County Connection board supports seamless transit with caution

At December’s County Connection board meeting, six people who live in or have frequent trips to Central Contra Costa County spoke or wrote in about how helpful it would be to have more seamlessly integrated transit, complementary to the need for restored and improved local transit.

General Manager Rick Ramacier talked about ongoing work at the regional Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force to craft recommendations for how to integrate the system to support transit recovery.  Ramacier reported to the board that Assembly Member Chiu, who sits on the task force, told the task force at its last meeting that the legislator is looking to bring forward legislation to advance seamless transit. 

Regarding the legislation Ramacier commented that "it is my hope that we will be able to be supportive." Board Member Amy Worth, who is an MTC Commissioner and sits on the task force, talked about the value of seamless service to help bring back ridership to transit and serve constituents. And Board Chair Keith Haydon of Clayton talked about the importance of improving ease of use for transit users. Worth also expressed concerns about ensuring that it's not a zero sum game - better regional connections should not be done at the expense of local service.

The County Connection board agreed that it would be important to communicate early to legislators to make their goals heard. And, the board vocally appreciated having six constituents present and wanting to speak - County Connection doesn't get many commenters and they were welcomed.

While the staff report had highlighted concerns about potential financial risks to County Connection, the Board and General Manager responded to transit rider feedback with a positive and balanced approach, making it clear that they agreed with riders’ goals and wanted to support solutions that achieved the goals while protecting County Connection’s local transit service.