TO: AC Transit Board of Directors
FROM: Michael A. Hursh, General Manager
SUBJECT: November 2020 Bay Area Transportation Ballot Measure
BRIEFING ITEM
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
Title
Consider receiving an update and providing feedback on the anticipated November 2020 transportation ballot measure known as “FASTER (Freedom, Affordability, Speed, Transparency, Equity and Reliability) Bay Area.”
Body
BUDGETARY/FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no budgetary/fiscal impact directly associated with this briefing item. As currently envisioned, the FASTER Bay Area ballot measure would raise up to $100 billion over a 40-year period, though neither of these terms have been definitively set.
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
The potential November 2020 transportation ballot measure in the nine-Bay Area county region, FASTER BAY Area, is sponsored by a coalition of the Bay Area Council, Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR). Placement of a measure on the ballot for the region requires approval of the California legislature. This report includes the District’s involvement to date in the development of an expenditure plan for the potential measure. The goal of the ballot measure is to create a “seamless, integrated, world class transit system.” The coalition hired EMC Research to conduct the research process on the viability of this measure. The process includes:
• Qualitative Focus Groups of the nine-county Bay Area region
• Quantitative Survey on Transportation Attitudes
• Quantitative Survey on Ballot Measure Viability
EMC Research conducted its first poll in March of this year, which found that 71% of Bay Area voters supported a one-cent sales tax for regional transportation. A second poll conducted in May showed “current support for a Bay Area regional transportation plan sales tax measure is right around the two-thirds threshold, with little difference between different tax rates or modifiers.” Based on polling and the magnitude of the measure envisioned by the proponents, a one-cent sales tax is the only funding mechanism that would yield just over $100 billion in funds.
With a short period of time to develop an expenditure plan for the measure, many of the agencies responsible for Bay Area transportation funding and management are ramping up involvement in the process and identifying projects and programs, including the local congestion management agencies and Caltrans.
The coalition specifically reached out to the major Bay Area transit agencies and requested that the agencies recommend projects and programs to be funded by the measure. The coalition requested that such projects, which meet the goals of the measure, be presented to them in the June/July timeframe. As a result of the request, the following transit agencies have been collaborating on a proposed expenditure plan since May to submit to the coalition:
• AC Transit
• Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART)
• Caltrain
• Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection)
• Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District (Golden Gate Transit)
• San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans)
• San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA)
• Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
• Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA)
Collaboration between the transit agencies is structured into two groups: an executive team consisting of the general managers and a technical working group consisting of agency staff.
The transit agencies have worked together to draft a vision that has helped guide the development of funding proposals. The transit agencies envision “A Bay Area where an integrated, world-class transit network promotes equity, economic vitality and sustainable development, provides an alternative to congestion, and seamlessly connects people to destinations, for many generations.”
As part of the expenditure plan development process, AC Transit staff has put forward the following projects and programs for consideration in the plan. AC Transit would not necessarily be the only operator of these projects and programs.
|
Project/Program |
Capital Cost |
Annual Operating Cost |
|
Regional Express Bus - A regional network of express buses connecting major hubs and employment centers using the Express Lane/HOV network on the region’s freeways and bridges. The network would extend to Gilroy and Santa Cruz in the south, Santa Rosa to the north, and Fairfield and Livermore to the east with high concentrations of service along the 101, 80, 880 and bridge corridors. |
$2.2B |
$755M |
|
Major Corridors Investment - Implementation of the 2040 year capital improvement recommendations on the District’s top ten local ridership corridors as identified in the 2016 Board-approved Major Corridors Study. Recommendations range from Enhanced Bus to Bus Rapid Transit |
$3B |
$250M |
|
Transbay Core Capacity Improvements - Implementation of bus projects identified in the 2017 Metropolitan Transportation Commission Bay Area Core Capacity Transit Study, which includes medium-term bus transit improvements for Bay Bridge Transbay bus service. Recommendations include new buses, a new bus facility and roadway infrastructure improvements for transit priority. |
$445M |
$46M |
|
Facilities Rehab and Expansion - Rehabilitation and expansion of the District’s Bus Operating Divisions. All divisions are nearly forty years old and require significant upgrades. In addition, in order to accommodate future operating needs including express bus expansion, AC Transit will need to increase bus parking and maintenance capacity at its divisions, prompting either the significant expansion of an existing division or a new division outright. In 2019, the AC Transit Board of Directors approved the Facilities Utilization Plan that lays out a master plan for expansion and rehabilitation over the next eighteen years. |
$2.3B |
N/A |
|
Zero Emission Fleet Conversion - As part of the 2018 Innovative Clean Transit Rule issued by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the District is required to have a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2040. This will require the gradual conversion of revenue vehicles over that span including the installation of supporting infrastructure for either battery charging or hydrogen fueling. |
$800M |
N/A |
|
Regional School Bus Expansion - As school districts continue to reduce home-to-school transportation budgets placing the burden of transportation on the local transit agencies, the transit agencies need to increase service and fleet size to assume this responsibility. Estimates are for additional budgets and cost to operate. |
$650M |
$750M |
|
TOTAL |
$9.4B |
$1.8B |
It is important to note that the project list above is only a starting point for AC Transit projects and is likely to evolve, we also have no guarantee that the projects listed will make it into the final expenditure plan. The coalition is looking for collaborative projects that will transform the Bay Area transit landscape.
Next Steps
• The coalition intends to continue its outreach and stakeholder engagement through the Fall.
• The coalition intends to form a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and a Stakeholder Advisory Group (SAG) to begin meeting in September.
• If the measure moves forward, the coalition will also need to:
o finalize the term and dollar amount of the measure
o develop a proposed expenditure plan that falls within the established financial limits of the measure.
• The transit agencies will need to finalize their project list.
• Ultimate approval to place the measure on the ballot comes from the State Legislature and as such, the coalition’s intent is to have a well-defined expenditure plan to present to the legislature by January 2020.
• 2020 would then be focused on the legislative approval process which will likely influence the expenditure plan.
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES:
The advantage of the FASTER Bay Area Measure is the $100 billion in revenue generated to invest in transportation in the Bay Area. A disadvantage is the short timeline to develop an expenditure plan for 2020.
ALTERNATIVES ANALYSIS:
Staff has yet to consider alternatives associated with a mega measure for 2020.
PRIOR RELEVANT BOARD ACTION/POLICIES:
There are no prior relevant board action/policies.
ATTACHMENTS:
None
Approved by:
Ramakrishna Pochiraju, Executive Director of Planning & Engineering
Beverly Greene, Executive Director of External Affairs, Marketing & Communications
Reviewed by:
Denise C. Standridge, General Counsel
Claudia L. Allen, Chief Financial Officer
Prepared by:
Robert del Rosario, Director of Service Development and Planning
Claudia Burgos, Director of Legislative Affairs & Community Relations