A new SPUR report details state, regional, and local actions necessary to prioritize transit on Bay Area roadways. However, transit operators are the ones leading the way to design and implement roadway designs that help buses avoid congestion, delivering faster and more reliable bus service. During the pandemic, SFMTA invested heavily in roadway changes to get buses out of traffic and saw resulting bus speed increases of up to 31%, with accompanying growth in the number of riders on lines with the greatest speed improvements. VTA calculated that it could free up $70 million per year to support transit operations by increasing its average speed by 2.5 mph – the amount it has lost due to more congested bus routes over the past 15 years. Hear from the transit efficiency experts at Bay Area transit agencies on what solutions they’ve built, what they’re planning for the future, and the unique challenges and opportunities they confront in this work.
- Tamiko Percell / Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority
- Michael Rhodes / San Francisco Municipal Railway
- Mika Miyasato / AC Transit
- Jonathon Kass / SPUR