On Board With… April Chan, New San Mateo County Transit District General Manager/CEO
April Chan is General Manager/CEO of the San Mateo County Transit District’s (District). She is a 20-plus-year veteran of the agency, which is the mobility manager for San Mateo County, operating SamTrans fixed-route buses and Redi-Wheels and RediCoast paratransit. She is also responsible for services provided by the District to both the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Authority, which owns and operates the Caltrain commuter railroad, and the San Mateo County Express Lanes Joint Powers Authority.
Chan has been an employee of the District since April 2000 in positions of increasing responsibility, rising through the ranks from Senior Planner, Capital Programming and Grants, to Chief Officer, Planning, Grants, and Transportation Authority and Acting Deputy General Manager. She began her transportation career at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in 1992.
Transit California: 
You became the San Mateo County Transit District’s General Manager/CEO on November 1, 2022. What are you most excited about for the future of the agency?
April Chan:
I think when someone thinks of the San Mateo County Transit District, they think about SamTrans, but we really have several missions. As a District, we’re also the sales tax authority that delivers capital projects. I would say being a multimodal agency, delivering bus and paratransit services to those who are transit dependent, and building out our transportation network in terms of several infrastructure projects are some of things I’m excited about. And I think really being the mobility managers of San Mateo County. Not just one mode: we look at bus, paratransit, automobiles, the bike/ped network; really connecting people to where they need to go, and making sure that we provide the relevant service to them, be it the transit service, or they’re able to travel in the infrastructure network that we build out here in the county, so that’s what I’m most excited about.
Transit California:
You have been with SamTrans since 2000, rising from Senior Planner to Chief Officer, Planning, Grants, and Transportation Authority to Acting Deputy GM/CEO and now to Deputy GM/CEO. Of what accomplishments are you most proud during this time?
April Chan:
I think it's really securing the funding for a myriad of capital projects for the county, and I think this is probably due to the fact that I came from a transportation funding background. I worked at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). We secured funding for the Caltrain maintenance facility down in the southern part of the county; getting all our buses and vehicles replaced for SamTrans; and then some of the latter accomplishments which I know you're going to be asking me some more questions about; the Caltrain Electrification Project; and then later on the 101 Express Lanes Project. There was a major overhaul in the very early days when I first came on board, especially on the Caltrain side. Recognizing this is a railroad system that's over 150 years old, how do we make sure that we get all the state of good repair funding to replace the tracks and update the signal system? So really, I would say, all the various capital-intensive projects that require lots of funding. It's not only the funding that we get, maybe on a formula basis. But how do we actually pursue discretionary funding? That's probably one of the most exciting parts of my job when you are able to secure the funding for something that is really meaningful. And making sure that our services can be operated because it relies on all of these things.
Transit California:
Your strong relationships with regional partners have been noted. How did these come about and how do you believe they will serve you in your role as GM/CEO?
April Chan:
It's really the number of years I've been in this industry. I think it's about 30 years or so. It goes back to the various partners I worked with. When I was at the MTC, I worked with the two dozen or so transit agencies because my role there was to allocate federal, state, and regional funding to the transit agencies. I got to learn a lot about the various transit operators from nine counties. Each county has a congestion management agency. I got to know what they do and then as the funding lead at the MTC, I was able to meet with the various federal and state agencies: Federal Transit Administration, Caltrans, and the California Transportation Commission. I think over the years, the colleagues that I got to meet, and they sort of moved around; I believe having that network of transportation colleagues and professionals really helped me in terms of the amount of knowledge and experience that they have, and their openness to allow me to tap into them after I came over to SamTrans and continue that relationship. I think that is very important because a lot of what we do is not about what you can do. It's really relying on what someone else knows about.
Transit California:
You provided executive leadership and oversight for the Reimagine SamTrans comprehensive operational analysis, which overhauled the overall network of bus routes. How was SamTrans able to improve service through this effort?
April Chan:
We do an overhaul of our service about every 10 years or so, and it's important because we have to see whether or not the service that we're delivering to our community is relevant. I think it's also very unique to SamTrans this time around. We actually started the process before the pandemic. We got to learn a lot during the pandemic, and we were able to pivot quite a bit during it as a result of what we learned. We're basically focusing where we need to increase the frequency of service. I would say that the major areas like the El Camino Real, a number of the cities that have communities that are more transit dependent. We have quite a bit of service that we have improved in both the North County and the South County. In terms of the frequency, we're focusing not just on the commute service because, as we find out post-pandemic, a lot of the commute is not happening as frequently. So, where we need to really focus is either the midday service or service on the weekend. What we're hoping to build out once we're able to completely roll out the implementation is to have all of that in this complete package. We are rolling out in phases. Eventually we hope that we're able to increase the frequency in the times that allow people to travel, not your typical commute pattern, for the transit dependent where they generally need service throughout the day.
Transit California:
You collaborated with state, federal, and regional partner agencies, as well as private employers, to secure full funding ($550 million) for the San Mateo County U.S 101 Express Lanes Project. How were you able to achieve this?
April Chan:
I would say, it really took a village, and you sort of mentioned all those different partners. Typically for a major capital project, and I recall in the very early days when we were still coming together, this is before we even concluded the environmental document for the project, we talked about how such a project generally would take up to eight to 10 years. We were able to shave about two years off of that, and I think it's really folks coming together. Not only during these critical phases of the project, but really securing funding. A lot of times, what holds up the delivery of the project is whether or not you’re able to cobble all the funding together before the construction even begins. We were very fortunate: SB 1 was a major passage of a funding package at the State level that provided over $200 million. We were also able to get some private employer funding. It was somewhat the impetus behind the project, so they were willing to step up. We got over $50 million from the private sector. And then MTC, through the regional Measure 3, was able to move some funding around and provided us close to $100 million for this project effort. It took the will of many partners: Caltrans, the CTC, the region, MTC, the private partners, the private employers, and us at the county here. And so, by having all of this, we were able to start on the construction package a lot earlier. Hence, we're able to deliver this project.
Transit California:
You served on the executive team that provided direction for the completion of the first-ever equity study in the SF Bay Area region for express lanes, resulting in a San Mateo County Express Lanes Equity Program that provides community benefits to eligible disadvantaged county residents with either fare or express lane subsidies. What did you learn in this pioneering effort?
April Chan:
I think what's interesting is that there are various things that we can potentially do in terms of equity. I recall, in the very early stages of the study, there were some capital improvements that we could have potentially done for those communities that generally are more disadvantaged along the 101 corridor. We could have provided subsidies for using the express lanes or transit fares. We also looked at providing better bike and ped access. There are a myriad of options that we could have done. I think really working with the stakeholders of the study and trying to figure out what is not only the most effective, but what is the easiest to administer, because this is the first of its kind. We didn’t have an equity program in the Bay Area when we started our study. So, we wanted to see and test out different ideas, but we also wanted to make sure that it would be something we could quickly implement so that someone could take advantage of it quickly.
The other thing that I've learned from this program, and it’s a little bit different than I think some of the other equity programs that maybe the region has, we looked at the high cost in this county in terms of the income levels. Many of the equity programs around the Bay Area, primarily they're looking at 200 percent of the federal poverty level. We wanted to elevate that; we wanted to make sure that it would be relevant. So, we actually looked at what the median income was, and we offered our program to families and individuals that make more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. We wanted more people to benefit from our program, recognizing that in San Mateo County generally, your housing cost is higher here, and a lot of the living expenses are just generally higher. How can we actually help out our residents? So that's one thing that we wanted to be able to do. It is a pilot program that we're trying out. Our goal is that after the initial year or so, we want to evaluate and see whether this is something we can either expand or need to tweak.
Transit California:
You led the application process for a $647 million federal Core Capacity grant for the Caltrain Electrification Program, and worked with the MTC and Caltrain's partner agencies to secure over $2 billion in funding for the project. How were you able to achieve this?
April Chan:
Very similar to the Express Lanes project. It's not just one person. I think, in the very early stages we were trying to figure out what is the most appropriate amount to apply for. This was also while we were figuring out what the final total cost of the project would be. It was in the final design phase at the time, so even the cost was kind of shifting. I think we were trying to find a sweet spot. Because, do we go for a lower amount and maybe get a loan? We thought about getting a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan at the time. I think after consultation with not only our lobbyists—we talked to MTC and made trips out to the FTA in Washington, D.C. We looked at, if we were to get a loan to pay for a portion of this project, what does it mean in terms of our financial sustainability? In the end, we decided we were going to go for the grant that basically closes the funding gap for the project.
We got the support from our region and from our Caltrain partners. Caltrain is made up of the member agencies from San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. We have to make sure that everybody is good with that, because the more we're able to get grant funding, the less they would need to contribute from their bottom line. The full package of funding, the $2 billion or so is not only the FTA grants. We also need to rely on each of the three member agencies to contribute their share, and how much MTC is going to be able to provide us in terms of funding for the rolling stock, the electric train set, and so all of that pulled together. That's how we landed on that. We have to demonstrate to the FTA that we have a sustainable financial model to operate the service. It was a process. If I recall it, it took us probably over a year and a half, if not more, before we finally got to a full funding grant agreement. And even then, there was a change in administration between President Obama and President Trump. There was a slight scare there; for a couple of months, we were hanging in the balance. We weren’t sure whether this grant was going to move forward, but in the end, I think, with the leadership at the time, in terms of really pushing this forward, everyone was just pulling in and advocating for this project. Very similar to, I would say, the Express Lanes: it's not just one agency working on this. You have multitudes, and we were able to push this thing forward.
Transit California:
You have stated that as a next step after the recently completed Caltrain governance negotiations, you will be working with that agency's various leaders to negotiate a first-ever shared services agreement. What will that entail?
April Chan:
I think the important thing is that we continue to do what we have been doing for Caltrain these past 30-plus years. We're going to continue to provide the shared services; it’s really documenting what we have been providing, but I think it will take a more formal and deliberate process, understanding the needs and the resources that are required from the shared services to support Caltrain. I think it requires a much more formalized process in terms of determining what that need is and making sure that we have the staff resources to do that. I think the first thing is just really documenting what we have been doing and ensuring that we have a process that both sides can agree to, and going forward to help us figure out what it is that they need and staffing up.
Transit California:
You have also highlighted the rollout and funding plan for zero-emission buses for the SamTrans fleet as a challenge you are eager to embrace. What lies ahead on this path?
April Chan:
Right now, we’re trying to figure out what the makeup of our zero-emission bus fleet will be. We have the battery-electric buses right now. We're also testing some hydrogen fuel-cell. The importance of having the two types of technology is that you have something to fall back on if something is not working properly, but we need to make sure that the performance and the cost of these is something that we can support. So, we are doing a pilot right now on the fuel-cell technology. We're waiting for the results of that to help us to figure out what is the appropriate makeup of our zero-emission bus fleet, and really figuring what that cost is not only on the vehicle side, but on the infrastructure side. We are collaborating with other transit operators in the region to do a study of all of our zero-emission bus needs for the entire region, so that as a region we are competitive when we go to Washington, D.C., or when we go to Sacramento to secure funding. This is a program that's going to take up billions of dollars. So that’s really our focus: securing the funding because we need to meet our mandate no later than 2040. The current plan is that we hope to do this before 2035, and in order to do that, we need to line up the funding, and before we line up the funding, we need to figure out what that mix of vehicles and what the infrastructure needs are to support that.