Transbay Blog
Transit Funding
Is the Oakland Airport Connector a Good TIGER-TIFIA Project? (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this post, we gave a little background on the TIFIA and TIGER federal funds that BART will pursue so that it will have enough money to build the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC). In order to tap into both the TIGER and TIFIA pots of money, the OAC will have to pass … Continue reading
Is the Oakland Airport Connector a Good TIGER-TIFIA Project? (Part 1)
Short answer: not exactly. But with the suspense now cleared from the air, let’s back up a bit. As we’ve discussed here a few times before, BART is about $100 million short of the funds it needs to build the Oakland Airport Connector (OAC), a gap which accounts for approximately 20% of the total capital … Continue reading
In Search of a Stable Equilibrium
The elimination of State Transit Assistance (STA) funds in California has forced transit operators throughout California to scrape the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, in search of replacement money for operations; this has resulted in controversial proposals to raise fares while trimming service. But if there is any silver lining to be found … Continue reading
Where is the Transit Voice?
There is a lot that we might say about the fare hikes and service cuts that the SFMTA has proposed to close its $128.9 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year. The 74X Culture Bus, which rarely carries more than a couple riders and largely duplicates the 5-Fulton, ought to be cut. But seeing … Continue reading
Shifting Funds, Shifty Priorities
First, A Few Numbers (and Acronyms) Regular readers may recall our previous discussion of Transportation 2035, the latest update to MTC’s ongoing efforts on the Regional Transportation Plan. Earlier this year, we wrote a special feature that describes the multifaceted plan, fleshing out how MTC has proposed to allocate $226 billion of local, state, and … Continue reading
Update: Bay Area STA Funds for 2008-09
Last week, we discussed how the finalized state budget decimated State Transit Assistance Funds (STA) funds, and what the result would be for Bay Area transit operators in terms of lost operating revenue. That previous post contained the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s figures on how the remaining STA funds would be distributed between Bay Area transit … Continue reading
Budget Deal Is Not A Deal For Transit
UPDATE (23 February 2009): For updated figures on transit funding loss for FY2008-09, read this post. The big piece of news in California is the long-overdue compromise in the state legislature over how to close the General Fund shortfall, which amounts to $42 billion through June 2010. The budget consists of $15 billion cuts to … Continue reading
Squeezing the Sponge Dry
In the last two budget cycles, California’s leaders elected to redirect some $3 billion away from transit agencies. But a proposed budget deal would now finish off the job and take the rest of what little remains: $230 million of State Transit Assistance funds due from the 2008-09 September budget, and the full $306 million … Continue reading
Stimulus Update: Details from the Final Package
Talking Points Memo has the details on allocations in the final stimulus package. How do things stand as far as transportation is concerned? On funding for roads and bridges, a compromise was hatched between the House version ($30 billion) and the Senate version (just over $27 billion). The final damage? $29 billion. The funding transit … Continue reading
Menu for the Bay Area Transportation Stimulus
Although we have yet to see a fully reconciled stimulus bill to come from Congress and President Obama, agencies across the nation are eagerly putting together their wish lists for how to spend their portion of the $800 billion-plus stimulus pie. Here in the Bay Area, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission has released a draft (PDF) … Continue reading
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