TransForm

In a pivotal vote Friday, the California Senate approved $4.5 billion in bonds to begin construction of CA High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles. The funds will help fund construction of the line's initial segment in the Central Valley and upgrades for the Caltrain and Metrolink commuter rail lines in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, respectively.

Senate Bill 1464, the three-foot bike passing bill proposed by California Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach), heads back to the Senate on Thursday, May 24 after sailing through committee last week. Buoyed by a strong campaign by the California Bike Coalition (CBC) and TransForm, thousands of supporters have already written letters to their senators urging them to pass the bill.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) between Oakland and San Leandro in the East Bay cleared a major hurdle this week after AC Transit unanimously approved the project's environmental impact report. Agreements with the cities of Oakland and San Leandro must still be finalized in June before the project can officially break ground.

Members of a broad coalition hailing from throughout California are headed to Sacramento next week to push policymakers to save transit funding and enact sustainable transportation planning reforms.

Reliable transit and safer streets in San Francisco and the Bay Area could be crippled by what U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has called "the worst transportation bill [he's] ever seen" making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives.

Transit riders in the East Bay will get a boost in 2016 with the arrival of the region's first Bus Rapid Transit corridor, connecting San Leandro and Oakland. The project recently reached a major milestone with the release of its final environmental impact report (EIR). AC Transit will begin fielding public feedback on the EIR next week, and construction could begin as soon as next year.

The SF Board of Supervisors Rules Committee approved the nomination of transit advocate Joél Ramos to the SFMTA Board of Directors today without deliberation, and his final confirmation is expected by the full board on Tuesday.

When TransForm's Joél Ramos led the community outreach charge on the International Boulevard Transit-Oriented Development Plan in Oakland, he went to "ridiculous lengths" to bring everyone to the table.

A new report from NRDC and Smart Growth America -- which examines what all 50 states are doing to curb greenhouse gas emissions from transportation -- lauds California as the most progressive state on policy, but points out that its transportation and spending priorities don't match the bold blueprints, particularly as it relates to public transit.