The Transit Transformation Task Force meetings are underway to develop recommendations for its mandated 2025 report to the state. The Association is representing its diversity of member interests with a unified voice.
By Arianna Smith
Managing Editor
Transit California
The Transit Transformation Task Force (Task Force), established in 2023 as part of last year’s landmark California state budget deal, promised a new, viable vision for the future of California transit. Association members, eager and ready to lead the way, now serve on the Task Force and are working to provide their critical expertise and recommendations. Here’s how the Task Force started, how discussions are going, and what happens next.
The Establishment of the Task Force
In August 2023, SB 125 was passed and signed into law, in no small part due to the advocacy leadership of Association members and transit partners. The measure committed to the release of billions of dollars in flexible funds for capital and operations that would go to eligible agencies who applied by December 2023. Although CalSTA was supposed to begin distributing funds in April 2024, the Governor’s Administration held funds back with little warning and put in place a temporary spending freeze to respond to the anticipated budget shortfall. After a tense season of negotiations, which included changes and slowdowns of funding appropriation timelines, the Legislature passed, and the Governor signed into law, the budget bill and its trailer bills in late June and early July 2024. On July 8, the first round of funds was finally approved for allocation to agencies that were long-ready to begin their planned projects, many of which relied upon the receipt of those state funds to avoid losing their matching federal and local funding.
“California’s commitment to public transit is unwavering, and with billions more in funding in the pipeline – including for zero-emission equipment and operations – we are just getting started in delivering a more sustainable and equitable transit system for the people of California,” said California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) Secretary Toks Omishakin upon the funding approval. “I thank Governor Newsom and our legislative leaders for continuing to prioritize public transit.”
Amidst the drama of the spending freeze, budget negotiations, and delayed funding distribution, it was easy to forget that SB 125 also established the Task Force, which was to be led by the CalSTA to help articulate and plan for long-term transit rider and community needs. Specifically, the Task Force was directed to develop specific policy recommendations by Winter 2025 “to grow transit ridership, improve the transit experience and address long-term operational needs,” according to the 2023 bill.
In December 2023, with input from Association leadership, Secretary Omishakin appointed 25 individuals representing a variety of transit perspectives to the Task Force. Association membership and staff are well represented, comprising nearly half of the Task Force and including the following 12 individuals: Kome Ajise, Executive Director of Southern California Association of Governments; Rashidi Barnes, Chief Executive Officer of Eastern Contra Costa Transit Authority; Alix Bockelman, Chief Deputy Executive Director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Sharon Cooney, Chief Executive Officer of San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS); Amy Hance, Deputy Director General Services for the City of Clovis; Kate Miller, Executive Director of Napa Valley Transportation Authority/Vine Transit; Lorelle Moe-Luna, Multimodal Services Director of Riverside County Transportation Commission; Seamus Murphy, Executive Director of San Francisco Bay Water Emergency Transportation Authority; Michael Pimentel, Executive Director of the Association; Robert Powers, General Manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District; Michael Turner, Executive Officer - Government Relations of Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and Carl Sedoryk, CEO of Monterey-Salinas Transit District.
Meetings of the Task Force have been scheduled for every two months until April 2025. The Task Force will release its final recommendations in Fall 2025.
A Slow Start to Discussions
A kick-off introductory meeting occurred in December 2023, and three meetings covering specific transit topics were convened during the first half of 2024 (interested parties can read past meeting materials and view meeting recordings on the Task Force website).
However, during the February and April meetings, Association members who serve on the Task Force became concerned about the direction and substance of the discussions taking place and raised concerns to CalSTA. Discussions were general, aspirational, and far-future-focused, with an emphasis on developing measures and metrics for achieving the goal of “transformational ridership.” Association members also expressed concerns about a “three sizes fits all” approach – urban, suburban, and rural - to developing these measures and metrics and the breadth of discussions that were held without consideration of fiscal limitations or political viability.
In response, Association members on the Task Force expressed to CalSTA the need for a process that would address real-world existing barriers, constraints, and challenges that currently hinder the ability for transit agencies and partners to improve transit. CalSTA internalized this feedback and constructed a strong meeting schedule and discussion plan for the June meeting, and it has assured the Association that all remaining scheduled meetings will include this focus.
The Association’s Steps for Success
To ensure that Association membership interests would be carefully presented and ultimately well represented in the Task Force’s final recommendations, the Executive Committee created the Transit Transformation Advisory Committee (TTAC) within the Association.
TTAC is made up of 14 of the Association’s transit agency members. TTAC membership is balanced with individuals who lead agencies of various sizes, whose agencies serve communities throughout California, and whose agencies operate various transit modes. Eight TTAC members are also appointed members of the Task Force, while six are members of the Association’s Executive Committee and/or State Legislative Committee.
TTAC’s goals are to establish the Association’s legislative, budgetary, and regulatory priorities for the Task Force; review all such proposals presented to the Task Force or its Advisory groups to determine impacts on Association members, and then develop Association positions on these proposals to inform Executive Director Michael Pimentel’s participation on the Task Force; and provide regular reports to the Association’s Executive Committee.
TTAC meets multiple times before each Task Force meeting to review pre-meeting materials and develop a coordinated response for Task Force assignments to its members.
After the second Task Force meeting and following discussions about concerns related to the Task Force’s initial focus, TTAC developed and released in May 2024 a survey of general Association membership and CalACT membership to get a fuller picture of real transit problems and proposed solutions, framed through the above four focus areas. Survey takers were invited to identify barriers and constraints to improving transit; they were also asked to identify specific statutory changes, regulatory amendments, and administrative improvements to these barriers and constraints that Association membership on the Task Force should propose as part of the final report recommendations to be released in 2025. By the June 2024 deadline, 42 responses had been received. Ultimately, the survey results were anonymized and presented to CalSTA and the Task Force following TTAC review.
TTAC is further bolstering the survey results by reviewing and including components of the Association’s past policy platforms and findings from external research reports in its proposed solutions to the Task Force. While the Association has earned great successes through the annual state budget negotiating progress and annual sponsored or supported legislation, some proposals from previous years haven’t yet become law. A recent example of such legislation is AB 2824 to establish parity in penalties for assault and battery against all transit employees, which was not brought up for a vote in its first policy committee and failed. Other such priorities include ensuring or building upon the success of previous legislation by monitoring its implementation – such as SB 434 in 2023 to develop a survey on street harassment – or by expanding funding authorization to transit agencies – such as AB 1377 to help unhoused transit users access housing and services.
Discussions on key issues at the Executive Committee and State Legislative Committee also inform the work of TTAC, and TTAC members are also considering ways to show and formalize support of ideas presented during Task Force meetings that originate outside of the Association.
The aggressive organizational strategy is already paying off: For the June 2024 meeting, TTAC identified major Association priorities to advance to the Task Force, with a focus on that meeting’s four key topical areas: service improvements related to increasing frequency and reliability through transit prioritization; fare coordination between agencies; service improvements related to coordinated scheduling; and safety and cleanliness on and around transit.
The Task Force will explore three or four such topics at each of its remaining meetings; the topics for the next meeting are always announced at the current meeting. The August meeting will focus on the transit workforce, including a discussion about recruitment and retention, workforce development, and operational expenditures; and reform to the Transportation Development Act.
TTAC will continue to meet prior to each Task Force meeting, using the announced topics as a framework to organize the survey results and other Association input. Ultimately, the Association will propose as few as three and as many as twelve sub-recommendations for each topic category at each of the remaining meetings.
The work of TTAC is intended to ensure that the diverse concerns of, and creative solutions proposed by, Association membership will have strong representation and unified support at all Task Force discussions – and, ultimately, be included in the final 2025 recommendations.
“Discussions at the Task Force meetings started out general and aspirational, but the well thought-out, preparatory work performed by the Association’s internal Advisory Committee set us up for success at the most recent meeting in June, and this ongoing work will carry us through the year,” said Michael Pimentel, Executive Director of the Association, as well as the Association’s Task Force Representative and TTAC coordinator. “As a result, and with the support of CalSTA staff, our discussions at the Task Force meetings now feel more productive.”
What’s Next
TTAC, Association members appointed to the Task Force, and Michael Pimentel in his capacity representing the Association on the Task Force are all working together to ensure that Association recommendations are featured in the 2025 final report. However, uncertainties remain about how and what proposed recommendations will ultimately be included.
The remaining meetings scheduled for 2024 will be held in Los Angeles on August 29, in Monterey on October 28, and in Clovis on December 10. The final meeting scheduled to occur before the draft of the report will be held in February 2025 in Riverside. The draft report review will be held in April 2025, and the final meeting before the report submission will occur in September 2025.
Association members are encouraged to watch meetings online and review agendas and materials. For more information about Task Force activities, or to propose recommendations to TTAC in advance of future Task Force meetings, please contact Executive Director Michael Pimentel.