There are thousands of bus stops in the Bay Area and a significant number of them lack benches, which makes transit less comfortable, accessible, and appealing. However, as cities and transit agencies struggle with shrinking budgets, it can be financially infeasible for them to install new infrastructure such as bus stop benches on their own. […]
By Joseph Rodgers Over 1.2 million people in the Bay rely on transit according to recent Clipper data. That’s more than double the entire population of Wyoming! But despite playing such a vital role to our regional and state economy, transit agencies around the San Francisco Bay Area face large budget deficits and are in
By Betsy Megas: Like many VTA riders, I occasionally reload my Clipper Card at VTA ticket machines on light rail platforms. I don’t use them all that often, so I was surprised to find that not just one, but several of the VTA ticket machines at the light rail stations I tried were broken. A
By Amy Thomson May 1 is International Workers Day, commemorating the day in 1886 when many U.S. workers went on strike to demand an 8-hour workday – a time when 16-hour shifts weren’t unusual. But an 8-hour shift isn’t the norm for today’s transit operators, who often work 12-hour days and then face a long
For over a year, Transbay Coalition volunteer and De Anza student Harry Neil has led the charge for a safer and more sustainable Stevens Creek Boulevard. Through the campaign to get safer street crossings, protected bike lanes, and bus lanes on the corridor from San Jose to Cupertino, Harry built a wide coalition of support,
By Noor Rizvi — A group of transit advocates organized by Transbay Coalition were thrilled to have State Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan join us for a bus ride-along last week! In a time when politicians and decision-makers seem disconnected from the public, one of the best ways to help elected officials truly understand the transit rider
At a VTA board workshop on Friday, the board reviewed the agency’s emerging strategy on transit and transportation funding. Similarly, San Mateo County’s agencies discussed transit and transportation funding earlier in the week. During the MTC discussion about transit funding options in 2024, Santa Clara County leaders had sent a forceful message that the county
Written by: InfrastructureWeak Despite operating reduced service since 2020, like many Bay Area transit operators, AC Transit has been projecting a ~$35 million annual budget deficit beginning next year, as revenue growth falls behind expenses and pandemic financial support expires. The AC Transit Board will hear at its Wednesday meeting this week, with updated revenue
Last night was the turning of a page at the AC Transit Board. AC Transit has a new board President, Diane Shaw, and a new Vice President, Murphy McCalley and we hope that under this new leadership the board takes this opportunity to focus on improving service, increasing ridership, and improving working conditions at AC
This past year was the most successful year yet for Transbay Coalition’s work to improve transit, biking, and street safety throughout the Bay Area. Thank YOU for helping make that happen. Whether you donated, volunteered, came to an event, or spoke out for a better transportation system in the region, you made our region a
In the final round of review for MTC’s Transit 2050+ long range transit network plan, one of the key missing links is proposed to be broken at the last minute. For the first time in history, the region’s long range plan was developed as a connected network with a focus on improving service frequency, speed
In the Capital Improvement Plan approved by the board in November, Caltrain listed a 10+ year, $600 million program to upgrade its platforms to provide level boarding. Now that Caltrain is running all-electric trains between San Francisco and San Jose Tamien, it is possible to get started on this valuable program that will cut dwell
Increased ridership on electric trains, lower costs for electricity than forecast, and financial discipline have improved Caltrain’s financial outlook, but not nearly enough to prevent the need for new funding. Caltrain’s finance committee got a first look at a draft operating budget for FY2025 and a draft 10-Year Strategic Financial Plan on December 16. Electric
At 9am on 12/4 we got word that the City of Oakland was planning on removing 100 bus shelters without any plan to replace them and that city staff would be presenting this decision to the Oakland/AC Transit coordination committee meeting at 10am that same day. Bus shelters are key for making transit more comfortable,
In the first full month of electric Caltrain service, overall ridership jumped by 17%, and weekend ridership jumped by 38%. Weekend ridership has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with electric service that is faster and twice as frequent. With service every 30 minutes, up from hourly, Caltrain is now more convenient for fun and errands. Caltrain’s
Especially now that there is more frequent electric service, residents in several cities are pursuing initiatives to reduce Caltrain horn noise. Residents in San Mateo have been pursuing a quiet zone project to restrict the routine use of train horns at Villa Terrace and East Bellevue Avenue near downtown. The city is considering closing the
At Caltrain’s board meeting on Thursday September 5 (and meetings at SamTrans and VTA last week), board members grappled with the issues around regional transit funding and solutions being proposed in a regional process with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, legislators, and other stakeholders. At the Caltrain board meeting, about two dozen riders from all three
Caltrain, BART and other Bay Area transit agencies making progress at coordinating schedules more systematically, and the results are starting to show, with improvements at the Millbrae BART/Caltrain transfer, along the Peninsula corridor, and many other places around the region. Both BART and Caltrain will make changes to improve some of the rail transfers at
On Monday, August 26, the Transportation Revenue Measure Select Committee will start to discuss options for legislation in 2025 to authorize regional transportation funding measure in 2026. The options present stark contrasts – an option to set transit on a path toward thriving, a “less worse” option to slow the decline of public transportation in
Two major projects completing the ring of rail around San Francisco Bay advanced in recent weeks. The $12.75B project to bring BART from Berryessa to downtown San Jose and Santa Clara broke ground. The project is now estimated to start rail service in 2036. The groundbreaking took place before VTA received a commitment from the
