MTC Indecision on Regional Transit Funding Measure Leaves Riders in the Lurch

For immediate release

Contact: Abibat Rahman-Davies, [email protected], 510-740-9303

SAN FRANCISCO –  After months of deliberation, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) failed to identify a clear path forward for a much-needed regional transportation measure.  

“We can’t let the unthinkable happen and let transit services collapse. It will be a domino effect, stripping the Bay Area of the public transit that’s the lifeblood of our region,” said Transform Transportation Policy Director Zack Deutsch-Gross. “Everyone suffers when transit service goes away. But low-income and BIPOC people, who often have the fewest transportation choices, will bear the brunt of diminished or absent public transit, with reduced access to jobs, education, and necessary services.” 

The Bay Area’s transit agencies face a fiscal crisis, with massive service cuts expected if the region doesn’t secure an additional revenue source by 2027. BART could be forced to reduce train frequencies to once an hour during off-peak times, while Muni would suspend up to 20 routes, and AC Transit would have to cut their entire service by up to 30%.

Time is running out to develop a unifying vision for a regional transportation revenue measure that can be approved by the legislature in 2025 and go on the ballot in 2026. With today’s vote to advance two different funding concepts — both lacking full-throated support from the Commission and select committee — Bay Area residents are entering the 2025 legislative cycle without a clear path forward to keep their buses and trains running.

One of the scenarios (1a) would not even fully address the fiscal cliff for Muni or AC Transit, despite the fact that these two agencies carry approximately 75% of the transit ridership in the Bay Area. 

Both scenarios are funded through a regressive sales tax. A sales tax measure would further burden low-income residents, especially in Alameda County, which already has the highest sales tax in the Bay Area. 

“Affordability is a top concern for voters, but a half-cent sales tax would burden those with the least ability to pay without fully addressing the fiscal cliff,” said Transform Transportation Policy Advocate Abibat Rahman-Davies. “It’s incredibly disheartening to see civic leaders like the Bay Area Council threaten to kill any measure that is not a sales tax.”

The Bay Area cannot give up on regional transit. If any of our transit systems is forced into drastic service cuts or ceases operation, we will lose a vital link in a transit chain, stranding residents from throughout the region. As a member of Voices for Public Transportation, Transform will continue to work with MTC, Bay Area transit operators, and the state legislature to advance authorizing legislation to support a robust, vibrant, connected transit future for our whole region. 

ac transit bus

Transform Responds to MTC Select Committee Inaction on Regional Transit Funding

For immediate release

Contact: Abibat Rahman-Davies, [email protected]

SAN FRANCISCO – The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) select committee tasked with developing a proposal for a funding mechanism for public transit has failed to come to a consensus. Now, the full commission will take up the task — and it must not fail.

“We can’t let the unthinkable happen and let transit agencies fail. It will be a domino effect, stripping the Bay Area of the public transit that’s the lifeblood of our region. Everyone suffers when transit service fails. But low-income and BIPOC people, who often have the fewest transportation choices, will bear the brunt of diminished or absent public transit, with reduced access to jobs, education, and necessary services,” says Transform Transportation Policy Advocate Abibat Rahman-Davies. “It’s time for the commissioners to think big and take their responsibility to provide a stable funding source for the whole region seriously.”

The Bay Area’s 27 transit agencies face a fiscal crisis. An additional funding allocation from the legislature in 2023 will run out soon, and Bay Area legislators and MTC have struggled to find a solution acceptable to all stakeholders that could win enough support at the ballot box. Most recently, MTC created a select committee to craft a measure with broad support.

We recognize this is a daunting task. Counties and cities have different priorities. Business interests and labor unions want specific provisions. But the members of the select committee, rather than providing certainty amidst the dissent, have not shown the leadership we need in this moment. Members have been focused on parochial interests and swayed by special interests. Today, as the MTC Special Select Committee mandate ended, they failed to reach a true consensus.

The Bay Area cannot give up on regional transit. As a member of Voices for Public Transportation, we have been working for years toward a vision for a more robust, vibrant, connected transit future for our whole region. If any of our transit systems is forced into drastic service cuts or ceases operation, we will lose a vital link in a transit chain, stranding residents from throughout the region.

We are not giving up. We call on MTC to quickly develop a funding proposal where no one is left behind, meaning that it is regional, fully funds the transit operator gap, and contains projects that reduce emissions. Any projects that increase vehicle miles traveled (VMT)  should be strictly mitigated. 

Reliable transit protects our climate from an emissions catastrophe and our roadways from endless gridlock. It’s time for MTC to step up, make hard decisions, and show it’s up to the challenge of leading the way for Bay Area transportation. 

Transform Applauds Signing of Transportation Accountability Act

For immediate release: September 27, 2024

Contact: Jeanie Ward-Waller, legislative advocate for Transform, [email protected]. 401-241-8559

SACRAMENTO: Today, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Transportation Accountability Act, AB 2086, authored by Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo and co-sponsored by Transform and the Greenlining Institute. The bill will bring much-needed transparency to Caltrans spending and require Caltrans to provide a financial analysis of the California Transportation Plan. It will also require Caltrans to expand the project information publicly available through its online dashboard to relate spending to performance metrics.

“The Transportation Accountability Act is critical to ensuring that California’s transportation dollars are spent on projects that enhance mobility options while mitigating the climate crisis, especially for our most transportation-burdened communities. Decision makers can’t shift investment priorities without data on how those investments are benefiting or harming communities today,” says Jeanie Ward-Waller, legislative advocate for Transform and director of transportation advocacy at Fearless Advocacy.

California has an excellent framework for reducing emissions from transportation in the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI). However, our state transportation budget is incredibly complex, making it hard to understand how priorities influence spending. This enables Caltrans to make decisions with little public oversight and advance climate-killing highway projects. As Transform pointed out in a recent op-ed, the projects our state is funding with money from the Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA) will have a net negative effect on climate change. AB 2086 will provide much-needed sunlight into transportation funding decisions and the benefits that result from those investments.

The California Air Resources Board estimates that 50% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, and we must reduce driving by 25% by 2030 to be on track to meet our climate goals. The enhanced Caltrans dashboard mandated by this bill will allow advocates like Transform to connect California’s transportation expenditures to its climate goals and assess whether Caltrans is living up to its duty to serve all Californians and protect our communities.

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Governor’s Budget Preserves Transit Funding Commitments, with Delays