San Mateo County transit agencies anticipate more funds from state

“However, with electrification ongoing for Caltrain and the move towards electrifying the fleet for SamTrans, we’re well-positioned to take advantage of these funds to deliver on the priorities the governor laid out,” Lieberman said in an email.

In addition to billions in funding to address COVID-19 relief, homelessness, housing and schools, Newsom has prioritized building infrastructure for the next century to create a modern transportation system, noted as one of California’s biggest challenges. Newsom’s office said the California Comeback Plan includes an $11 billion investment to build a modernized and sustainable transportation system addressing problems with roads, bridges, high-speed rail, ports and public transportation, including projects for the 2028 Olympics. Other infrastructure plans include $7 billion toward universal broadband infrastructure for rural and underserved areas.

The San Mateo County Transit District supported the additional funding for transportation in the budget, focusing on increasing connectivity and helping the climate. SamTrans said the budget would have $2 billion for local roads and streets, $1.4 billion for zero emissions buses, $500 million for active transportation and $500 million for grade crossings.

“SamTrans has a challenging road ahead to get to a 100% zero emissions fleet by 2038,” SamTrans Board Chair Charles Stone, also the Belmont mayor, said in a news release. “This investment will make that a much smoother journey, ensuring that SamTrans riders will be riding modern, state-of-the-art buses while they fight back against climate change.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, or MTC, is the agency responsible for transportation planning and financing in the Bay Area responsible for ensuring regional cooperation with transit agencies that expect to receive funding. MTC Communications Director Randy Rentschler said the May proposed budget calls for $500 million in federal funding from the American Recovery Plan Act, or ARPA, for regional agencies such as MTC to spend on planning and implementation to support infill developments targeted toward climate goals and reducing vehicle miles traveled. Rentschler noted the budget proposal has a State Transit Assistance $125 million funding increase above the January estimate due to an increase in the price of diesel fuel, resulting in approximately $43 million more in funding for the Bay Area. Rentschler said the May budget update includes several project funding topics that could affect MTC, including environmental resilience, infrastructure and zero-emission vehicles.

“The details of how these programs are going to work are not yet settled, but it will likely either be a grant award process run by a state agency, or in some cases, an allocation of funding by formula to a place such as MTC or [Association of Bay Area Governments] ABAG for them to award funding to either local government or to the projects,” Rentschler said.

Caltrain expects the budget funding will help Caltrain complete its 2040 Service Vision adopted in 2019. The 2040 Service Vision would faster and more frequent service, with a minimum of eight trains per direction per hour during peak hours, all-day express service every 15 minutes, and increased weekend service. It would also include electrified service from Gilroy to San Francisco.

“It’s wonderful to see this level of commitment for rail from the Governor,” Caltrain board Chair Dev Davis said in a news release. “With Sacramento’s help, Caltrain will be able to build on the significant investment made in Caltrain electrification and deliver better service for everyone who calls the Bay Area home.”

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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