 
MTC-ABAG Delegation Visits Washington Advocating for Bay Area Priorities
MTC Chair Sue Noack, Vice Chair Stephanie Moulton-Peters, and MTC Commissioner and Association of Bay Area Governments Executive Board President Belia Ramos traveled to Washington, D.C., in May for MTC’s annual federal advocacy trip. They were joined by members of the MTC-ABAG executive leadership and legislative team. Over the course of three days, the group met with representatives or staff from Bay Area Congressional delegation offices.
MORE: https://blog.bayareametro.gov/posts/mtc-abag-delegation-visits-washington-advocating-bay-area-priorities
SMART Celebrates Project Extending Service to Healdsburg
SMART celebrated the Healdsburg Extension Project in May. MTC in 2024 endorsed SMART’s application for $81 million in state Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program funds and nominated SMART for a $62 million grant through the state Solutions for Congested Corridors program. This regional support helped SMART fully fund the Healdsburg Extension Project. The Regional Measure 3 expenditure plan, administered by MTC's Bay Area Toll Authority, includes $40 million for the SMART extension to Healdsburg, which is slated to begin passenger service in 2028
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/smart-celebrates-project-extending-service-healdsburg
Bay Area Bikes Everywhere on Bike to Wherever Day
The Bay Area experienced an unprecedented surge of cycling enthusiasm on May 14 for Bike to Work/Wherever Day, a flagship MTC-sponsored event held as part Bay Area Bike to Wherever Days and the month-long Bay Area Bike Challenge. This year's turnout saw riders across all nine counties mobilize to log record miles, celebrate community solidarity, and champion cycling as an active, healthy transit solution. Nearly 20,000 riders fueled up at more than 340 Energizer Stations during the morning rush.
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/bay-area-bikes-everywhere-bike-wherever-day
MTC/ABAG Award $8 Million for Environmental and Community Projects
MTC in June awarded $8 million to 16 Bay Area projects through the Priority Conservation Area (PCA) Grant Program. These grants support the goals of Plan Bay Area, the region’s long-range plan for housing, the economy, transportation, and the environment. The PCA Grant Program is a key tool used by MTC and ABAG to protect and enhance natural and agricultural lands, expand public access to open space, and invest in climate resilience and community-driven environmental stewardship.
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/mtcabag-award-8-million-environmental-and-community-projects
Independent Oversight Committee Approves Transit Agencies’ Financial Efficiency Review
The Financial Efficiency Review Independent Oversight Committee established following last year’s enactment of state Senate Bill 63 on May 22 adopted the Bay Area Financial Efficiency Review, which identifies strategies AC Transit, BART, Caltrain and San Francisco Muni can pursue to improve operational efficiency; outlines near-term opportunities to increase and improve service with existing resources; notes real estate development opportunities that could increase ridership and revenues in the coming years; and details more than $1 billion of cost-saving measures taken by the four agencies from July 2019 through June 2025 in response to the economic pressures and changing travel patterns that emerged during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/independent-oversight-committee-approves-transit-agencies-financial-efficiency-review
Clipper Contractor Announces More Delays for Full Rollout of Next-Generation System
Cubic Transportation Systems Inc. in May informed Commission staff that it would miss its May 30 target date for meeting the performance requirements needed to begin bulk migration of more than 10 million existing Clipper cards to the next-generation Clipper platform.
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/clipper-contractor-announces-more-delays-full-rollout-next-generation-system
Transit Agency Leaders Pick Vendors for New, Improved Signs
The Regional Network Management (RNM) Committee in June approved two vendors that will help the Bay Area transition to a new, unified design for maps and signs at nine transit hubs around the region, as well as a selection of bus stops in Solano and Sonoma counties. The vendors will help fully retrofit signs and maps at the nine pilot site transit hubs.
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/transit-agency-leaders-pick-vendors-new-improved-signs
Priority Sites and Technical Assistance Projects Win Regional Planning Awards
Three projects supported by MTC and Association of Bay Area Governments received awards In May from the Northern California chapter of the American Planning Association (APA), recognizing work across the housing and technical assistance portfolios.
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/priority-sites-and-technical-assistance-projects-win-regional-planning-awards
MTC Hosts Paratransit Eligibility Training for Bay Area Transit Agencies
MTC in June hosted the first paratransit eligibility training in more than a decade for employees of Bay Area transit agencies and private firms with which the agencies contract. The joint learning and professional development was held in Oakland and geared toward staff who conduct ADA paratransit eligibility assessments, and their supervisors.
MORE: https://mtc.ca.gov/news/mtc-hosts-paratransit-eligibility-training-bay-area-transit-agencies
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