Two weeks ago, the Bay Area saw skies turned orange with smoke and flames from wildfires that are still burning — continuing to compromise the quality of air and the quality of Bay Area life. The climate crisis isn’t impending — we are in the midst of it, and with each year it will come to have more extreme impacts on both our health and the viability of the Bay Area as a place to live, work and play.

As a lifelong resident of the Bay Area (specifically, San Jose), community organizer, member of the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters, and my favorite title, father, I have a lot at stake in ensuring that the residents and leaders of the Bay Area push for positive change here at home.

It is clear we have no choice but to take action, and one way of doing so is by cutting down on the pollution caused by cars and pivoting from transportation that burns gasoline to cleaner, more sustainable forms of transit.

This November, a measure will be on the ballot in Santa Clara, San Mateo and San Francisco counties that allows voters to take this action, paving the way for a future with clearer skies and cleaner air: Measure RR to rescue Caltrain, an essential part of the Bay Area’s transportation network.

The measure, if passed, would create a permanent funding source for Caltrain through a 1/8-cent sales tax that provides benefits to all commuters who travel along the Caltrain, Interstate 280, Highway 101 and El Camino Real corridors. Currently, Caltrain relies heavily on fares from passengers, who provide an astonishing 70% of its budget, to continue running. However, COVID-19 has proven that running Caltrain on fare revenue alone isn’t sustainable. The pandemic, which left many working from home, has led to a 95% decrease in Caltrain ridership. This has put Caltrain in a fiscal crisis during our environmental and public health crises, while the train remains vital for thousands of frontline and essential workers.

Although Measure RR was initially conceived to allow Caltrain to upgrade from diesel to more environmentally-friendly electric trains, the measure will generate $108 million in yearly revenue and is needed to keep Caltrain on the rails at all. Measure RR is critical to keeping Caltrain alive in the short term. This dedicated revenue source will also cover the operations needed for electrification and expansion once ridership recovers.

While the pandemic has currently decreased commuter traffic of all kinds, this won’t last forever. Traffic will return, and smog will continue to cloud Bay Area skies and warm our climate. Expanding clean, reliable public transportation such as Caltrain is not only common sense but also is necessary to take millions of cars off the road and allow commuters to contribute less pollution to the air we breathe. And while there isn’t much these days on which we can all agree, the need for clean air is something on which we can and must take action. The blue skies and better air quality levels we have experienced over the past few days should have reminded us all not to take our skies for granted.

The Santa Clara County  and San Francisco League of Conservation Voters endorse Measure RR as a much-needed win for our environment and for the continued health and safety of our entire community. Whether or not you’re a Caltrain rider, all Bay Area residents will reap a major benefit of keeping Caltrain running — a future with cleaner air.

Matthew Quevedo is the director of housing, transportation and community engagement for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and a Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters board member.