BART board eager to weigh in on seamless transit and network management
On Thursday, January 28, the BART Board heard an agenda item about transit network coordination and the ongoing work of the Bay Area Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force. The Task Force is currently considering options to provide the Bay Area with Network Management functionality to bring about a more seamlessly integrated system and help transit recover from the disastrous impacts of Covid.
On Thursday, BART staff presented to the Board a proposal to deliver network management functionality via an organization that is an extension of the Clipper Executive Board, a group of General Managers; this option would preserve individual transit boards’ local control over functions like fares and schedules. This same proposal has been brought by staff to other agency boards recently, as we wrote about on our blog last week.
BART Board members, who recently voted to approve the Seamless Transit Principles, expressed strong interest in being engaged in the topic, and a desire for well-coordinated discussions on the topic of regional transit coordination.
Before last week’s meeting, the BART board’s upcoming schedule had included two separate discussions on these issues: a February 11 presentation on the regional Fare Coordination and Integration Study, and a February 26 discussion of regional transit coordination as part of the board’s two-day annual planning workshop. These two issues are deeply interrelated since the fare integration study is starting to show that institutional reform will be needed to provide the most customer-friendly outcomes.
Directors Li and Saltzman raised questions about the transit General Managers’ proposal to provide network management functions with an organization building from the current Clipper Executive Board, which is led by general managers of transit agencies and MTC. Saltzman wanted to hear consideration of multiple options, and wanted the board to fully discuss possible approaches and take a vote before the agency takes a position. Director Ames also stressed the importance of a robust discussion about approaches to transit coordination, including ample opportunities for community input.
The BART board discussion made clear that the staff recommendation for a network manager to be an extension of the Clipper Executive Board was premature before a robust discussion of a variety of coordination options among the BART board. It is not clear whether and how the BART Board’s review schedule will be refined based on the board’s feedback Thursday.
As a regional service, BART has connections to many other local and regional services and better-integrated transit would involve many opportunities to improve BART connections.
There are multiple upcoming board discussions of the Blue Ribbon Task Force and regional transit coordination. We encourage transit riders and advocates to sign up to make public comment at these meetings, and convey how a seamlessly integrated transit network would benefit you and your community. If you are interested and available to comment at any of these upcoming meetings, please sign up via this form and will get back to you with more information.
