Bus and Rail

Merchant Perspectives on Bus Rapid Transit

Survey results from San Jose’s Alum Rock Corridor
In the spring of 2010, TransForm surveyed 217 merchants along the Alum Rock corridor about the proposed BRT service. This report summarizes our findings.

Download the Executive Summary

Oakland Airport Connector Options Analysis

This report provides an updated and expanded analysis of options for the Oakland Airport Connector. The intent of this report is to inform current discussions on the Oakland Airport Connector through a valid comparison of the four key modal options.

Download Final Report (6.5MB)

Oakland Airport Connector

Boondoggle moves forward, regional planning changing for the better

Imagine a world, where convenient, sustainable transportation was the norm, instead of the exception. If the Bay Area is going to simultaneously combat global-warming, create an equitable transportation system, and provide more convenient, easier to use transit, something has to change. And the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC) is a shining example of the problems our region faces.

The OAC is a $500 million dollar people mover that will average 23mph between the Oakland Coliseum BART and the Oakland Airport. It will require luggage toting passengers to navigate more escalators and walk further than the current AirBART shuttle. All while paying a likely $6 fee, on top of the regular BART fare, for the privilege. The system will require BART to take on more than $110 million in new debt, a serious risk to the core-system financial stability at BART.

While the OAC boondoggle is moving forward at a cost of over half-a-billion dollars, and growing, transit advocates changed the conversation about how planning in our region takes place. The OAC may very well stand as a monument to the balkanized transportation planning of the past. As TransForm's pivotal report shows, airport travelers and East Oakland residents would all benefit from a cheaper, quicker alternative that frees up money for other priority regional projects.

It wasn't just TransForm and our allies saying so, Steve Kinsey, Chair of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)'s Programs and Allocations Committee, and took a strong stand against our region's status quo planning efforts: 

“We’re going to have to understand the greenhouse gas, the land use, the social equity and the transportation efficiency aspects of our investments. …(the OAC) was backward technology, not forward technology, was the loss of an economic development opportunity to a lifeline community because the stops were eliminated, and had high operating subsidies and high cost fares. All in all, over time, this is going to be a continuing challenge for BART….. we (at MTC) are going to have a harder time making decisions going forward.  We aren’t going to be able to just say it’s too big, it’s been in the pipeline so long. We’re going to have to really evaluate those things.... we cannot afford to be cost-inefficient as we go forward.”

For more information contact John Knox White.

BART and MTC are pushing forward with the Oakland Airport Connector, a project that could end up causing fare increases and/or service cuts for the rest of BART riders due to its exorbitant cost and reliance on BART accruing $150 million in new debt.

World-Class Transit Report

In 2000, TransForm released World Class Transit for the Bay Area. The report presented a detailed vision of harnessing the power of our existing transportation infrastructure, including nearly 18,000 miles of roads and 600 miles of rail tracks, to create a system that greatly increases transit ridership.

The timing was perfect. As noted in the the report: "The Bay Area stands on the threshold of a new era of massive transportation investments. Counties throughout the area are now creating transportation sales tax proposals that could be worth over $10 billion, and billions more dollars may come from state legislation and other sources."

Indeed, over the next 4 years Bay Area voters passed $17 billion of new investments as part of county transportation sales taxes and a $1 bridge toll increase. TransForm helped lead joint environmental/social justice campaigns on many of these, as described in our History and Highlights. In total, 75% of the funding, over $12 billion, will help expand and operate the region's public transit systems, with over $1 billion for safe walking and bicycling.

For a detailed account of our effort on the Alameda sales tax as covered in Dr. Robert Bullard's Highway Robbery: Transportation Racism and New Routes to Equity, (when we were known as TALC) click here.

You can read World Class Transit, or to get involved with TransForm's ongoing work to achieve our vision for world-class transit contact Carli Paine.

TransForm's World Class Transit for the Bay Area report and a variety of follow-up reports lay out the case for a transportation system that makes much better use of our existing network, and can help us meet key regional goals cost-effectively.

World Class Transit for the Bay Area

How to build a cheaper, faster, smarter transit system for the Bay Area.
TransForm's seminal report.
download the full report (7.9 MB PDF file)

Executive Summary

The path to World Class Transit lies right in front of our eyes. By harnessing the power of our existing transportation infrastructure, including nearly 18,000 miles of roads and 600 miles of rail tracks, we can create a system that greatly increases transit ridership and decreases congestion within just a few years.

Revolutionizing Bay Area Transit...on a Budget

Creating a state-of-the-art rapid bus network
Outlines a Bus Rapid Transit network that will provide the fastest, lowest-cost way to dramatically improve the speed and quality of public transit in the Bay Area.
download the full report (3.4 MB PDF file)

Executive Summary

The Bay Area faces a growing transportation crisis, including intense traffic congestion and a declining share of trips taken by public transit, bicycle and on foot. In response to this crisis, Bay Area politicians are proposing an estimated $12 billion in new transportation funding sources in the form of sales taxes and bridge toll increases. This massive transportation funding spree will largely lock in the

Overextended

An Analysis of the Economic Uncertainties and Environmental Justice Risks of Extending BART to San Jose
<p> While outdated, this report contains some useful background information that is still relevant today. </p>
download the full report (64k PDF file)

Executive Summary

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission has announced that a "Regional Transit Expansion Policy" (RTEP) for the Bay Area will be developed by August 2001. BART to San Jose is being touted as a likely priority project with a price tag of $3.8 billion.

¡Acceso Ahora!

Spanish version of Access Now! guide.
download the full report (1.6 MB PDF file)

Obtenga un Transporte Justo Para su Comunidad

Trabajos fuera del alcance, sitas perdidas del medico, estudiantes que no pueden llegar a sus clases nocturnas para graduarse. Estos problemas tienen una causa en común: transporte inadecuado. Frecuentemente estas son consecuencias resultando de décadas de decisiones sobre el transporte y desarrollo urbano que fallaron en involucrar adecuadamente a las personas con las necesidades más grandes. En

Access Now!

A Guide to Winning the Transportation Your Community Needs
Inadequate transportation is a major barrier to accessing jobs, education, child care, and health care. This comprehensive guide can help communities throughout the Bay Area to win safer streets and better transit.
download the full report (2.2 MB PDF file)

Contact us for free printed copies of the report.

Bus Rapid Transit

An Affordable Way to Make Buses Faster and More Reliable

TransForm is shaping model Bus Rapid Transit lines in the Bay Area--we want to achieve local demonstrations of world-class public transportation that's cost-effective, reliable, and convenient.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is revolutionizing public transportation service around the world by emulating the best features of rail through its use of dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority, state-of-the-art buses, and proof-of-payment systems. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is essentially light rail without the tracks - and at a fraction of the cost.

And, because BRT can serve more people in less time, it also reduces operating costs for transit agencies, allowing them to put savings into preserving affordable service.

Several Bus Rapid Transit routes are now in the works in the Bay Area, and TransForm is working to engage local communities including chambers of commerce, neighborhood associations, students, and others in shaping these routes in the East Bay and South Bay. 

Read on to learn more about Bus Rapid Transit, or learn about and get involved TransForm's specific BRT work in the East Bay and South Bay.

Resources

Read TransForm's report Revolutionizing Bay Area Transit... on a Budget, which outlines our vision of BRT in the Bay Area.

Watch these video clips of successful BRT projects in cities across the globe, plus examples of cities that are planning for BRT to become and integral part of their vision for a more sustainable future.

For more information you can review our summary slides below or contact Chris Lepe (for South Bay efforts) or Joel Ramos (for East Bay and San Francisco efforts).

You can make TransForm an even stronger advocate in 2011 by donating now.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a revolutionary new approach to public transit that delivers reliable, comfortable and affordable service for a fraction of the cost of other transit strategies. BRT lines are now being planned for San Francisco, the East Bay, and the South Bay.
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