BART, AC Transit board members seek rider-centric governance options

Last week, AC Transit and BART board members received updates on the region’s Network Management Business Case - the study that kicked off in January that will evaluate and recommend different governance structures for Bay Area transit that can more effectively deliver integrated fares and coordinated service.

The study is scheduled to craft three to four options to study by April, analyze the options by July, and propose a preferred alternative structure by September.

Unfortunately, during last week’s meetings, agency staff only presented a single governance option to their leadership - an option that is similar to the status quo, and would still require transit riders to go to many different agencies for every new policy decision about integrated fares and schedules.  

Fortunately, members of both boards clearly stated that they want to thoughtfully consider all of the options; and they want the outcome to be a system and process that puts riders first.

Director Diane Shaw of AC Transit observed that, to date, the customer has not been put first. And Director Peeples notes that the single option presented to the boards was not a proposal that had been chosen by any agency boards. BART board members including Saltzman, Li, Raburn, Ames and others requested to see all of the options before weighing in as a board, saying they wanted to prioritize a rider-friendly system.  

In the words of Director Raburn, “I look forward to seeing a full review of all the options for the BART board. As an advocate for most of my life I fully recognize the difficulty in hopping from one agency to the next to try to get answers, andI'm leaning more toward seeing an entity that is in control and can make decisions.”

“I look forward to seeing a full review of all the options for the BART board. As an advocate for most of my life I fully recognize the difficulty in hopping from one agency to the next to try to get answers, andI'm leaning more toward seeing an entity that is in control and can make decisions.”