3/13/24: Tell us your priorities for CA’s Transit Transformation Task Force
We need your ideas and your energy this week to advance better transit across California, across the country, and in partnership with housing allies!
Influence the direction of California public transit policy recommendations
We need your feedback! Let us know what your top transit priorities are by filling out this form by March 17th, 11:59pm (PDT) to help influence the direction of statewide transportation policy recommendations.
For background, California formed a new Transit Transformation Task Force last year. This group is charged by the state legislature with studying the costs to operate and maintain public transportation over the next ten years and making recommendations regarding how to improve mobility and increase ridership on transit. Seamless Bay Area is one of the 25 members of this task force and we want to convey your priorities to the group.
Read this blog post summarizing the group’s 2nd meeting, which focused on the need to expand public transit in order to reach California’s 2045 carbon neutrality mandate -- and case studies of Canadian cities showcase just how California can boost ridership.
The task force has a broad mandate to study and make recommendations about policies and practices to improve transit, including performance metrics, workforce recruitment and retention, land use, transit priority, and pricing policies – so please feel free to include any priorities related to these subjects.
Want $1.28 annually for Bay Area transit? Tell your Congressmember to support this bill!
Tired of unreliable buses, infrequent train service, transit not being able to take you where you need to go? There’s a bill in Congress right now – the Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act – that would unlock over $1 billion in ANNUAL transit operations funding for the Bay Area and we need our Congressmembers to become co-sponsors of the bill.
This bill represents a major turning point as the federal government has historically targeted its investments in infrastructure projects, leaving states and local governments to fund their own transit service.
Transit agencies in California (and across the country) are looking at major budget shortfalls between now and 2028 unless they get more local, state, or federal support. If that support does not come through, transit service will be slashed – reduced hours, closed stations, fewer routes, and laying off essential staff – leading to clogged roads, dirty air, a shriveling economy, and growing poverty.
Click here to tell your Congressmember we need federal funding for transit operations!
March 14th, 5:30-7:30pm – Housing & Transit Happy Hour in Menlo Park
Join us for an evening of fun at the Barebottle Brewing Company in Menlo Park. Get ready to mingle, make friends, be inspired, and plot our next housing moves with like-minded individuals from across our two counties. Snacks and the first round are on us!
Barebottle Brewing Company is located in the new Springline development next to the Menlo Park Caltrain station. For anyone interested, we will take a walk through the development's publicly accessible open space (complete with patio chairs, places to gather, and a dog park).
Don't miss this awesome cross-county YIMBY/transit party co-hosted by us, Menlo Together, Silicon Valley at Home (sv@home), Peninsula for Everyone, Palo Alto Forward, Housing Leadership Council.
Watch our Poll Results Webinar on Youtube
Voters weighed in with their priorities for a 2026 regional transit funding measure in a recent poll commissioned by Seamless Bay Area and Beneficial State Foundation. Watch the recording of this webinar to learn what changes voters want and how including these priorities in the funding measure will be key for winning at the ballot box. We also discussed how advocates, elected officials, and transit agencies should be thinking about messaging in support of the regional ballot measure.
You can also read this article by the Mercury News covering the event.
And finally… show rider support for a Regional Funding Measure by joining us a press event on March 18, 10am with Senator Scott Wiener
State Senator Scott Wiener will make an important announcement on the 2026 Regional Transit Funding Measure at the Powell BART Station on Monday, March 18th at 10am. Fill out this Google Form to get the full details and let us know if you would like to speak about what increased transportation funding means to you as a transit rider.
Check our new blog posts!
Public transit, improved transfers vital for reaching CA carbon neutrality by 2045
Expanding public transportation will play a key role in reaching California’s 2045 carbon neutrality mandate and case studies of Canadian cities showcase just how California can boost ridership. These subject areas were the focus of the Transit Transformation Task Force’s second meeting on February 29th in Sacramento. The TTTF is tasked with developing policy and funding recommendations to grow transit ridership statewide, with a focus on supporting the state’s ambitious climate goals.