TransForm in the News

Final Plan for Regional Transportation Bears Advocates’ Mark
By:
Alec MacDonald
June 1, 2009
Published In:
Bay Area Monitor
As Carli Paine of TransForm told the commissioners that day, “I’m here today to thank you for conducting the Regional Transportation Plan in a way that many advocates had been asking this agency to do for many years. We want to acknowledge that you broke with past tradition by setting out goals and establishing a vision and establishing targets for the plan at the initial steps.”
BART plan for Oakland Airport is folly
By:
Daniel Borenstein
May 30, 2009
Published In:
Contra Costa Times

The good news is that the Oakland airport rail link is not yet a done deal. BART directors are now seeking proposals to build and operate the line. They have until Nov. 30 to pick a contractor or give the money back so the Metropolitan Transportation Commission can redirect the funds.

I say, give it back, so the dollars can be spent on a needed and useful transit project.

Editorial: It's time for BART to rethink the Oakland Airport connector
By:
MediaNews editorial
May 14, 2009
Published In:
Oakland Tribune

BART has a much cheaper alternative — improved bus service — to shuttle passengers from the Coliseum station to the airport terminal. It's time to put the brakes on the light-rail plan and look at other solutions.

Rapid bus touted as cheaper than rail to Oakland airport
By:
Denis Cuff
May 12, 2009
Published In:
Contra Costa Times
"We think our report makes a good case that BART should look at bus rapid transit instead of rushing ahead Thursday to commit more than $500 million for a project that will carry far fewer riders at a much higher cost than when it was planned a decade ago," said John Knox White, TransForm's travel choice program director. "We believe rapid bus transit can provide a good service for one-tenth the cost of rail."
Advocates, Unions Call for BRT Connector Service to Oakland Airport
By:
Matthew Roth
May 8, 2009
Published In:
SF.STREETSBLOG.org
"We are calling on BART staff to immediately assign their consultants and their staff to work with us to further analyze the ridership on this proposal and to bring that to their board on May 14th so they can make an informed, smart decision," said Stuart Cohen, Executive Director of TransForm.
California Cities Need A Predictable Fund For Transit Operations
By:
Matthew Roth
April 13, 2009
Published In:
SF.STREETSBLOG.ORG
"It's impossible to address a green agenda without funding transit operations," said TransForm's Nick Caston.
California Could Start Requiring Drivers to Report VMT
By:
Matthew Roth
March 30, 2009
Published In:
SF.STREETSBLOG.ORG
"It's hard to see how we can be serious about setting regional targets for reducing driving, without knowing how much driving is really taking place," [said TransForm's Carli Paine.]  "This bill would provide a significant boost to our efforts to curb global warming pollution associated with driving and land use."
AC Transit Board Votes to Raise Fares
By:
Bryan Goebel
March 12, 2009
Published In:
SF.STREETSBLOG.ORG
"It's a disgrace that a transit agency serving predominantly low-income and working class people has to raise fares in the middle of an economic crisis. But, the state's repeated raid of dedicated transit funds have made fare hikes an inevitability for AC Transit and for public transportation agencies across California," said Carli Paine, the transportation program director at Transform.
Boy's death, girl's injury have Berkeley focused on street safety
By:
Kristin Bender and Katy Murphy
March 9, 2009
Published In:
Oakland Tribune
"It's sad that it takes tragedy like this to get everybody focused on safety," said [TransForm's Nora] Cody, whose program works with 50 schools in Alameda County.
Gas Price Crisis Pumps Up Transit Ridership
By:
Rachel Gordon
February 27, 2009
Published In:
San Francisco Chronicle

"Gutting public transportation funding is a new low for the state," Paine said. "With the state's commitment to reducing global warming pollution and the growing demand for public transportation, there's a mandate to make sure that transit is well funded."

Bay Area Stimulus Money Stirs Controversy
By:
Cecilia Vega
February 25, 2009
Published In:
KGO-TV/ABC 7

A plan to use $70 million of the stimulus money to build a three-mile BART extension from the Coliseum Station to the Oakland International Airport drew protests.... "We don't need star trek to the airport," said Transform Executive Director Stuart Cohen.

Public Transit Investment Fuels More Jobs
By:
Carli Paine
January 19, 2009
Published In:
New America Media

Public transportation is far more than a social service for people without cars. The truth is that buses, trains, and ferries are an integral component of local and regional economies – and must be central to the Obama administration's economic recovery package.

Transportation funding being rerouted
By:
Karen Holzmeister
January 16, 2009
Published In:
San Jose Mercury News

Safe Route to Schools, spearheaded by Oakland-based TransForm, shows parents and children ways to safely navigate busy streets.... [S]ince the program began two years ago, 40 elementary and 10 middle schools — including ones in Castro Valley, Cherryland and San Leandro — now participate.

Walking School Bus provides elementary kids with safe routes
By:
Shelly Meron
December 26, 2008
Published In:
Contra Costa Times

Susan Silber, education coordinator at TransForm, a nonprofit organization that encourages the use of public transportation and building of walkable communities, helps lead the Safe Routes to School program. Parents just need to be reminded of the benefits of walking to school, she said.

"The kids get more exercise when they're walking. Environmentally, it's a great way to reduce our carbon footprint, and it reduces traffic in the morning," she said. "It's also great community-building. It's like a play date before or after school. The kids have a great time with each other. Parents tell me, 'I enjoy this just as much as the kids.'"

Group tries to get transit funds restored
By:
Ron McNicoll
December 11, 2008
Published In:
The Independent
One non-profit that sticks up for public transit in the county, TransForm, has filed a "friend of the court" brief in a case that is trying to restore public transit funding. The suit is over transit money authorized by Proposition 116.

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