Announcing the Bay Area Seamless Transit Act
Asm. David Chiu was joined at the announcement by San Francisco Supervisor and County Transportation Authority Chair Aaron Peskin, BART Board Director Rebecca Saltzman, MTC Commissioner and Rohnert Park Vice Mayor Jake Mackenzie, and supportive transit riders.
This morning, Seamless Bay Area joined Assemblymember David Chiu and local transit leaders, riders, and advocates to announce the development of new legislation that will create a more integrated and reliable public transportation system in the Bay Area.
Every day, hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents and visitors navigate a public transportation system that is fragmented and unreliable. This legislation will put in place key reforms and accountability measures that will make transit more efficient, easy to use, and affordable for riders.
The Bay Area Seamless Transit Act (AB 2057) seeks to implement key reforms and accountability measures to:
Create a more integrated and reliable transportation network in the Bay Area
Make transit more efficient, easy to use, and affordable for riders
Ensure future regional and state funds for public transportation are connected to the goals of a seamless, customer-first system
Boost overall transit usage and reduce traffic, in line with the state of California's environmental goals
The bill is being authored by Assemblymember David Chiu (San Francisco) and co-authored by Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (East Bay), Marc Levine (North Bay), Rob Bonta (East Bay), and Phil Ting (San Francisco/Peninsula). Seamless Bay Area is proud to be the main sponsor of this legislation, which is informed by our advocacy and policy reform proposals and our Seamless Transit Principles.
While specific details of the Bay Area Seamless Transit Act are expected to be released in the coming weeks, the bill aims to establish accountability metrics for transit agencies to achieve fare, wayfinding and mapping integration; initiate a process of institutional reform to advance system integration; and connect future regional transportation funding with system integration.
"For several decades, our region has attempted - and largely failed - to coordinate different transit systems through voluntary coordination, while we've seen transit ridership stagnate and decline,” said Ian Griffiths, Seamless Bay Area’s Policy Director. “The public expects their public transit to work as one seamless, affordable, integrated system, and they want to see bold reforms that will get their public agencies to do this as soon as possible. They are tired of excuses about why it's not possible. The Bay Area Seamless Transit Act is a critical first step to reforming our region's transit to work as an integrated, rational network."
We’re proud of the early momentum behind this legislation, with MTC Commissioner and Vice Mayor of Rohnert Park Jake McKenzie, San Francisco Supervisor and County Transportation Authority Chair Aaron Peskin, BART Board Director Rebecca Saltzman speaking in support of the legislation at the press event, and East Bay for Everyone, Bike East Bay, and the East Bay Center for the Blind already announcing their support.
More information can be found on Seamless Bay Area’s legislation page - and we look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks.
Want to get involved? Show your support for an integrated transit network by signing the Seamless Transit Principles petition, and we’ll follow up with actions you can take to drive reform. We also invite you to join us at our Seamless Transit Act launch party on February 27th in San Francisco - you can RSVP here. And follow us on Facebook and Twitter for real time updates.