting harder to ignore.
- Statewide transit grant programs are projected far below normal: LCTOP is projected at $48M, compared with about $200M traditionally.
- The fare increase clock is running: boards must approve by March for a July 1 start.
- Directors are pushing joint STA–SolTrans decision-making on Solano Express governance.
- Staff agreed to draft ICE-rights guidance for drivers and employees after reports of enforcement activity in Vallejo.
- $68,000 capital budget amendment passed unanimously to replace aging oil tanks.
Why it matters: State cap-and-invest dollars fund much of the bus service and capital work that small operators like SolTrans depend on. Those programs are shrinking just as local ridership grows.
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