Not every commuter travels during peak commute hours. While this may be a blessing for the off-peak commuter with a car, it presents a major problem to those who depend on transit to get to work. CalWORKs welfare reform, coupled with a tight employment market, has increased the number of low-income commuters who need to use transit but find that service is infrequent or unavailable at off-peak hours, or that it simply doesn't take them where they need to go. In a few months, services funded through the Low Income Flexible Transportation (LIFT) program will begin to make a difference for some of these commuters, and others who use transit to reach job-training programs, childcare and essential services.
The LIFT program is one component of the Regional Welfare to Work Transportation Planning project of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The project was initiated in April 2000 to assess the progress of the counties and the region toward addressing transportation needs which had been identified through earlier welfare to work planning efforts.
Working with a consultant and with the Regional Welfare to Work Transportation Working Group, a staff level group of transportation providers, social service agencies, community-based organizations, childcare advocates and others from the nine counties in the region, MTC first reviewed the county welfare to work transportation plans (May/June 1999). The county plans showed a need for access to mainline transit from residential neighborhoods and employment sites, and a need for service during late night hours and on weekends.
The consultants also defined four key intercounty transportation corridors where public transit service was unavailable or insufficient to meet the needs of low-income riders: San Francisco/San Mateo County, specifically to and from the San Francisco International Airport area; San Mateo/Santa Clara County, specifically into Silicon Valley; Alameda and Contra Costa/Marin and Sonoma Counties, specifically across the Richmond San Rafael Bridge; and Santa Clara/Alameda Counties.
In December 2000, MTC approved proposals for twelve LIFT projects which would help to address these needs by providing new and expanded transportation services to assist low-income residents of the region in accessing employment and other support services. The funding, $5 million over the next three years, will be provided through federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program funds.
The projects include:
Matching funds for these projects will come from social service funding, employers, transportation providers and sponsoring cities. The projects are all expected to be operational by July 2001.
Other projects in the region were funded through the Federal Transit Administration's Job Access and Reverse Commute program:
In addition to these grant-funded programs, SamTrans is expanding service until midnight on Route BX to the Colma BART station, allowing airport workers to connect with the last BART trains. SamTrans has also added its first round-the-clock "owl" service, on Route 97 between the airport and downtown San Francisco, filling a 4-hour early morning gap in the Route 292 schedule.
In the second phase of MTC's Regional Welfare to Work Planning study, the consultants developed a set of policy and legislative recommendations and strategies to address the barriers and gaps in services already identified. These recommendations would be implemented by MTC and other transportation and social services agencies. The goal is to establish as a regional priority the increased mobility of transit dependent and low income residents to access employment and other basic services such as food and health care. Broad areas for action include:
The "lifeline" transportation system and other services for transit dependent and low income individuals will be considered as MTC revises the Regional Transportation Plan. Other pieces of the action agenda will come into play during federal transportation funding reauthorization, the state budget process, and regional planning such as the Smart Growth Strategy process. All of these activities bring a greater emphasis on equity in transportation to the region.
Leslie Stewart
For more information:
Deidre Heitman, MTC, 510-817-3272, dheitman@mtc.ca.gov