Several San Mateo County officials clash with regional transit agency

But during the SamTrans Board of Directors meeting Wednesday, Dec. 6, several board members surfaced frustration with MTC’s lack of transparency and communication during their research process, especially as SamTrans has a shared management agreement with Caltrain and could be affected by a possible BART integration.

“As a local elected official, I don’t have a problem stating I don’t trust MTC. … If there is a discussion about the Caltrain-BART merger, SamTrans needs to be a player,” said Jeff Gee, SamTrans board member, Caltrain board chair and Redwood City mayor, noting such a merger would have serious financial repercussions for SamTrans, the county’s transportation district that also oversees its bus service.

Conversations during the Thursday, Dec. 7, Caltrain Board of Directors meeting included similar sentiments, with Ray Mueller, SamTrans and Caltrain board member and District 3 county supervisor stating MTC, likely due to pushback, is now shying away from direct talks about a merger but continues pursuing legislation to strengthen its ability to do so in the future. 

And as part of a letter to MTC, the San Mateo County Economic Development Association, Chamber San Mateo County and Californians Advocating for Responsible Rail Design voiced concerns, describing the commission’s efforts to conduct polling without consulting Caltrain leadership as “disruptive, distracting, and divisive.” The letter also went on to state Caltrain consolidation would “impose significant upfront costs and provide no clear benefits for Caltrain riders.”

Friction between the county and BART is not new, with Gina Papan, MTC board member and Millbrae councilmember, chiding BART in a meeting last month before opposing an emergency funding effort for the agency due to its lack of fiscal responsibility. Other county officials have claimed BART would benefit financially from such an integration — particularly as it faces a $300 million budget deficit — but doing so would likely come at the expense of Peninsula taxpayers. 

“They need to clean up their own house before they try to look at other people who are doing well. This organization runs really well, and we do not have to have the taxpayers’ funds being drained into BART at this time,” SamTrans Board Member Marina Fraser said. 

San Mateo County is not a part of the BART district — which comprises San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties — meaning it does not contribute the same level of sales and property tax revenue to the agency as participating districts. Currently, San Mateo County conveys 2% of Measure A tax revenue to the agency for operating costs — amounting to $2.3 million last fiscal year — and $800,000 of Proposition 42 funds each year.

But David Canepa, SamTrans and MTC board member and District 5 county supervisor, said the Dec. 8 MTC Legislation Committee meeting would not focus on a BART-Caltrain merger.

“There’s lots of opinions, there’s a lot of speculation, but make no mistake, we’re not talking about BART, we’re not talking about Caltrain,” he said. “What we’re clearly looking at is the review of this voter survey, as well as an update on the regional transportation measure.”

Voter survey results showed 55% of polled riders would prioritize merging BART and Caltrain into one system, with the MTC Legislation Committee set for further discussion Dec. 8.