Poll shows broad support for regional transit

Respondents were told about Assembly Bill 629, the Bay Area Seamless and Resilient Transit Act, a bill introduced by Chiu, D-San Francisco, to integrate Bay Area transit by consolidating public transportation services and Bay Area transit agencies like Caltrain and SamTrans. Overall, 89% of respondents supported the bill. Of those, 59% were strongly supportive and 29% somewhat supportive, with 8% opposing. Of San Mateo County respondents, who made up 10% of the poll, 93% supported the bill. Many polled noted they were not satisfied with public transit and wanted to see action toward long-term improvements.

Residents received counterinformation with various arguments against the legislation and a consolidated system that a minority found convincing. Of those, 40% were convinced by an argument that legislation would take the decisions out of the hands of local planners and give that power to regional transit planners. Other counterarguments suggested it could result in cuts to service and maintenance and could be harder to accomplish out of a pandemic. However, 86% of respondents still supported legislation after hearing all opposing arguments.

EMC Research from Oakland, a data analytics firm, conducted the polling and presented the information at the Blue Ribbon Transit Recovery Task Force May 24 meeting. The Task Force is responsible for offering suggestions to fix the region’s transit system to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Bay Area agency responsible for transit financing allocation. The polling measured responses from 1,000 people, including current transit riders, prepandemic transit riders and nonriders, with a margin of error of 3.1%. Polling took place throughout the Bay Area April 15 to 21 through phone, text and online in English, Chinese, Spanish and Vietnamese. Five community rider focus groups found enthusiasm for a more integrated system. Fare integration also was a popular feature, along with standardized pass types and predictable transit costs, especially while transferring. Many wanted better connections, centralized transit information and improvements beyond just restored service levels. Information from focus groups and polling found that reliability, frequency, ease of use and personal safety were inadequate.

Papan, who also serves on the Task Force, said poll results show the public wants transportation improvement and for operators to deliver more effective and customer service-oriented transit. She noted a majority still favored legislation even presented with counterarguments.

“This shows the desire of the public to make our transportation system better,” Papan said.

SamTrans Chair Charles Stone remained skeptical about the poll and its usefulness in providing insight.

“I don’t think it tells us that much because it was geared to give them the answers they want to get,” he said.

Stone said the polling did not provide context or information about where the money would come from to ensure consolidation or how transportation agencies would receive funding for revenue loss. He noted he had not received an answer yet to his funding questions. Stone supported a better regional transit system but remained unconvinced it can be delivered in any realistic way. He noted MTC does not run transportation agencies and is a planning agency. Stone suggested MTC could help by finding money for grade separations on the Peninsula, one of the biggest transportation issues facing San Mateo County.

“I wish there were a lot more carrots and a lot fewer sticks,” Stone said.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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