11/30/23: Seamless Bay Area’s vision gaining traction among legislators
Progress toward a more integrated transit network took some major steps forward this week! Things are so busy, in fact, that we’re postponing our December 7th party -- read on to learn more:
Inaugural Regional Network Management Council Meeting
The Regional Network Management (RNM) Council – a body of the region’s transit general managers and MTC tasked with carrying out near term strategies to integrate Bay Area transit and improve the rider experience – had its inaugural meeting this Monday. The two year work plan the Council reviewed included advancing fare integration, mapping and wayfinding, transit priority and network coordination, accessibility initiatives, and other Transit Transformation Action Plan initiatives.
This new council is a step in the right direction, but still falls short of the kind of transit governance the region will need to transform into a world-class system, as we explain in our blog from February.
Seamless Bay Area presents vision at Senate Select Committee
Seamless Bay Area was invited to present at a special Senate Select Committee hearing later on Monday about our vision for change and plan for regional transit governance reform that can deliver seamless, coordinated transit with new funding from a future ballot measure.
The response from legislators was overwhelmingly positive:
"If I am going to ask my constituents to vote on a measure to raise money for transit, then I'm going to be looking for something more inspiring. Only Seamless Bay Area had a vision for that," Senator Nancy Skinner said at the November 27th Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Transit.
Policy Director Ian Griffiths presented at the meeting with the clear message that essential transit funding from a potential 2026 ballot measure must be linked with the creation of a regional network management authority.
Read more about it in the Streetsblog California article, see Seamless’ slides here, or watch the video recording for the hearing here.
POSTPONED: Level-Up Bay Area Transit, End-of-the-Year Party
Originally scheduled for next week (December 7th) we are postponing our Level-Up Bay Area Transit celebration until early 2024 (date still to-be-determined). This postponement comes amidst a busy holiday season and much needed work mobilizing for the region’s 2026 transit ballot measure. Right now, our small (but mighty) Seamless staff is laser-focused on building the base of support from riders, elected officials, and other advocates for major transit victories in the near-future.
We apologize for any inconvenience this change may have caused you. For those of you that have already bought tickets, we’ll reach out to you shortly with more information.
If you're looking for other ways to support our work at Seamless Bay Area, please consider donating to our Fall 2023 Campaign. We have some awesome donor gifts specially made for this campaign.