MTC starting work to plan regional transit funding measure
On Friday, January 13, the MTC Legislation Committee will receive an update about preparations for a regional transit funding measure, which is being developed in partnership with transit agencies. The presentation was also given at MTC’s Policy Advisory Council on Wednesday January 11.
The proposed work planned for 2023 builds off of previous efforts for a regional transit funding measure before the pandemic, though the world has changed since then. There is greater awareness of the importance of funding for service, and greater need because of the fiscal cliff facing transit agencies as federal relief funding runs out and ridership regrows more gradually. And there’s been substantial progress on initiatives to advance seamless transit, such as integrated fares and wayfinding - and a need for funding to make the improvements.
MTC proposes outreach and research in 2023 that will set the agency up to pursue authorizing state legislation in 2024, that would enable a measure to be placed on the ballot in Bay Area counties in some future year (potentially 2026). These steps for transportation funding are being taken while the region is also preparing for a regional affordable housing bond being considered for 2024 (see timeline graphic below).
The meeting is scheduled to start at 9:45 or later - likely some time between 10 and 12. For riders wishing to speak in support, the Zoom link is here and the agenda is here.
Read on for information about what’s being considered for a transit measure, and a timeline showing opportunities to get involved starting this coming Spring.
MTC expects the upcoming transportation measure to focus on maintaining, restoring, and expanding transit service. According to the staff report, “a broad consensus that sustaining and improving transit service is a top priority and should be a focus of a regional transportation measure. Stakeholders underscored that the Bay Area transit system requires robust investment to improve frequencies and spans of service, to better time transfers, to simplify complex fare structures, to improve the first- and last- mile experience, and to better serve the diverse needs across the Bay Area.”
A new funding measure will be a major opportunity to fund integrated, affordable fares, and well-connected service. This will require analysis of the costs of frequent, all-day, all-week service as a fundamental goal, and opportunities and costs of improving affordability,
The process to plan for a measure includes stakeholder engagement and polling over the next few months, draft goals and analysis of revenue options in the spring; broad public engagement in the summer, and proposals for approval in the fall.
Importantly for achieving a seamless transit system, the planning is proposed to be done in conjunction with the Connected Network Plan, also known as Transit 2050+, a new initiative to create a service based plan for transit service that can provide greater connectivity and coordination. This method of transit planning is well established in other parts of the world but new for the Bay Area, focusing on developing service goals to move riders within a connected network. This is a major advance over the region’s historical planning based on capital projects submitted separately by every agency and county and stitched together.
In addition to planning for a connected transit network, the planning will consider sustainable transit and active transportation more broadly. MTC reports that “many stakeholders underscored that public transportation need not be limited to traditional fixed-route public transit. New active transportation investments, expanded bikeshare programs, expanded paratransit services, and new mobility alternatives to the automobile could be characterized under a broader “public transport” category, while better responding to the mobility needs of the public in this post-COVID era. “
It will be helpful and important to include investments in first and last mile transportation, to consider public investment and regional coordination in micromobility, and to fund and better coordinate transportation for seniors and people with disabilities.
One key question for MTC is how much a funding measure expenditure plan should focus on transit, and how much to add multi-modal sustainable transportation or funding for local streets and roads. MTC reports that “County transportation agency staff recommended incorporating local street and road repairs into a future regional measure as a way to gain broader support, especially outside the region’s urban core.” Road repair can provide benefits not just for passenger vehicles, but also bus riders, bicycles and pedestrians. However, Seamless believes that the core of the measure needs to be on public transit service.
The development of the measure will consider not only what to spend the money on, but policies for how to spend it. MTC’s considerations include “cross-cutting policy goals such as advancing social equity, climate mitigation and resilience, and adaptability to an uncertain future. MTC reports that “stakeholder discussions helped to illuminate that they should guide the measure’s overall expenditure plan and any associated policies.”
For those policies, it will be very important to ensure that new funding will deliver and maintain a system that is consistently well-integrated for riders. This will require governance over the funding to make stable policy decisions and mechanisms to protect agencies from financial harm.
This graphic shows how the transportation funding timeline overlaps with the housing timeline.