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Senator Aisha Wahab (D-Fremont) is proposing that all of the region’s 27 public transit agencies combine into a single agency.
Wahab took Senate Bill 397 and amended the bill to ask the State Transportation Agency to create a plan to consolidate all agencies within their region–Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties.
According to the Bill:
SB 397, as amended, Wahab. Safety roadside rests: electric vehicle service equipment. San Francisco Bay area: public transportation.
Existing law creates the Metropolitan Transportation Commission as a local area planning agency for the 9-county San Francisco Bay area with comprehensive regional transportation planning and other related responsibilities. Existing law creates various transit districts located in the San Francisco Bay area, with specified powers and duties relating to providing public transit services.
Existing law establishes the Transportation Agency, consisting of various state agencies under the supervision of an executive officer known as the Secretary of Transportation, who is required to develop and report to the Governor on legislative, budgetary, and administrative programs to accomplish comprehensive, long-range, and coordinated planning and policy formulation in the matters of public interest related to the agency.
This bill would require the Transportation Agency to develop a plan to consolidate all transit agencies, as defined, that are located within the geographic jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
SB 397 is believed to be discussed at the Senate Transportation Committee on January 9 and the bill must pass the Senate by Jan 31.
For more on Senator Aisha Wahab, click here
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1 comment
Notice that the language of the bill states “create a plan” for consolidation – not IMPLEMENT the plan. While the concept of breaking out of the county-by-county separate transit agency structure has some merit, it would mean stepping on a lot of bureaucratic and political toes that will fight it tooth-and-nail.
I recall some years back when a local politician proposed combining Fremont/Newark/Union City’s Alameda County Water District and its Union Sanitary District (they serve the same geographic area) into one integrated services district. It was like beating a hornets’ nest with a stick. Out came all the angry hornets buzzing about how it could never work and how terrible it would be. The integration never happened – and that was just TWO districts. Combining 9 or 10 agencies will be a challenge.
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