Details on the new plan to streamline transit service in Marin and Sonoma counties is now public. The MASCOTS Plan aims to increase ridership 8-15% by restructuring North Bay transit service. The plan calls for increasing SMART rail frequency and a reorganization of bus routes. While we are encouraged that so many agencies have been able to collaborate toward improving ridership and system legibility through this project, advocates call out several concerns with the plan.
Read MoreAs the VTA board considers joining the regional transit funding measure, board members want to understand the spending programs, including the relatively small but powerful “transit transformation” investments intended to increase ridership by making transit more convenient and affordable, and the large $264 million pot of “return to source” funding, over and above what Santa Clara County will need to prevent Caltrain and BART service cuts and implement regional network coordination. This blog post provides data showing the value of the fare integration programs to Santa Clara County.
Read MoreThe first features of the Clipper 2 upgrade will be publicly available on August 28, with the release of open payment – the ability to pay with credit cards, debit cards, and Apple/Google wallets – on BART.
Read MoreThe State Assembly Transportation Committee voted to approve SB 63, the authorizing legislation for a regional transit funding measure, with Bay Area members speaking up about the importance of funding transit. But the Committee approved an amendment reducing funds for Seamless transit, following a recommendation made by MTC in late June. The Assembly Transportation Committee wants a final review when the number of counties participating has been decided and an expenditure plan is available.
Read MoreA series of events last week urged San Mateo County leaders to join a regional funding measure and save public transit from dire service cuts. New poll results show the majority of Peninsula voters support a regional measure. Now, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties have until August 11th to “opt-in” in order to be included.
Read MoreIn August, transit agencies will take the next step to improve transfers for riders, adding four more transit hubs to the “big sync” initiative. Transfers will be improved at Daly City BART, Palo Alto Caltrain, Dublin/Pleasanton BART, and Concord BART, adding to the transfer improvements in January at El Cerrito del Norte and San Rafael Transit Center.
Read MoreToday, Governor Newsom and the state legislature announced a budget agreement to save public transit – at least in the short-term. Public pressure from you, tens of thousands of Californians, and the Move California coalition with 120+ partner organizations, helped motivate the state legislature to reject Governor Newsom's initial budget proposal and then to get the Governor to sign the deal. This victory wouldn’t have been possible without the work you and everyone else put in.
Read MoreThe 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.
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