Politics
Fresno Area Express Gets $12M in New Transit Funding
Senate Bill 312 brings extended evening bus service and lower transfer costs to Fresno Area Express riders starting in 2027, with major changes coming to Route 22.
How we reported this
Senate Bill 312, passed by the California Legislature in June, directs an additional $12 million each year to transit agencies serving the San Joaquin Valley, including the Fresno Area Express system that carries roughly 150,000 passengers on weekdays.
The measure updates the state transportation budget formula to give greater weight to regions with high agricultural employment and limited rail options, a shift that takes effect with the 2027 fiscal year allocations approved by the California Transportation Commission.
Changes for riders on specific routes
Under the new distribution, Fresno Area Express plans to add evening runs on Route 22 between the airport industrial area and downtown, a corridor used by shift workers at packing facilities near Highway 99. The bill also caps transfer fees at 50 cents for passengers switching between local and regional lines operated by the Fresno County Rural Transit Agency.
City records show that households in ZIP codes 93706 and 93725, where median income sits below the county average, account for 38 percent of current Route 22 boardings. Local transit staff expect those riders to see the largest reduction in monthly out-of-pocket costs once the fee limit begins.
Next steps for implementation
The Fresno Council of Governments must submit a spending plan to the state by October 2026, after which the California Department of Transportation will release the first quarterly payments. Agency documents indicate that vehicle purchases and schedule changes could begin as early as March 2027.
Policy analysts at the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office note that the funding formula change will be reviewed again during the 2028 budget cycle, when updated ridership data from the 2027 American Community Survey becomes available.