“Solidarity in Action” – Three Takeaways from Housing California 2025

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The 2025 Housing California Conference, themed “Solidarity in Action: Building Power to Transform Communities,” brought together advocates, policymakers, direct service providers, affordable housing developers, and community organizers committed to solving California’s housing crisis. From narrative strategies to data-driven interventions, the conference demonstrated how collective action and clear messaging are essential to achieving housing justice.

1. Narrative is Power – But Simplicity is Key

At multiple sessions, panelists emphasized that narrative isn’t just a communications tool — it’s a strategy. Yet many participants also expressed that housing issues often feel overwhelming or “too complex” to effectively advocate around.

The takeaway? Narratives must be made digestible. If advocates want to scale up their involvement, the messaging must clearly communicate what policies do, who they benefit, and what the trade-offs are. Advocates must communicate with hope and make clear the connections between housing and other policy issues, such as mitigating climate change, perceptions of public safety, and public health.

2. We Can’t Shift Policy Without Shifting Public Perception

Sessions like “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: New Findings From Voter and Messaging Research About Housing Policy“ and “Lessons From a Year-Long Campaign to Shift Voter Mindsets“ provided insight into how voters view housing issues — and how those perceptions can be changed. Research revealed both support and hesitancy among voters, particularly when proposed policies might impact affordability.

To win public support, advocates must craft messages rooted in empathy, shared values, and the lived experiences of individuals directly affected by housing instability.

The team behind the Begins with Home campaign provided useful framing around using hope in messaging in such a complex and deeply personal policy issue:

“We talk a lot about hope in the Begins with Home strategy, and we want to be clear what we mean and don’t mean. We don’t mean that everything is fine or will be fine, that the status quo is acceptable. We mean that the status quo is a choice, and we have the power to make things better. We don’t mean that we can’t talk about the problem, or injustice, or our grief. We mean that the problem is not insurmountable — that injustice can be rectified. Hope is a precursor, an antidote to cynicism, a foundation for getting organized and taking action.”

3. Data-Driven Solutions Are the Future

In “Data-Driven Strategies to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness,” presenters shared how real-time data is helping to identify trends, target prevention, and inform policy. This session reinforced the need for precision: the more we understand about who is at risk, the more effectively we can deploy resources to help. However, the researchers made clear that data is meant to empower advocates, not replace people’s stories. Personal narratives are just as crucial as quantitative analysis in winning over voters and elected officials.

The intersection of data and storytelling could be one of our most powerful tools moving forward.

You can view all of the session recordings and presentations. A big thank you to Housing California for hosting such a successful convening!

Project Location 101-92 Interchange

Opposition Grows to San Mateo Highway Widening

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Almost a year ago, Transform signed on to a letter opposing a project to build new highway lanes connecting State Route 92 from the San Mateo Bridge to Highway 101. The project — first proposed in 2016 by the San Mateo County Transportation Authority (SMCTA), City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG), and Caltrans — recently gained powerful new opponents: the San Mateo City Council.

Building a movement against new lanes, one project at a time

The 101/92 connector project is particularly fraught because it would require taking more than 30 properties by eminent domain, including public parks. Bus service across the San Mateo Bridge was discontinued during the pandemic and hasn’t been restored; making more space for cars instead of resuming suspended transit service is the wrong approach.

Advocates have been building a movement against this project, and it paid off at a recent City Council meeting, where Streetsblog SF reported that there was overwhelming public comment in opposition to the new connector, with no one speaking in favor.

101/92 Connector Alternative 1
101/92 Connector Alternative 2
101/92 Connector Alternative 3

Members of the San Mateo City Council criticized the project for prioritizing car travel over other forms of transportation and contributing to the pollution burden in the affected communities. The highway expansion would come at the expense of homes, including senior housing, and public parks that provide recreational space for children. 

Transform is working with our allies to encourage planners, engineers, agency staff, and elected leaders to look beyond highways for solutions to local and regional transportation issues. Building new highway miles in a time of accelerating climate crisis is effectively pouring gasoline on a burning building. Change is hard, but we believe there are transportation and housing options that will work better for everyone while mitigating climate change.

Our budget should reflect our values

The enormous expenditure required for even a few miles of new highway could be more productively spent. For example, civic leaders could use the expected $300 million price tag for this highway expansion to restart the transbay public transit service or build workforce housing on the Peninsula, so workers aren’t forced into long commutes by high housing prices.

The San Mateo City Council will write a letter requesting that the involved agencies redirect the funds to projects that will truly benefit the community. In the face of such strong opposition from both residents, advocates, and elected officials, we hope SMCTA, C/CAG, and Caltrans will scrap this project. 

Read the letter:

20240515 Group Letter in Opposition to 101_92 Direct Connector Project (2)Download

Public Invited to Comment on Proposed Toll Lane Changes

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The Bay Area Infrastructure Financing Authority (BAIFA) will hold a webinar tonight and a hearing on May 9, 2025, to solicit public comments on proposed changes to tolls on express lanes in the Bay Area. You can submit comments until 5 p.m. on May 9 by emailing [email protected].

New charges, new toll lanes

BAIFA is a joint powers authority between the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Bay Area Toll Authority. The changes in this proposal include:

  • Confirm the end of toll discounts for clean air vehicles such as EVs
  • Increase the minimum toll per zone from $0.50 to $0.75 for all BAIFA Express Lanes
  • Add tolling to the new Solano County I-80 express lanes coming to Fairfield and Vacaville
  • Extend the time of tolling pilots
  • Extend the toll zones on 680 to close an express lane gap.

Transform’s work includes developing policy on equitable tolling. Toll lanes can help reduce congestion and air pollution, while also providing funding for other forms of transportation, such as public transit, biking, and walking. Public participation is essential to ensure equity is at the heart of both program design, expenditures, and process.

Public input on the toll changes is essential to creating tolling and express lane policies that benefit all road users without disproportionately impacting low-income residents. You can learn more at the webinar, 6:30 p.m. on April 23, on Zoom. You can comment in person at the hearing on May 9 at 9:35 am via Zoom or attend in person at the Bay Area Metro Center, Board Room, First Floor, San Francisco.

You can also submit a written comment. Email [email protected] or mail comments to:

MTC Public Information Office 

375 Beale Street, Suite 800

San Francisco, CA 94105

More information about the upcoming changes:

2025_BAIFA_Toll_Ordinance_Amendment_Fact_SheetDownload

San Jose Dia de Los Muertos Will Be Spooky and Sustainable

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Transform is excited to announce our partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and the School of Arts and Culture (SOAC) at the Mexican Heritage Plaza (La Plaza) through the Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC) Grant Program. Our collaboration aims to enhance sustainable transportation options and reduce car dependency for the annual Avenida de Altares event hosted by SOAC in East San Jose.​

TOC grant aims for culturally competent transit encouragement

The VTA’s TOC Grant Program is designed to foster equitable, mixed-use, and mixed-income communities within a half-mile of transit stations and hubs. The program seeks to:​

  • Increase activities that promote transit-oriented communities
  • Improve accessibility to transit stops
  • Address community challenges with equitable outcomes
  • Strengthen community identity and inclusivity
  • Boost community support for transit-oriented investments
  • Align with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s (MTC) Transit-Oriented Policy requirements.​

By funding projects that align with these objectives, the VTA aims to increase transit ridership, reduce car trips, and support vibrant, walkable neighborhoods around transit facilities. ​

A festive night of art and culture

Avenida de Altares (Avenue of the Altars) is a cultural celebration hosted at La Plaza in San Jose, attracting over 3,000 attendees. Save the date and join us on November 1, 2025! 

This free cultural event celebrates Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) at La Plaza. It’s an immersive experience centering on a curated altar walk that spans from the intersection of Alum Rock Avenue and King Road all the way to the entrance of Highway 101, culminating inside La Plaza.

After taking in the cultural sights and sounds on the Avenida de Altares, community members are invited into La Plaza for a wide variety of activities. This includes Day of the Dead-themed face painting, private tarot readings, local artisans and makers selling original creations, and a picturesque cemetery installation.

Public transit enhances the celebration

Recognizing the potential transportation challenges associated with such a large event, Transform will develop a comprehensive Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan in partnership with SOAC to:​

  • Promote sustainable transportation: Encourage attendees to utilize public transit, biking, and walking to access the event.​
  • Reduce traffic congestion: Implement strategies that decrease reliance on single-occupancy vehicles, thereby alleviating parking demand and roadway congestion.​
  • Enhance accessibility: Ensure that all attendees, including Spanish-speaking and limited-mobility individuals, have convenient and equitable access to the event.​
  • Foster community partnerships: Strengthen collaborations between Transform, the School of Arts and Culture, VTA, and other stakeholders to support the event’s success.​

As part of creating the Transportation Demand Management plan, Transform will document existing conditions through walk audits, focus groups, and surveys. We will explore potential incentives and benefits to encourage sustainable travel choices.​ To help people navigate to and from the event on transit, our project will enhance wayfinding, education, and outreach, ensuring that all information is presented in a culturally relevant format that supports the spirit of the event.

The Avenida de Altares project will allow Transform to create a model for sustainable event transportation that can be replicated for future community events. Through thoughtful planning and community collaboration, we can enhance the attendee experience while promoting environmental sustainability and community well-being.​

We will share updates as the project progresses and invite the community to join us in making the Avenida de Altares event a success through sustainable transportation options.

Transform Adds Transit-Oriented Development Bill to its 2025 Agenda

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We published our legislative priorities a couple of weeks ago, but like everything in Sacramento, that list is subject to change. We’re happy to add another excellent bill to our support list: VMT Mitigation Fund for Affordable Housing Bill, AB 1244, by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks.

Critical TOD funding

California’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Housing Program provides grants of up to $10 million for affordable rental housing development near transit stops and up to $5 million for transit improvements. It’s an excellent program that provides critical funding for affordable housing and can also be used to fund neighborhood amenities like bus shelters, bike lanes, and sidewalk improvements.

Under California’s environmental review law, construction projects projected to increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT) must take mitigation measures, but these measures often contain overly optimistic assumptions that don’t lead to meaningful reductions in VMT. The VMT Mitigation Fund for Affordable Housing Bill adds more money to the TOD Program by making it eligible for highway mitigation dollars. 

Housing as a Climate Solution

While research definitively demonstrates that transit-oriented affordable housing significantly reduces VMT, there is no clear process to direct VMT mitigation resources to affordable housing developments. Lower-income households drive 25% to 30% fewer miles when living within one-half mile of transit, and nearly 50% less when living within one-quarter mile of frequent transit. Transform’s analysis of the impact of a proposed $10 billion housing bond in the Bay Area illustrated the huge VMT reduction of building affordable housing near transit, as well as the cost savings for residents. Our reports on transit-oriented development have repeatedly demonstrated the value of TOD as a climate solution.

AB 1244 would make it easy for VMT-generating projects to mitigate their impacts with affordable housing. Taking a statewide approach through the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Housing Program adds efficiency, certainty, consistency, and a familiar process by which developers of affordable homes can access funding. To ensure communities facing the brunt of highway expansion benefit from the mitigations, AB 1244 would prioritize awarding funds to qualifying affordable housing developments in the same city and county as the project.

Housing, not Highways

Transform wholeheartedly supports this excellent measure. With California facing a shortage of 1.2 million homes affordable to lower-income households, and roughly 180,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given night, it would provide a needed injection of affordable housing near transit. While we would prefer no new developments that increase VMT, for the projects that do get built, AB 1244 directly mitigates the increased emissions by funding one of the best ways to reduce emissions: affordable housing near transit. 

Who’s Riding Transit Today?

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The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) conducted a quick-turnaround survey in 2024 to give a snapshot of today’s Bay Area transit riders. MTC collected data from 16,500 passengers to create the report. Here’s what it found.

Rider demographics

Transit riders are more likely to be Black or Latine than the Bay Area as a whole and less likely to be White or Asian than before the pandemic. They are four times as likely to live in poverty as the average Bay Area resident and tend to be lower income.

About 8% of transit riders surveyed have a disability that impacts their ability to get around. And 65% don’t have access to a private vehicle they could use if they weren’t able to ride transit. 

These figures show how essential public transit is. Many riders would be stranded and have difficulty affording a car or rideshare rides if they couldn’t take a train or bus to get where they need to go. Public transit is also a lifeline for people who can’t drive due to a disability. And the data shows the critical role transit plays in lifting people out of poverty by providing affordable mobility to educational and employment opportunities.

Where people are going

The share of people taking transit to work is down from pre-pandemic numbers. Currently, around 50% of riders are commuting to a job; before 2020, that figure was 60%.

Still, almost 60% take transit at least five days a week. And that number isn’t likely to go down; 91% in the survey expected to take transit the same amount or more next year. Transform is working on a regional transit measure to ensure Bay Area operators have the funding they need to keep these vital services in place.

Room for improvement

While a majority of transit riders (58%) feel safe or very safe on transit, survey respondents have a vision for a better transit system. The number one improvement riders would like to see is increased frequency. When trains and buses come more often, transit becomes a more reliable mobility option, which then increases ridership in a virtuous circle. More frequent transit also increases safety, because riders aren’t waiting at a bus stop or on a train platform for as long. Transform’s Ride Fearlessly report highlighted frequency, as well as cleanliness, another requested improvement. 

Riders would also like to see lower fares and more reliable service. Reliability is another key to improving safety, as riders can count on a bus or train arriving on time and not being stranded for an uncomfortably long time waiting for a bus or train that doesn’t arrive. 

Transform is currently working on a white paper to address transit affordability. Our goal is not only to preserve our current transit systems but to transform them into the dependable, efficient, and accessible public transportation Bay Area residents want and need.

Read the survey report.

4bi_25-0247_Summary Sheet_Transit_Passenger_Snapshot_SurveyDownload

Youth Task Force Reads to Elementary Students

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Featured image: Marley from Alameda Community Learning Center reads to kindergarteners at Love Elementary.

The Youth Task Force (YTF), high school students who promote active and shared transportation through the Alameda County Safe Routes to Schools Program, are movers and shakers. They’ve become climate ambassadors and have gone on to pursue higher education in transportation planning. But they haven’t forgotten what it was like to be an elementary school student, and one of the most popular activities for students on the YTF this year has been reading to elementary school classes.

Youth role models

Few things are more exciting to a young person than getting attention from an older kid. Younger students look up to older students and want to emulate their actions. To capitalize on this interest, Safe Routes has created opportunities for high school YTF members to visit local elementary schools to read stories about walking, rolling, and taking the bus. 

The students bring with them some of their favorite, fun picture books about transportation, such as Joseph’s Big Ride by Terry Farish, Bear on a Bike by Stella Blackstone, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems. Through Transportation Storytime, high schoolers inspire the next generation of transportation advocates.

So far this year, we’ve had high school-led Transportation Storytimes in Castro Valley, Fremont, Livermore, Oakland, and Alameda. A total of 44 high school students have read to 904 elementary school students, and we’re only three quarters of the way through the school year! 

One of the most notable Transportation Storytimes this year was an inspired environmental science class that took a field trip from Oakland Technical High School to Piedmont Elementary to read. These are students who aren’t on the Youth Task Force but were given an opportunity to take part in our program and apply their in-class learnings through storytelling. 

What’s next?

The Youth Task Force members continue to dream up creative ways to spread the word about different mobility options. For now, we’re still rolling with our reading initiative, and YTF is excited to continue to inspire the next generation to get outside and use their own two feet to get around.

Transform’s 2025 Budget Advocacy

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Every year, advocacy groups like Transform work on two separate but related campaigns in Sacramento: legislation and the budget. For 2025, Transform has a packed legislative agenda, but that doesn’t mean we’re ignoring the budget process. This year, we have three big budget asks of the legislature: $2.9 billion for housing and homelessness assistance, $2 billion to support transit operations, and to restore $400 million taken from the Active Transportation Program (ATP) in last year’s budget.

Budget negotiations are less visible and harder to follow, but they’re no less critical to California’s future. Here’s what Transform is doing to advocate for equitable budget priorities to improve transportation, housing, and climate.

How does the state budget process work in California?

The California budget process starts at the beginning of the year and finishes by the end of June, the deadline for the governor and the legislature to come to an agreement and pass a budget for the next fiscal year. Along the way, there are several significant milestones and big hearings, plus many, many meetings to hammer out the budget details.

In January, the governor releases his budget, the opening salvo for budget negotiations. The legislature may release its own budget recommendations, and various caucuses may release statements on their budget priorities.

After months of negotiations and hearings, the governor releases another budget draft, called the May Revise, in — you guessed it — May. Then the governor and the legislature conduct a final round of negotiations to hammer out a deal before the June 30 deadline.

Throughout this process, Transform and our allies send letters like the ones below, testify at hearings, and attend meetings with legislators, advocating for our priorities. We’re not alone in this; lobbyists for various industries, labor unions, state agencies, and many nonprofits representing diverse interests all weigh in on how our state should allocate its resources. 

In 2025, the process is complicated by chaos in the new federal regime, making it difficult to rely on previously committed federal funding. It’s unclear what gaps legislators might need to fill due to unmet federal commitments.

Transform and our coalition partners have made three requests to the governor and the legislature to fund housing, public transit, and active transportation infrastructure. Each of them will make a significant difference in the lives of California residents but represent a small fraction of California’s $230 billion budget.

$2.9 billion for housing and homelessness programs

In our coalition letter, below, Transform and our allies have outlined precisely where we’d like to see $2.9 billion in housing money allocated. The funding will close gaps, facilitating the construction of affordable housing and helping unhoused Californians find long-term shelter. The letter calls for $1 billion in funding for Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention, an effective program that has moved 40,000 people out of homelessness in the past two years, but which will be unfunded without this money. The money would also keep alive the Multifamily Housing Program, which builds new and preserves existing affordable housing. Without new funds, this vital program won’t be able to make more grants. 

Read the letter. 

February $2.9B Coordinated Housing & Homelessness Budget LetterDownload

$2 billion for the bus

Transform has joined a coalition asking for $2 billion to shore up our state’s struggling transit systems. We can’t afford to lose the vital bus and train connections that millions of Californians rely on to get around. The legislature provided stopgap transit funding coming out of the pandemic. As transit providers work to develop long-term funding solutions, we’re asking the legislature to allocate $2 billion over the next two fiscal years to keep the buses rolling until those solutions come online.

Read the letter.

March 5, 2025 – $2 Billion Budget Request Transit FundingDownload

$400 million for the Active Transportation Program

Last year’s budget cuts stripped $400 million from the ATP. This left it with only enough funding to approve 13 projects to make biking and walking safer across the whole state. Transform is part of a coalition asking for those funds to be reinstated. That would allow the ATP to fund an additional 36 excellent, shovel-ready active transportation projects.

Read the letter.

25-26 GO ATP Budget Letter v2.docxDownload

Transform’s Legislative Priorities for 2025

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This year marks the beginning of a new two-year legislative session with a number of new legislators in the California Assembly and Senate. That has led to a bumper crop of bills relating to transportation, housing, and climate. Transform is supporting several bills, opposing one, and watching many others to see how they develop through the legislative process.

Top-priority bills

Transform’s top priorities this year are Bay Area transit funding, Cap-and-Trade reauthorization, an equitable road charge, an affordable housing bond, and preventing an environmentally fraught highway widening.

Regional transportation funding measure

Senators Scott Weiner and Jesse Arreguín are leading the campaign to shore up the finances of the Bay Area’s transit providers with SB 63. The bill is on our watch list because it contains only intent language for now. Transform, as part of the Voices for Public Transportation coalition, is carefully watching for what funding source will be selected, how the revenue will be spent, and what accountability mechanism will be required.

Cap-and-Trade reauthorization

California’s Cap-and-Trade Program is up for reauthorization this year, though the new terms won’t take effect until 2030. AB 1207, introduced by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, and SB 840, introduced by Senators Monique Limón and Mike McGuire, will be the legislative vehicles for reauthorization. Both bills state their intent to reauthorize the Cap-and-Trade Program but don’t specify the terms under which it will operate, as those details will be hashed out through the committee process and legislative working groups. 

Transform is leading a coalition of advocacy organizations working to make the program more equitable and more effective at reducing carbon emissions and pollution in environmental justice communities. For now, these measures are on our watch list; we hope they will become bills we can wholeheartedly support.

State housing bond

A pair of measures, AB 736, introduced by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, and SB 417, introduced by Senator Christopher Cabaldon, prep the Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2026 for a statewide ballot in the June 2026 primary. 

California is facing a housing crisis, with only 17% of households able to afford the median-priced home, less than half the national average. Over half of renters, including 65% of low-income renters, are “rent burdened,” spending over 30% of their income on housing, leaving less for essentials like food, transportation, and healthcare. This measure authorizes $10 billion in general obligation bond funds to support the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing and permanent supportive housing.

Road usage charge study

In 2014, California passed a law to study road usage fees as an alternative to the gas tax. As more drivers switch to EVs and fuel-efficient vehicles, gas tax revenue will continue to decline, threatening needed investments in transit, walking, biking, and roadway maintenance. A road usage fee would charge all drivers based on the number of miles driven and ultimately could replace the gas tax entirely. The Road Usage Charge Study Bill, AB 1421, introduced by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, adds another eight years to the study period to continue to study and pilot the best way to implement a road usage fee, including ways to mitigate its impact on low-income and rural drivers. Transform strongly supports road user fees if they are designed to advance equity and climate by incentivizing drivers to use alternate transportation and providing funding for transit and active transportation infrastructure and programs. We want to see an income-based road user charge evaluated in future pilots.

Two bills Transform is opposing

Transform doesn’t oppose many bills. But there are two bills this year that champion policies we have to take a stand against: making housing more expensive and fast-tracking an ill-advised highway widening.

Forcing Californians to pay for unwanted parking

A few years ago, as part of a legislative push to update California’s building codes with the goal of reducing building costs and making housing more affordable, the legislature passed AB 1317 (W. Carrillo), unbundling parking from housing. Before that measure, a parking spot might be included in the cost of a rental or condo, whether the resident needed it or not. Car-free renters, who are overwhelmingly low-income, should not be forced to pay, on average, 17% higher rent for an amenity that they do not use. Unbundling also encourages better use of parking spaces and, in the long term, can reduce the cost of building housing as developers build additional units instead of parking spots, which can cost $19,000 or more.

Senator Aisha Wahab’s SB 381 reverses this excellent policy. It will lead to more money wasted on empty parking spaces instead of affordable housing and encourage more driving.

No highway expansion through protected habitats 

Transform opposes the planned widening of Highway 37 for many reasons: highway widening is not a long-term solution to congestion and increases GHG emissions; more affordable housing in Napa and Marin Counties is the true solution to congestion on this highway; and the area in question will be underwater due to sea level rise within about a decade and will need to be raised. Adding to the many reasons this highway widening is a terrible solution to transportation problems in this area is the fact that the road runs through a sensitive habitat with many endangered species. The Highway Through Sensitive Habitat Bill, AB 697, is a free pass to ignore threatened species, such as the California clapper rail and the salt marsh harvest mouse, as road construction intrudes on sensitive ecosystems. Transform is opposing this bill on principle and for the dangerous precedent it sets.

Bills Transform supports

We have a long list of excellent bills we are supporting this legislative session. Some watch list bills may move to the support column as they make their way through the legislative process.

  • Slow School Zones (AB 382, Berman): This bill would change the way communities can institute slow zones around schools and improve safety for students.
  • Transit Passes for LA Community College Students (AB 861, Solache): A measure enabling LA Metro to work with the LA Community College District to give free passes to students and create a student ambassador program on LA transit. Versions of transit passes for students have been floated before and haven’t passed; we hope this one does.
  • Caltrans Quick-Build Pilot (AB 891, Zbur): This bill would introduce a pilot at Caltrans to use quick-build to move active transportation and transit improvements through the agency’s pipeline at an accelerated rate. Considering the years it normally takes to get a Caltrans project from planning to groundbreaking, this is a welcome initiative. 
  • Bicycle Highways (AB 954, Bennett): The bicycle highways pilot would provide funding to create connected, off-road bikeways through two major California cities. It’s an excellent way to make bike travel safer, more appealing to a wider range of riders, and also faster.
  • Lower Speed Limits on State Roadways (AB 1014, Rogers): A few years ago, AB 43 gave local jurisdictions greater ability to lower speed limits, but the same rules did not apply to state routes, many of which serve as local streets. This bill applies similar speed limit rules to streets controlled by Caltrans, bringing greater safety to those streets too.
  • Transit Board Members Ride the Bus (AB 1070, Ward): This bill would prohibit transit boards from providing compensation to any member who couldn’t prove they used the transit system at least a minimum amount during the prior month. It’s a welcome change that ensures the people making decisions about transit agencies have experience riding their systems.
  • Transportation Resilience Assessment (AB 1132, Schiavo): This bill would require California’s Department of Transportation to assess and report on the vulnerability of community access to our transit systems, in addition to assessing risks to infrastructure and disruptions due to climate change.
  • CEQA Exemption for Transit, Bike, and Pedestrian Projects (SB 71, Wiener): The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires environmental review of certain types of construction projects. A few years ago, Senator Wiener passed a bill to exempt active transportation planning and construction from CEQA until 2030 because these types of projects have a built-in positive environmental impact. This bill would extend the exemption indefinitely.
  • The Affordable Insurance and Climate Recovery Act (SB 222, Wiener): This bill will create a private right of action for individuals injured by climate disasters and extreme weather events to recover their losses from the oil and gas companies that misled the public about the harm their products would cause.
  • Rent Control Preservation Act (SB 522, Wahab): California law prohibits local rent control ordinances from applying to buildings built after 1995, which makes existing rent-controlled units a precious commodity. When rent-controlled units are destroyed due to disaster, this bill extends rent controls to the units built to replace them. While California voters have rejected past attempts to revise California’s outdated rent control regulations, we think this is a reasonable step to stem the loss of affordable housing in our state. 

Legislative watch list

At this stage in the legislative session, many bills are placeholders with language to be developed through committee hearings and negotiations. Transform is watching a number of bills to see how they develop. 

Just because we’re monitoring rather than supporting these bills doesn’t mean they aren’t significant. For example, we’re closely watching the Safe, Sustainable, Traffic-Reducing Transportation Bond Act of 2026, AB 939, which would put a $20 billion transit and rail bond on the statewide ballot in 2026.

  • AB 36 (Soria) Housing elements: prohousing designation
  • AB 314 (Arambula) California Environmental Quality Act: major transit stop
  • AB 394 (Wilson, D) Crimes: public transportation providers
  • AB 590 (Lee) Social Housing Bond Act of 2026
  • AB 609 (Wicks) Housing Accountability Act
  • AB 939 (Schultz) The Safe, Sustainable, Traffic-Reducing Transportation Bond Act of 2026
  • AB 1223  (Nguyen) Local Transportation Authority and Improvement Act: Sacramento Transportation Authority
  • AB 1244 (Wicks) Multifamily Housing Program: definitions
  • AB 1275 (Elhawary) Regional housing needs: regional transportation plan
  • AB 1340 (Wicks) Metropolitan Transportation Commission: duties
  • ACA 4 (Jackson) Homelessness and affordable housing
  • SB 73 (Cervantes) California Environmental Quality Act: exemptions
  • SB 79 (Wiener) Planning and zoning: housing development: transit-oriented development
  • SB 262 (Wahab) Housing element: prohousing designations: prohousing local policies
  • SB 358 (Becker) Mitigation Fee Act: mitigating vehicular traffic impacts
  • SB 445 (Wiener) Sustainable Transportation Project Permits and Cooperative Agreements
  • SB 492 (Menjivar) Youth Housing Bond Act of 2025
  • SB 607 (Wiener) California Environmental Quality Act: categorical exemptions: infill projects
  • SB 772 (Cabaldon) Infill Infrastructure Grant Program of 2019: applications: eligibility

We’ll provide periodic updates as these measures move through the legislature. And we’ll work with our allies, in the legislature and out, to advocate for stronger bills that preserve transit operations, expand housing opportunities, and reduce climate-killing carbon emissions.

Lessons from New York City’s Long Campaign for Congestion Pricing

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Equitable road pricing is one of the most important strategies to reduce excess driving, support public transit, and reduce climate pollution. Transform co-leads a working group of California advocates that support equitable pricing, and in February, Betsy Plum from the New York Riders Alliance spoke with California advocates about her group’s yearslong campaign for congestion pricing. 

Plum’s experience in developing effective messaging for a new charge on people driving in Manhattan is an inspiring example of putting the benefits of a complex policy into terms everyone can understand.

New York City’s congestion pricing program

Drivers who enter Manhattan below 60th Street are now charged a daily fee of $9. The program, which started on January 5, 2025, had immediate benefits. Those who drive into the city have found their commute times significantly reduced as traffic has dropped. At the same time, business is up, with Broadway ticket sales booming and retail ticking up. The program is popular with New Yorkers, even as President Donald Trump seeks to rescind federal approval given under the Biden administration.

Plum reported that, in its first six weeks, 1 million fewer vehicles had entered the congestion relief zone. Bus service was faster and more reliable, especially to the farther reaches of the city. Express bus ridership had grown on the weekends, and subway ridership was up every day. Polling showed that two-thirds of people who drive cars supported the toll, a strong early success.

Building an equitable tolling program

One of Riders Alliance’s foundation principles was to design an equitable program. It should support low-income drivers, especially those who live in the Congestion Relief Zone. Revenue should fund programs to improve health in impacted communities by studying air quality, expanding asthma treatment centers, adding vegetation barriers next to highways, and installing air filtration systems in schools near highways in New York and New Jersey.

There are also discount programs for those who still need to drive. Eligible low-income New Yorkers can apply for a 50% discount, effective after the first 10 tolled trips in any calendar month, and people with disabilities can apply for an Individual Disability Exemption Plan, which will exempt them from paying the toll. Just as importantly, in anticipation of congestion pricing, the City initiated “Fair Fares NYC,” a program that gives New Yorkers with low incomes a 50% discount on subway and bus fares.

Much of the revenue will go to NYC’s vital transit system, including $15 billion for new transit projects creating faster subways via signal upgrades, new buses and trains to prevent breakdowns and delays, and new subway stations and elevators to increase ADA access. 

The winding road to a critical policy

It took years of organizing by a coalition of groups to achieve all this. Along the way, there were lawsuits, multiple governors, and many different advocacy tactics. 

New York finally passed a law authorizing the City to implement congestion pricing in 2019. It needed federal approval, which wasn’t forthcoming during the first Trump administration, but Biden’s Department of Transportation gave the green light in 2021. 

Work to implement congestion pricing kicked into high gear ahead of a planned launch on June 30, 2024 — until New York Governor Kathy Hochul pulled the plug in early June, putting an indefinite pause on the program. 

That’s when Plum’s organization kicked into high gear. Riders Alliance hired a strategic communications firm and ran ads, a first for the group. They aimed ads at the governor, urging her to reverse her decision. The ads focused on benefits everyone could understand: improved air quality, less gridlock, faster emergency response times.

After the November election, Hochul reversed her decision and the race was on to pass the final hurdles for implementation while the Biden administration was still in charge in Washington. Riders Alliance ran an ad touting the benefits shortly after congestion pricing started.

What California advocates can learn from NYC

New York is unique in its density, but California can build on the knowledge of advocates like Plum in pushing our cities and highways to adopt tolling. Here are some key takeaways from Plum.

  • Coalitions move the needle. Working with a diverse set of organizations with different strategies gave power to the movement for congestion pricing. Plum described an inside/outside strategy: Riders Alliance was willing to be more hard-hitting toward elected leaders. Other allies took a gentler approach and had the ear of elected officials. The combination of public pressure plus pragmatic insiders kept the pressure on the governor’s office. Coalitions can be unified without being uniform.
  • Organize, organize, organize. Transit riders are the power base: mobilize them and keep up the pressure. Focus on the people who will benefit from tolling to counteract well-funded opposition.
  • Show that government can do hard things. It rebuilds trust in democracy when you show that government can provide positive change. Give elected leaders the win; frame the policy as a victory for leadership and vision.

The success of New York’s congestion pricing is making the case for road pricing better than any advocate could. But it took a foundation of committed advocacy to get to implementation. California should be next, and Transform will work to ensure whatever solutions our state adopts include equitable pricing, as we move beyond highways.

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