The Transformation Action Plan is a blueprint for a rider-first seamless transit system
But the Plan’s fate depends on the leadership of elected representatives to prioritize governance reforms, including the creation of an effective network manager.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) has just released the final Bay Area Transit Transformation Action Plan, a set of 27 Actions that, if carried out, would move the Bay Area significantly closer toward a truly rider-focused, accessible, and world-class transit system.
The plan, which was the main product of the 14-month Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force (BRTF), lays out an ambitious vision of transit transformation: “Design, adequately invest in, and effectively manage a public transit network that is equitable, inclusive, frequent, affordable, and reliable; is integrated with unified service, fares, schedules, customer information and identity; and services all Bay Area populations, resulting in in increased ridership and reduced growth in vehicle miles traveled.”
The BRTF was created by MTC commissioners at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to ‘set a course for public transit’s recovery and long-term improvement.’ Uniquely, the 32-member BRTF brought together leaders of transit agencies, state and local elected officials, and a variety of advocacy groups (including Seamless Bay Area) that have called for significant changes to the way that transit is run in the Bay Area.
Summary table of all 27 Actions of the Transformation Action Plan and their timing. The Action Plan was unanimously adopted at the final task force meeting in July, and includes five categories of Actions, many of which echo Seamless Bay Area’s core priorities: Fares & Payment, Customer Information, Transit Network, Accessibility and Funding.
Because of the unique composition of the BRTF and its explicit focus on legislation, funding, and governance, discussions about institutional structures that are not normally possible finally had a venue to take place. In particular, the inclusion of California Assemblymember David Chiu, State Senator Dave Cortese, and Transportation Secretary David Kim on the task force was important to demonstrate the interest of taking action at the state level through legislation or other state policies in order to support Bay Area transit transformation.
While we could comment positively on nearly every single one of the 27 actions listed in the plan, the following are especially notable to advancing Seamless Bay Area’s vision of an integrated system:
Actions 1-3: Integrated Transit Fares
The plan calls on MTC to act on the recommendations of the Fare Coordination and Integration Study (FCIS), including both selecting and funding pilot projects (Action 1) but also advancing legislation in 2022 if additional authority is needed to fully implement fare integration (Action 3).
Fare integration is the fastest moving of the recommendations moving forward. As we have previously reported, the ongoing fare integration study is finalizing recommendations for some good rider-first policies like free transfers between agencies, fare capping, multi-agency transit passes, and a standard fare structure for regional services like BART and Caltrain.
The attention of transit riders and organizational customers like colleges, housing organizations, and employers will be needed to ensure that the FCIS (governed by a group of transit agency general managers) recommends sufficiently bold and rider-focused fare integration policies.
Fare integration is one of several recommendations, along with transit priority, network management, and transit funding, for which the TAP identifies that state legislation may or will surely be needed for implementation.
Actions 4-5: Seamless, consistent customer information and wayfinding
Excerpt from MTC’s harmonized wayfinding planning work.
The action plan calls for the acceleration of consistent regional mapping and wayfinding for Bay Area transit including “regionwide deployment across all service areas”. MTC has been quietly developing a significantly improved set of transit signage standards in partnership with transit agencies and with UK consultant CityID for several years. They recently completed a business case of implementing different ‘tiers’ of wayfinding and branding integration that shows tremendous ridership and environmental benefits.
This chart from the regional wayfinding harmonization business case analysis that shows that the most significant benefits can be realized with the most comprehensive ‘Tier’ of wayfinding integration - but which depends on fare integration.
MTC’s wayfinding business case has shown that the greatest benefits to ridership and the environment are achieved by pursuing the greatest degree of wayfinding integration, or ‘Tier 4’, which includes deployment of a regional brand identity. However, a regional brand identity can only be achieved with fare and service integration among the region’s 27 transit agencies. In other words, there are synergies and dependencies between integrated fares and integrated wayfinding, and the greatest benefits for riders will come from pursuing them together. It’s appropriate that the Transformation Action brings both of the initiatives together as connected priorities.
Actions 13-14: Fund and complete a business case of potential network management reforms
After many meetings, the BRTF unanimously agreed to a problem statement in which fragmented governance was identified as a barrier to increasing ridership. The task force subsequently agreed on a common set of transit system functions that should be managed centrally by some system of “network management” instead of on an agency-by-agency basis.
The above diagram depicts the structure of an MTC-led network manager (“Option 4”), one of the conceptual options for a network management structure identified by the consultant for the Blue Ribbon Task Force, and which will be evaluated in greater detail in the upcoming Network Management Business Case.
These include not only fare policy and wayfinding, but also bus and rail service planning, bus transit priority, hub design review, capital project prioritization, accessible services (including paratransit), and funding advocacy. The functions agreed to by the BRTF broadly reflect those identified by Seamless Bay Area in our study of how to set up an effective network manager and based on an understanding of high performing, high ridership regions. In the final three months of the task force, an external consultant evaluated conceptual options for governance structures that could manage these functions centrally.
The result is a short list of governance alternatives that Actions 13-14 of the Action Plan call for to be studied in yet another business case - a Network Management Business Case - that would kick off this October. That business case could inform 2022 legislation to put into place the preferred network management governance structure.
While Seamless Bay Area is optimistic that the Network Management Business Case could lead to identification of an effective network manager and meaningful governance reform legislation, we also know that continued rider advocacy and more political champions will be needed throughout the next 6-9 months. Riders must speak up to underscore how the benefits of seamless transit make it worthwhile for individual transit agencies to part with a small degree of local control as part of the legislative process of creating a network manager.
Action 16: Deliver Rail Partnership and Governance Assessment
The Rail Partnership and Governance Assessment is a 1-2 year study expected to analyze transit rail agency mergers (such as a merger between BART and Caltrain, which Seamless Bay Area supports) as well as project delivery reform. While project delivery reform was unfortunately not included in the initial set of network management responsibilities being assessed in the upcoming business case, it is part of the scope of the regional rail study.
Encouragingly, the Transformation Action Plan specifies that the Rail Partnership and Governance Assessment work should take place in close coordination with the Network Management Business Case, which opens up the possibility that a merged regional transit operator could be considered as an option for the Bay Area’s network manager (as imagined in “Option B” of Seamless Bay Area’s report Governing Transit Seamlessly)
Action 18: A service vision for connected integrated transit
Seamless Bay Area’s vision map is an example of a service based vision, as called for in Action 18, that the region must develop to build support for both more funding and greater integration
The Action Plan calls for the creation of a “Bay Area Connected Network Plan that includes transit service and hub categories, core service networks (such as Rapid Transit), funding requirements, and next steps.” The proposed “Connected Network Plan”, or service vision as SPUR has called it (also, see Seamless Bay Area’s vision map), is an important step needed to position a future ballot measure for success by providing members of the public with a clear vision of what the transit network of the future will look like. It’s also critical for the identification of operations funding needs to run a better transit system, and has been a success factor in passing ballot measures in other regions.
Action 27: A transformative regional funding measure as early as 2024
A recurring message from transit agency and advocate members the BRTF is that more funding is needed to both advance integration and significantly increase transit use. We are pleased the TAP acknowledges the unique role that MTC can play in bringing more transit funding to the Bay Area. Action 27 calls on MTC to begin convening stakeholders to develop a plan for a transformative funding measure that would go on the ballot as early as 2024. However, the Action Plan lacks details on the precise timing of when the stakeholder convening would begin. The Voices for Public Transportation Coalition, of which Seamless Bay Area is a member, has called for a public process to begin in early 2022 to engage a variety of stakeholders in developing a common vision for transit funding, and allow for sufficient time to introduce enabling legislation in 2023 with the support of labor, environmental, equity and business groups.
Next steps and what riders can do to support the Transformation Action Plan
To become official policy, the Transformation Action Plan must be adopted by the full Metropolitan Transportation Commission, currently planned for September 22. Riders and groups that support the Plan should submit support letters in advance or make public comments at this meeting - we encourage you to underscore any of the particular actions we have highlighted in this post.
Perhaps even more importantly, the Commission is scheduled to have an in-depth two-day workshop on the Transformation Action Plan on October 27-28, when they’ll aim to prioritize specific actions within the plan for funding. Up to $157 million of the American Rescue Plan funding - the most recent round of federal transit relief - has already been earmarked by MTC for BRTF initiatives (as well as for ‘operator hardships and other recovery strategies’). We will keep you informed about specific actions you can take as the workshop date approaches.
In summary, we applaud the MTC staff and consultants for a very strong Transformation Action Plan that finally identifies many of the issues that have prevented our region from increasing transit use and access over decades. Yet the rider outcomes of a more seamless, equitable, accessible, and high-ridership transit system will only be realized if the governance and funding actions identified within it are carried out - and that will require significant effort from advocates to build political will, in particular, for state legislation that can create a network manager authority.
We at Seamless Bay Area will continue to build support for legislation to create a network manager in 2022 legislation. Only with an accountable governing authority for Bay Area transit can we achieve the full vision of transit transformation laid out in this excellent plan.