At its July 14 meeting, the AC Transit Board reviewed its priorities for restoring service that had been cut early in the pandemic. Lines that had the highest ridership and serving disadvantaged communities were understandably given high priority. Unfortunately, this leaves the M bus, which had been the only public transit line on the […]
At the August 17 city council meeting, agenda item #5A features a study session regarding TOD access strategies, including the possibility of the city creating an on-street parking management program. We strongly support the city creating a parking management program, as it will provide a station access option for BART commuters who must drive, while
Free or discount transfers. An all-agency fare cap so you can go anywhere you want with a maximum price for a day, week or month. Go-anywhere passes for people in housing developments, job sites, downtowns, even neighborhoods. Standardized fares for trains, regional buses and ferries. These are some of the options that are going to
If developed, an urban parking lot of this size could accommodate hundreds of homes or jobs — all walkable and accessible to transit This fall, San Jose lawmakers will re-visit the parking requirements that have not changed since their adoption in 1965. This change promises to bring the city and the region cleaner air, more
“BART is starting to implement the parking and station access policies they adopted in 2016, and is now seeking feedback regarding access and parking management for the three station sites at El Cerrito Plaza, Ashby, and North Berkeley as part of the Berkeley-El Cerrito Corridor Access plan. Read on, and take BART’s survey by August
Oakland’s new bus lanes (above) will soon be joined by bus-only lanes on Durant Avenue in Berkeley (photo from Streetsblog). AC Transit, in partnership with the Cities of Berkeley and Oakland, will soon implement quick-build “tactical transit” bus lanes on Durant Avenue in Berkeley and boarding islands on MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland. In May, the
Around the world rail services commonly use the same train tracks to serve both regional and local trips. Using the same tracks for more kinds of trips helps to generate high ridership, social and economic benefits, reduce car dependency and increasing access to jobs, housing and educational institutions for residents and travelers alike. For the
On Thursday July 1, the Caltrain board will receive a presentation about its proposed service restoration for August, timed to increase service when BART does. The proposed new schedule addresses popular demand to bring back baby bullet trains. It continues the Covid-era improved connect to BART at Millbrae. It also keeps and improves on
As the vanguard of VTA’s Fast Transit program, the City of San Jose is moving forward with “public service lanes” through the En Movimiento East San Jose Multimodal Transportation Improvement Plan. The plan centers around the urban villages on Santa Clara Street near the planned Little Portugal BART station. Santa Clara Street is considered the
In April, the city of Mountain View started work on reversible transit lanes on Shoreline that will speed the route for buses connecting the downtown transit center to the North Bayshore area where Google is headquartered. The first steps are tree removal and utility relocation this spring and summer; the project, with a price tag
The above photo was an actual slide presented at a February 5th update to advocates regarding VTA’s Fast Transit Program. The program, according to VTA staff, is designed to improve bus speeds on VTA’s existing frequent, high-ridership routes. This includes routes such as the 23 Alum Rock – one of the slowest routes in the
BIG NEWS! Assemblymembers Rob Bonta and Buffy Wicks and Senator Scott Wiener have introduced the Bay Bridge Fast Forward Program. PLEASE SIGN HERE TO ASK THE ASSEMBLY TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE CHAIR TO SUPPORT THE BILL. The bill establishes minimum bus speed and reliability targets for the Bay Bridge and its approaches and authorizes a bus and very-high-occupancy-vehicle
Caltrans is in the early-to-mid stages of a roadway renewal project for the troubled 4-lane section of El Camino Real extending from San Mateo through Burlingame, and ending at Millbrae city limits. The section has issues with bicycle/pedestrian safety, flooding/drainage, and tree health on the corridor. El Camino Real is a critical transportation corridor that
Wrestling with budget challenges and ridership declines, VTA has zeroed in the core strategy of speeding up buses and trains, which have slowed dramatically over the last two decades. Speeding transit can increase ridership by providing more competitive service and reduce costs by allowing more transit to be run with the same amount of funding.
Transit ridership has been steeply down with many people traveling less in the pandemic. There are opportunities to make transit better to bring riders back and ensure that transit can thrive in the future. VTA has a FAST Transit program looking at options to speed transit. For this week’s SFMTA board meeting, the agency posted
During peak morning commuting hours, more than 40,000 people travel across the Bay to San Francisco each hour, with 75% of these commuters using public transit including BART, AC Transit, or a ferry. However, even with existing planned investments to improve transit service, we are not prepared to meet the rapidly increasing demand. While there
On January 22, 2020 the AC Transit Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse bus lanes on the Bay Bridge and its approaches. Board President Elsa Ortiz authored the resolution putting AC Transit, the transit operator that moves over 10,000 bus riders across the Bay Bridge each weekday, on the record supporting prioritizing space for
Courtesy of Bay Area Metro On Wednesday Feb 12, 2020, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee will review studies exploring options to speed transbay transit trips. The conclusion of their assessment is that delays are longer on the approaches, so the first step should be to speed up the approaches, and
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is changing the controversial proposal to require 60% of office employees to work from home to a requirement that 60% of employees avoid driving to work. The change provides much more flexibility to support the use of transit, walking, and bicycling in addition to telework, while reducing driving miles and climate
Transit is in serious trouble because of the pandemic. We need to take steps now to ensure that transit can thrive in the future. One of these steps is to have countywide signal preemption throughout the county. Signal preemption would dramatically increase transit speed and make transit more competitive with driving. According to VTA, the
