The Clipper BayPass all agency transit pass pilot will expand from a maximum of 20,000 participants to 80,000 participants, as approved in December by the region’s Fare Integration Task Force. The second phase of the pilot, serving employers and transportation management associations, is being expanded because there is a long queue with over 100 organizations interested in joining.
Read MoreWhat lessons can the Bay Area learn from Taipei, Taiwan? Seamless Board member Ian Griffiths shares his experiences of his first day in Taipei, part of a study trip funded by the Wendy Tao Smart Cities Scholarship.
Read MoreThe Bay Area is developing a transit priority policy with MTC proposing to have a draft policy by Winter of 2024 and to have a policy approved before the Summer of 2025. Seamless and allies including sent a letter in support of transit priority with recommendations for policy to be clarified and strengthened and to have a more robust process to refine and adopt it.
Read MoreOn November 26, the California Integrated Travel Project announced that low-income Californians who qualify for Medicare can get access to transit discounts when they pay with a credit or debit card. This coming spring, the Bay Area plans to roll out its credit/debit card payment feature. However, when it is first made available, Bay Area residents will not yet be able to access the discounts to which they are entitled when they pay with a credit or debit card.
Read MoreIn a sign of good news for Bay Area transit integration, SF Bay Ferry will take over service between Treasure Island and downtown San Francisco in 2026. This change will make coordinating schedules, integrating fares between transit agencies, and improving the customer experience easier to achieve. This ferry service will only become more important as Treasure Island is one of the biggest potential population growth centers in the Bay Area with the redevelopment project aiming to build 8,000 new homes for 20,000 new residents by the 2040s.
Read MoreOn November 13th, the AC Transit Board of Directors voted to endorse the Seamless Transit Principles, a set of 7 principles designed to help local and regional leaders pursue a well-coordinated, rider-friendly, and world-class transit network. AC Transit became the 4th public transit agency to support the Principles.
Read MoreThe recent statewide Transit Transformation Task Force considered adopting recommendations to support coordination of fares and schedules across agencies within regions and for interregional trips at their recent October meeting. However representatives of transit agencies pushed back.
Read MoreFor people with disabilities, there are special features detailing accessibility information on apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps and Transit App. Unfortunately, this accessibility data is unreliable. This blog post explains how these systems work, why there are problems with the accessibility features, and what we riders can do to improve the situation.
Read MoreDespite attempts by MTC leadership to advance a measure that wouldn’t fully cover transit’s projected funding shortfall, and therefore bake in service cuts, Select committee members expressed increased levels of support for options that would save and improve transit. Over the next 6 weeks it will be critical to keep the pressure on at MTC and keep raising awareness about the needs of transit riders and the importance to the regional to save and improve transit.
Read MoreThe 2024 race for San Francisco Mayor is critical for transit, not only for the City, but for the region as a whole. We used data from the San Francisco Transit Riders’ questionnaire and other public records to create a concise scorecard highlighting candidates’ positions and records on a few key transit issues. Please consider public transportation in ranking your choices for San Francisco Mayor, and share with friends who care about these issues.
Read MoreBART conducted polling to assess the viability of a potential five-county measure (Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara) generating operating funds for BART and other transit services.BART polled a sales tax and a parcel tax.
Read MoreThere are important and competitive races for the AC Transit and BART Board of Directors. These boards play crucial roles in funding measures to address the need to save and improve service, and in policies and actions to support a seamless, rider-friendly, well-coordinated, equitable and accessible system. The responses show multiple candidates who overall support these goals, as well as some differences in positions and backgrounds. For voters in the districts, here are some highlights on the candidates.
Read MoreThe region’s network management initiative has a goal to work on and improve communications about the region’s transit system as a system, rather than the current piecemeal picture that is available agency by agency. Questions at recent board meetings reveal critical opportunities to fill the information gaps in order to help transit leaders and the public support the region’s interdependent transit system.
Read MoreAfter three years, riders are still waiting for free transfers, thanks to the latest Clipper delay. It didn’t have to be this way.
Read MoreAt its recent August meeting, the statewide transit transformation task force recommended transit priority policies and funding, and discussed opportunities for workforce development and reforming a major funding program. We were heartened to see the strong support and hear many public comments in support of transit priority and other recommendations. However, the concerns of members including representatives of a major business organization and highway lobby group opposed or abstained on various items, foreshadowing challenges in getting strong recommendations implemented and the importance of building support. Continued attention from riders and advocates will be needed to support good recommendations and to ensure that recommendations are implemented.
Read MoreAt board meetings in the last week, Bay Area transit agencies continue to grapple with the challenges around regional transit funding and solutions being proposed in a regional process with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, legislators, and other stakeholders. Riders are clearly expressing preferences for full funding and an improved, coordinated multi-agency system.
Read MoreThe Regional Transportation Funding Select Committee was divided between starkly different directions at its most recent meeting on August 26th - a 9-county option, 4-county option, and multiple measure for different agencies and counties. The Committee continues to have questions on costs, benefits, and revenue sources. Much work remains to be done before the MTC’s deadline for September 23.
Read MoreThere are many rail expansion projects happening in Northern California – from Caltrain electrification, BART to Silicon Valley, potential SMART expansion, and expanded San Joaquin and ACE service with the Valley Rail Project. While these various plans for rail expansions are overall good, Northern California lacks a vision for what our rail network can be. Our region needs to prioritize a suite of upgrades along the existing and planned routes that will deliver an electrified, frequent, fast, and well-connected mega-regional rail network.
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