Transportation

Despite the majority of employees not being in the office five days per week, traffic congestion in 2022 has returned to pre-pandemic levels. The Bay Area Council is pursuing initiatives that get people out of single-occupancy vehicles, including measures that ensure transit is safe, transit can meet changing demand, and new regional policies are established. Additionally, the Council continues to advocate for new ferry routes, electrification of all vehicles, and the adoption of new technologies that make it easier and faster to move around the Bay Area. Our goal is to improve public experience of the way the Bay Area moves, including improving traffic congestion and reducing carbon emissions, by 25% by 2025.

2022 Policy Goals

1. Lead effort to revitalize public and private transportation by advocating for independent cost estimates for large capital projects, an integrated fare structure, institutional and employer transit passes, transit priority legislation, instituting a network management structure, and developing a Bay Area connected network plan that provides a minimum service vision.
2. Proactively engage members by gathering perspectives, input, and feedback to ensure revitalization of our transportation network and that resources are distributed amongst riders in an equitable way.
3. Make the Transportation Committee a leading forum to showcase regional transportation ideas and leadership including bringing in speakers to talk about the long-term history of how race has impacted access to robust transportation.

Recent Wins

As a result of our advocacy this year and in 2021, we collaborated with regional partners on major initiatives and passed and co-sponsored important legislative reforms including:

1. Co-sponsoring SB 917, which would require the Bay Area’s 27 independent transit agencies to work together more closely to develop an integrated transit fare structure, create a Connected Network Plan to support schedule coordination and service standards, and develop a single regional transit map and standardized wayfinding system;
2. C0-sponsoring SB 922, which would advance sustainable transportation projects that significantly advance CA’s climate, public safety and public health goals.
3. Passed SB 288, a first-ever CEQA streamlining bill for transit and “active transportation” (a wide range of bicycle, complete street and public transit projects, which can help accelerate our economic recovery from COVID-19 by creating jobs and connecting more people to economic opportunity, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions), opening the door for further CEQA reform;
4. Provided thought leadership to MTC’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on public transit in the Bay Area, guiding agencies through the COVID-19 pandemic and reforms the agencies can adopt to survive and thrive afterwards;
5. Joined the CalSTA Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Transportation Implementation Working Group, to offer input on how to implement the transportation-related provisions of the recently enacted IIJA, which includes funding in the areas of climate action, zero-emission vehicle deployment, social equity, goods movement and multi-modal transportation.

Get Involved

The Transportation Committee and subcommittees listed below are open for all members to participate. Please engage with us as we work to solve the region’s transportation challenges.  For more information, email glitvak@bayareacouncil.org and check out our upcoming events.

Return to Work and Transit Employer Survey

This ongoing survey, which began in April 2021, is distributed monthly through the Bay Area Council’s email subscribers and our Employer Network, a group of over 100 employers who signed up to participate in the survey through outreach to Bay Area Council members, Chambers of Commerce and Ethnic Chambers throughout the Bay Area, education institutions, industry associations, partner organizations and peer-to-peer referrals. For more information or to participate in the Council’s monthly Return to Work and Transit Employer survey, email glitvak@bayareacouncil.org.

Recent media coverage:

Omicron Delays, But Doesn’t End Bay Area Companies’ Return-To-Office Plans, Survey Finds (CBS SF Bay Area)

The Bay Area’s future commute: Three days per week and the return of gridlock (San Francisco Business Times)

These 8 charts show how the pandemic changed the ways we move around the Bay Area (San Francisco Chronicle)

Silicon Valley Finds Remote Work Is Easier to Begin Than End (NBC Bay Area)

Transportation Committee Co-Chairs:

Darlene Gee, Senior Vice President, HNTB
Michael Matthews, Public Policy Director, Facebook
Chris Rivielle, President and CEO, Plant Construction

Water Transit Subcommittee Co-Chairs:

Dana Aftab, External Vice President, Business Operations, Exelixis
Rosanne Foust, President & CEO, SAMCEDA
Heather Salem, Senior Transportation Program Manager, Genentech

Employer TDM Task Force Co-Chairs:

Lauren Bennett, Principal Program Manager, Transportation, Genentech
Jonathan Schuppert, Manager of Transportation Planning & Optimization, Facebook