SB 375's Success Depends on Adequate Transit Funding
The implementation of Senate Bill 375 would help California accommodate growth in ways that are economically sound, environmentally responsible, and socially beneficial, with the potential to improve the quality of life for Californians – but none of this is achievable without adequate investment in public transit infrastructure and operations.
Transit advocates have made that claim ever since the momentous land-use planning measure was signed into law in 2008. Now that position has been echoed through a report issued this week by the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute.
The group’s SB 375 Impact Analysis Report concludes that “As the foundation of SB 375 is to strategically link land use and transportation efforts, it is critical that funding exist to develop and operate the necessary transit to support and connect residents to employment, both of which will likely grow in greater concentrations in urban and suburban areas.”
The report further notes that:
• “The coverage and efficiency of (transit) services must keep pace with the anticipated increase in urban and suburban density. Improving the service levels and ongoing investment in transit capital improvements and operations creates transit certainty, a critical factor for supporting the growth of compact communities.”
• “Households could benefit from a reduction in the cost burden of transportation if transit options are expanded that link residential areas and employment centers. Recent research indicates that transportation expenses tend to be highest in areas that lack transit options. Consequently, total household costs are generally highest in transit-poor, suburban areas, even when housing tends to be more affordable.”
• “The current system of funding public transit has created unintended fluctuations in annual budgets that inhibit the effective long-term planning of investment in capital and operations. This has resulted in reductions in service levels and coverage. To account for this inherent volatility, public transit funding streams should be broadened and diversified through the employment of new funding and financing strategies.”
The California Transit Association’s Climate Change Task Force has been directly involved in the SB 375 implementation process by advising the California Air Resources Board and its SB 375 Regional Targets Advisory Committee throughout the course of establishing regional emissions reduction targets. The targets are to be adopted in September 2010.
The RTAC’s final recommendation report specifically acknowledges the need for a secure source of transit funding in the state, that transit must be included in regional strategies to reach greenhouse gas reduction targets, and that the state must address the imbalance between its SB 375 goals and its recent drastic reductions in state transit funding
For more information on the Climate Change Task Force, contact Legislative and Regulatory Assistant Sabrina Means by calling (916) 446-4656, extension 1019, or via email at sabrina@caltransit.org.
Click here to read the full report (pdf format)
