New bill pushes Bay Area transit consolidation

“It never made sense that there are 27 official public agencies in the region. ... If each agency had five board members or more, that’s well over 100 people making decisions for the Bay Area,” she said. “There are way too many chefs in the kitchen.”

While the bill does not mandate action on specific strategies, it states the California Transportation Agency would have to develop an outline of how consolidation could be achieved.

Consolidation talks have become more commonplace within the Metropolitan Transportation Commission — a regional financing and coordination body across the Bay Area — which recently conducted polling and research on how the public feels about agency mergers, as well as how the commission can strengthen their authority over local agencies. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, is also expected to introduce legislation over the next month related to the matter.

But Michael Pimentel, executive director of the California Transit Association, said such an overhaul would undermine existing network enhancement efforts.

“Work is currently underway to better coordinate the services provided by Bay Area transit agencies. What’s more, the state has just launched a new process, created as part of last year’s transit funding package, to facilitate a more connected transit system statewide,” he said. “We believe these processes should be completed, and their improvements implemented, before the legislature considers legislation that would have significant and sweeping impacts on governance structures, state and local funding programs, and transit agency workforces.”

Such discussions have also caused friction between some of San Mateo County’s transit agencies and the MTC. Some board members on Caltrain and SamTrans, the county’s transportation agency, have voiced opposition to such mergers, citing the negative impacts it would have on their relatively healthy fiscal position and operations, particularly compared to BART, which faces a $300 million budget deficit.

During a December SamTrans meeting, Board Member Marina Fraser said a Caltrain-BART consolidation would result in the county’s taxpayer funds being drained into BART, and that the rail agency should “clean up their own house before they try to look at other people who are doing well.”

MTC Commissioner and Millbrae Councilmember Gina Papan has also repeatedly voiced concern over BART’s mismanagement and stated the MTC should instead focus on providing stricter oversight of poorly performing agencies.

But Wahab noted local transit leaders must focus on what is best for regional ridership, not on preserving their own agencies in a silo.

“The Bay Area is not one specific city. We represent a region, and that’s how it should be thought about,” she said. “Everyone wants their own little kingdom … and, at the end of the day, people are choosing to use their own vehicles because driving is faster in almost any scenario. I think this bill pushes the conversation on the real issue of consolidation.”

She also stated MTC should be given more authority over transit agencies to make swifter and meaningful reforms, stating they currently “have to babysit agencies,” especially those who are not performing as well.

SB 397 will be discussed in the Senate Transportation Committee on Jan. 9 and will have until Jan. 31 to pass the Senate.

alyse@smdailyjournal.com

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