Progress in Effort to Better Unify Regional Transportation Systems

Do you think the region is best served by 28 separate transit and transportation agencies that often operate independently and with little coordination on everything from fares and scheduling to signage and maps? Neither do we. That’s why Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman is serving on the regional Network Management Business Case Advisory Group, which is leading an effort to better unify transit service and operations.

The Advisory Group made significant progress this week in evaluating the different roles and responsibilities a network management function could assume. Options include schedules, hubs, fares, wayfinding, customer information, accessibility, equity, and funding. Ultimately, the group decided the network management function should not take on capital project delivery but a framework is being developed to evaluate the other options.

Also on Monday, SB 917, the Seamless Transit Transformation Act, a bill authored by state Sen. Josh Becker and co-sponsored by the Bay Area Council, passed out of the California Senate 29-2 with the full support of all Bay Area legislators. The bill sets meaningful deadlines for key fare integration, wayfinding integration, and service integration policies for our region’s 27 transit operators over the next three years. The bill now moves to the Assembly for consideration. SB 917 is based on recommendations developed as part of the Transformation Action Plan adopted by the Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force last fall. It is supported by over 30 groups, including cosponsors SPUR, Transform, Bay Area Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and Joint Venture Silicon Valley. To engage in the Council’s transportation policy work, please contact Senior Vice President Gwen Litvak.