The third blog post in a series of three—South Korea’s "strong government" is not merely about ambitious politicians making bold promises—it also involves a network of empowered national and regional agencies and research institutions working collectively to implement those visions. These institutions provide the mandate, capacity, and authority needed to carry out public goals, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
Read MoreA tour of Kiku Crossing, an affordable housing community near downtown San Mateo, showed transportation demand management strategies including Clipper BayPass, shared parking, and secure, plentiful bike storage help residents living in the community; help the city bring affordable using a downtown parking lot; and help the developer complete the project with less costly car parking.
The learnings have value for transit agencies and stakeholders deciding whether San Mateo County (and Santa Clara County) should participate in a regional funding measure and how to fund “transit transformation” investments including fare integration.
Read MoreAn important goal for the regional funding measure is to pay for the better agency coordination that leads to rider experience improvements, commonly known as “transit transformation” in the Bay Area. Riders want transit funding to prevent cuts and to make service more convenient and coordinated. Having a clear spending plan for transit transformation investments is important to make sure that the measure delivers promised transit transformation improvements, and to give confidence to leaders in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, who are still making decisions about whether to join the measure.
Read MoreAt our recent webinar, Marco Chitti, fellow at NYU Marron Institute and Transit Costs Project, talked about the "Long Modernization” of Italian railways – delivering major railway improvements over a century through planning and steady, programmatic funding and consistent step-by-step implementation. Find the video and summary in this blog post.
Read MoreDisappointing budget news for transit riders came on Wednesday, May 14 when Governor Newsom proposed slashing funds for transportation service and infrastructure in his updated "May Revise” state budget. The state budget must be negotiated between the governor and the legislature, and it is now in the legislature’s hands to defend and improve support for public transit and active transportation. Read on - and sign up for a webinar to learn more about what’s going on and how you can take action to save transit in the state budget.
Read MoreIn 2004, Seoul introduced transformative reforms including reorganizing its bus network, overhauling operator incentives, and introducing a unified, distance-based fare structure for buses and the metro. These boosted ridership and revenue by over 10% and ushered in a long-term “virtuous cycle” of rising investment and ridership that continues today.
Read MoreLast week, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties inched closer toward participating in a regional transportation funding measure. San Mateo County softened its shocking position against funding seamless transit, and both counties are negotiating on governance options for the funds. The VTA board reviewed polling data which showed voters were equally supportive of a regional and local 0.5% sales tax. In its discussion, the board leaned toward participating in the regional tax at a 0.5% level, while maintaining a backup of a new 0.5% county-specific tax in 2028 that would renew and increase the local tax.
Read MoreThree San Mateo County agencies have recommended eliminating funding for transit coordination initiatives from the upcoming regional transportation funding measure authorizing legislation. This includes cutting funds for wildly popular initiatives like all-agency transit passes, free transfers, schedule coordination, and coordinated paratransit. If you live, work, or travel in San Mateo County, then we need you to speak up tomorrow, May 1st at the Caltrain and SMCTA board meetings, and at the SamTrans and C/CAG meetings next week.
Read More“If they can do it then why can't we,” said Zyjay Cruz, an undergraduate student at San Jose State University who is pushing for his university to join BayPass after UC Berkeley students recently voted to extend and expand their participation in the Clipper BayPass program. “It shows that a staggering amount of students want BayPass.”
Read MoreGreater Seoul has built one of the world’s most extensive and seamlessly integrated public transit systems, with 23 metro lines, over 700 stations, and at least 7,000 buses. What lessons can Seoul and South Korea offer California? The first in a three-part blog series.
Read MoreThe DC/Maryland/Virginia and Chicagoland regions are pursuing initiatives to bring their respective transit agencies to closer integrations, with goals to increase ridership and help address the region’s financial challenges, with lessons for the Bay Area and other regions.
Read MoreThe Palo Alto City Council approved an agreement to join the all-agency BayPass pilot, with $94,640 purchase of all agency transit passes. The City had previously participated in the single-agency Caltrain GoPass to support sustainable commuting, but found that many employees work in city locations further from the Caltrain station and/or live in places that aren’t on the Caltrain corridor.
Read MoreThis year, the California legislature is considering two bills to streamline building public transportation. SB 71 will permanently exempt sidewalk, bike lane, and bus lane projects from CEQA. SB445 sets timelines for utilities and local governments to approve permits for sustainable transportation projects, and empowers agencies to advance work should the timelines not be met. These bills will help reduce two causes that frequently delay rail and transit projects. Seamless Bay Area supports these bills.
Read MoreLast week, Senators Wiener and Arreguín announced a new bill that would authorize a regional public transportation funding measure. The first draft of the bill calls for a half-percent sales tax that would fund the regional transit agencies that face likely cuts, including Caltrain, BART, Muni and AC Transit. The proposed measure includes San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and allows San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties to opt in by July 31.
Read MoreParticipation in the Clipper START low-income discount program has increased by 77% since the program was standardized with 50% discounts among all transit agencies in January 2024. Now, there are plans to make the Clipper START pilot program permanent and to make it easier to join.
Read MoreUC Berkeley students will vote this Spring to adopt BayPass, the Bay Area's new unlimited, free-at-the-point-of-use transit pass, that “will transform the student experience at UC Berkeley.” Seamless Bay Area endorses the BayPass at Berkeley campaign.
Read MoreSecuring new transit operating funding from the State government was a major focus of the California Transit Transformation Task Force’s December and February meetings. The funding discussion is critical, since California historically underfunds transit compared to other states, and available funding is not enough to meet the state’s goals for ridership, climate, housing, and affordability.
Read MoreCalifornia's Cap-and-Trade program provides billions in funding for public transportation in the Bay Area and statewide. In the Bay Area, funds have supported a range of needs including major rail and bus projects, bus electrification, and student transit discount programs. Reauthorizing the Cap-and-Trade program before its 2030 expiration date is a key piece of the puzzle with statewide, regional, and local funding and reforms needed to save and improve transit.
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