2/27/25: New California State Rail Plan - opportunities and barriers to a cost-effective, convenient state rail and transit network
The California State Rail Plan released an updated plan earlier this year, establishing a long-term vision for an integrated, cohesive statewide rail system. Join this webinar next Tuesday to learn about the opportunities and barriers towards achieving California’s rail vision.
And, more actions you can take with candidate forums to influence the next generation of elected leaders, opportunities to build communities of transit supporters. Read below for more.
March 4th, 12:00pm PST – New State Rail Plan: Opportunities and Barriers to a Cost-effective, Coordinated State Rail and Transit network (Webinar)
For the first time ever, California's State Rail Plan incorporates "service-led planning” – an international best practice to plan capital projects based on the service outcomes delivered to riders – into California's approach to rail infrastructure and service planning. The updated State Rail Plan is an exciting and ambitious long-term vision for an improved, seamlessly connected rail network across the state.
This model has been central to the creation of seamlessly-integrated rail and transit networks in other parts of the world, and will be essential for California, and other U.S. states and regions, to adopt to accelerate progress towards unified, electric, fast, equitable, and widely-used transit networks.
RSVP for this webinar, co-hosted by Seamless and Californians for Electric Rail, to learn about the updated State Rail Plan from Caltrans staff. Advocates and researchers will then give their reactions and recommendations, including strategies to plan and build rail faster and more cost-effectively and upcoming funding and reform opportunities to accelerate this vision of an integrated California rail network.
You can learn more about the California State Rail Plan and service-led planning by reading our most recent blog post.
Transportation Forums for Oakland and San Jose Special Elections
Upcoming special elections can significantly impact how Oakland and San Jose residents get around. The ability of City Council Members to shape city budgets and policies means they can make Oakland and San Jose places that are easier for everyone to get around in an affordable, low-carbon, safe, and accessible way - or they can continue the status quo.
Tune into these virtual transportation forums to learn directly from candidates vying for your vote about their values, vision, and plans to make it easier for Bay Area residents to get around.
March 1st, 2:00pm – Transbay Coalition Happy Hour & Mixer (San Mateo)
Love timely trains, better buses, frequent ferries, safe scooters, smooth sidewalks, and exciting e-bikes? Come get to know fellow transit and active transportation supporters & advocates for better transit and more walkable/bikeable streets at this San Mateo Happy Hour & Mixer, hosted by Transbay Coalition, Friends of Caltrain, and Seamless.
March 5th, 12:00pm – Berlin, Beijing, and Bakersfield: Station Design Insights for U.S. Rail (SJSU Mineta Webinar)
Join San Jose State University's Mineta Transportation Institute for their final installment of their webinar series On the Right Track: The Transformative Potential of Rail! Discover the secrets behind over 50 years of global high-speed rail innovation by exploring station planning, station design development best practices, and groundbreaking projects.
This session features expert insights from Heidi Sokolowsky (Urban Field Studio), Kristopher Takács (AECOM), and Eric Eidlin (City of San José). All three have decades of experience in station planning, both in the U.S. and globally. In this session, the three panelists will summarize key takeaways from the past three webinars in the series and reflect upon how global insights from world-class station design and project delivery can influence the future of multimodal transit in California, the U.S., and beyond. They will also consider how recent federal policy shifts could influence the trajectory of high-speed rail projects in the U.S.
New from our blog
Puzzle pieces to build the future of California public transportation
In 2025, policymakers and advocates are working on a set of public transportation funding measures and policy reforms at the local-, regional-, and state-level that could work together to prevent transit service cuts, create a more rider-friendly system, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
California State Rail Plan embraces international best practice of Service-Led Planning
The recently updated California State Rail Plan is an exciting and ambitious long-term vision for improved, seamlessly connected rail network across the state - but it is particularly notable because it includes, as a fundamental element, an international best practice to plan capital projects based on the service outcomes delivered to riders.
Bay Area transit poll shows promise and potential solutions to the transit funding puzzle
New polling about a potential regional transportation funding measure showed results that could pass with a citizens’ signature gathering effort, and the mood of Bay Area lifting somewhat. Voters continue to value an improved system more than just stemming cuts. All of the options polled better than 50% - the threshold needed to pass a measure with a citizens’ signature gathering effort. However, none of the options reached the two-thirds threshold that would be needed if a government agency puts a measure on the ballot.
Volunteer Opportunities: Tabling Events, Transit Rider Story Project, and Organizing Transit Ride-Alongs with Elected Officials
Want to help make local change in the Bay Area? Here are several volunteer opportunities to make transit fast, affordable, and seamless!
Build support for transit in your community by joining a public outreach event! Sign up for the upcoming farmers’ markets in Marin, Castro Valley, Napa, and Oakland! Additionally, we need your help finding community events and places in your neighborhood where we can reach a lot of people!
Additionally, we’re developing a Transit Rider Story Project to help share the stories, challenges, and desires of transit riders. Too often, their voices go unheard by decision makers and we need your help to change that. Sign up if you want to get involved.
Lastly, politicians need to hear directly from residents about the current challenges and future improvements needed to make public transit better. Help influence the direction of your local politics by organizing a transit ride-along with your city council member, state legislature, or county supervisor.
Very shortly in March there will be a lot of movement on efforts to save and improve public transit in the Bay Area as the state as the California legislative cycle gets into full swing. Stay tuned for more.