9/26/25: Learn how to be an effective transit advocate. Plus, several other policy focused events, socials, and actions to support public transit transformation!

20 great Transit Month events to attend before the end of the month!

Transit Month frenzy has (and continues) to take over the Bay this September. Thousands of people are enjoying Transit Month events and there is still time to make it out to the upcoming happy hours, educational webinars, group outings, rallies, and games this week!

We've also seen an outpouring of Transit Month publicity such as Muni releasing a new podcast episode and blog post highlighting the love San Francisco has for public transit and coverage from outlets like ABC7, NBC Bay Area, KALW, Oaklandside, SFist.

With less than a week left, here are short previews of three upcoming Seamless Bay Area events we are excited to host.

On Monday, 9/29, come to Redwood City for the Peninsula Transit Happy Hour to meet fellow transit supporters, hear from local elected champions, celebrating the heroes, hard work, negotiation and rallying leading to decisions by San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties to join the 2026 regional transit funding measure that will prevent cuts and improve service on Caltrain, BART, SamTrans and VTA. 

At noon on Tuesday, 9/30, learn how transit systems around the world and in California are adopting open payment systems (a.k.a. the ability to pay for transit with credit/debit cards and mobile wallets) and the opportunities and issues to grow ridership and improve equitable access in our webinar, Exploring Innovative and Equitable Transit Fare Payment Options. 

​We're excited to host the Bay Area’s own Carter Lavin, for an online discussion on his upcoming book If You Want to Win, You've Got to Fight: A Guide to Effective Transportation Advocacy on Tuesday, 9/30 from 6:30-7:30pm. At this webinar listeners will learn lessons from Lavin's experience organizing with multiple transit, bike, and street safety advocacy groups throughout the Bay Area as well as interviews with dozens of transportation activists around the country. 

His book provides a roadmap for transforming passion into political power. Whether you are just starting out or have engaged in transportation advocacy for a while, the tools and insights in this book will help you develop, plan, and execute transit-related campaigns.

Last chance to nominate your Transit Heroes of 2025

We're looking for YOU to nominate the people or projects that have made life better for transit riders in the past year. Submit your nominations by Sunday, September 28th @ 11:59pm.

For example, nominees could be: 

  • An amazing bus driver, train operator, station attendant, or ambassador. 

  • People who have spoken up effectively for transit or helped other riders. 

  • Improvements you’ve seen on your trips such as new transit lanes, boarding areas, better signage, or clear communication.

  • Any people or improvements that have made transit better in some way.

If you only know the project (transit lanes, improved bus stop, etc), give us the details and we can help track down the people responsible for the positive change!

2025's Transit Heroes will be announced in early October and honored at the Rider First Awards on Friday, October 10th from 6:00-8:00pm in San Francisco. 

A special thank you to our Transit Month Sponsors 

We want to thank our generous sponsors who make this month-long celebration possible.

With their support, Transit Month continues to grow bigger and better every year. This year, there are more than quadruple the number of events compared to when we began in 2021!

Webinar: Full Steam Ahead: Funding Transformational Transit | Wednesday, October 8th at 12pm PDT / 3pm ET

Join this webinar to learn how the shape, type and speed of investment can improve service outcomes and affordability for transit and passenger rail projects. We will be joined by Ian Griffiths (CPCS), Jackson Moore-Otto (Center for Public Enterprise), Adiana Rizzo (Californians for Electric Rail), and Liam Morehead (Office of Congressman Seth Moulton). 

Move Bay Area West Bay Summit (Redwood City) | Friday, 10/3 from 8:30am - 3:00pm

This free, one-day summit brings together community leaders, labor, planners, and advocates to explore the connections between climate, health, and transportation and help shape a regional transportation vision together.

*New Report* Electrolink: Modern Passenger Rail Service for Southern California

Our friends at Californians for Electric Rail just released a new report on how overhead electrification, level boarding, and through-running trains on MetroLink can modernize the Southern California regional rail into a faster, more reliable, and more accessible transit network. 

Recent from our blog

State Task Force - Big gaps in funding and capital projects; improvement needed in coordination

On September 30, California’s State Transit Transformation Task Force has opportunities to advance policies for more coordinated transit and more timely and cost-effective capital projects. However, the draft recommendation has a catastrophic gap in operating funding, as well as big gaps in the potential to advance timely and cost-effective capital projects, and room for improvement in coordination. In order to fill in the gaps, please send a letter and/or make public comment on these points.

California’s Access for All program: Expanding on-demand services for people with disabilities

Since the inception of the TNC Access for All Program in 2019, companies like Uber and Lyft have provided over $48 million for wheelchair accessible trips in an effort to increase availability and improve response time for people with disabilities, leading California to be a nationwide leader in the deployment and adoption of on-demand transportation options for persons with disabilities. The program builds a clear mechanism to fund TNC access, but results have lagged behind the program’s goals. While ridership has increased since the start of the program, service can be unreliable for wheelchair users, and there are more opportunities to improve access in the future.

If you are able to, please consider donating to help support the movement for a world-class Bay Area transit network. 

Also, you can help build the movement by sharing one of our newsletters, blog posts, events, or social media pages with one other person. Thank you!

Kaleo Mark