California AB 650 (Blumenfield)

California's transit system is in crisis and similar scenarios are playing out across the country.

The conundrum: growing demand for transit and cuts to service.

Demand for transit services has increased around the state. Gas prices have risen, traffic congestion persists, and Californians are pressed for ways to cut commuting costs and reduce their environmental impact. Meanwhile, funding for transit has not kept pace with demand. In recent years the situation has grown worse as public dollars once dedicated to maintaining and expanding transit services are cut to accommodate state general fund deficits. As a result, service has been cut around the state, putting drivers and maintenance staff out of work and leaving bus and rail riders scrambling for other ways to get to jobs and school.

The path to a solution

AB 650 establishes a blue ribbon task force of smart citizens to help solve the crisis. The bill calls for a task force of volunteers, representing different segments of society and including two members of the state legislature, to prepare a report that lays out the current state of public transit in the state, what is needed to make the system meet projected demand, how much it would cost and, most importantly, how to pay for the system California needs.

In carrying out its duties, the task force will conduct at least nine hearings around the state to allow the public, transit agencies, and the business community to submit information about service needs and costs and ideas to help solve the transit funding crisis. The task force will also rely on data, reports and system plans already compiled by other agencies and organizations.

A blue ribbon transit task force will afford an opportunity to shine a spotlight on California's public transit needs, engage the public around the state in the conversation, and offer a roadmap for sustainable funding as well as system expansion and operation.