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Quotes From California and Bay Area Leaders in Support of Stand Up for Transportation

Credit
Noah Berger

Top officials from more than a dozen local and state transportation agencies joined together in San Francisco to show solidarity with the national Stand Up for Transportation campaign. Read the news release about the event or read the News Story.

AC Transit

“The State of Good Repair funding is critical to maintain our buses, paratransit services, facilities and equipment. Without that federal funding, it will be impossible for us to meet the escalating demands for service from communities that desperately lack other transit options.’’

AC Transit Board President H.E. Christian Peeples

Alameda County Transportation Commission

“Alameda County voters have stepped up — taxing themselves one cent on every dollar for critical transportation needs. But we can’t meet our needs alone. It is time for the federal government to pass a long-term and sustainable surface transportation bill.” 

Scott Haggerty, Chair, Alameda County Transportation Commission, and member of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission

BART

“If BART reliability declines, the Bay Area economy will follow. We have a plan to make sure this doesn’t happen — but it requires a long-term federal funding bill to see it through.” 

BART Director Nick Josefowitz

Bay Area Council

“In order to support our nation’s economy, Congress needs to redouble its commitment to renewing the federal transportation act, increasing funding for transportation improvements and prioritizing investment in metropolitan areas, our nation’s economic engines. Steering more funds to metro areas will focus federal resources where the vast majority of Americans live. Metropolitan areas drive global trade, and the U.S. economy will rise and fall based on how well our metro economies perform and compete in the global marketplace.” 

Michael Cunningham, Senior Vice President for Public Policy, Bay Area Council

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

“At nearly $3.6 billion in 2014, federal highway funding makes up a large portion of transportation funding in California, and is chiefly used for the construction portion of transportation projects at the state and local level. If reimbursements from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) were to completely halt, the State Highway Account would become insolvent in as little as two months.” 

Caltrans District 4 Director Bijan Sartipi

California High Speed Rail

“Big, bold investments built this country and created the foundation for California becoming the 8th largest economy in the world. Through the leadership of Governor Brown, regional and local officials, the business community and others, California is committed to investing to keep our state strong while at the same time tackling climate change. California is stepping up and needs long-term, sustainable funding from Congress in order to modernize our public transportation infrastructure so that we can meet future needs.” 

California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Jeff Morales

Contra Costa Transportation Authority

“Today we’re standing up for transportation to highlight how important it is to have the federal government as our partner in delivering essential transportation improvements and services to our citizens. Federal funding helps keep Contra Costa, and the whole Bay Area, moving.”

Contra Costa Transportation Authority Executive Director Randell Iwasaki

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District

“The Golden Gate Bridge stands as a proud symbol of the spirit of the West Coast. Golden Gate buses and ferries connect tens of thousands of passengers between the North Bay and San Francisco. Long-term, guaranteed federal investment is absolutely critical to keeping the Golden Gate Bridge strong, our buses on safe roads, and our ferries and terminals up to date.”

Denis Mulligan, Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District GM and CEO

Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority

“Tri-Valley residents would face severe cuts in Wheels Bus service without critical public transportation federal funding.” 

Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority Executive Director Michael Tree

Metropolitan Transportation Commission

“It’s long past time for Congress to stop kicking the can down the road and actually solve the Highway Trust Fund problem. With the national economy back on track and the Bay Area economy shifting into high gear, our country simply cannot afford to keep doing business this way. We need a surface transportation program that will fuel strong growth for years to come.”

Metropolitan Transportation Commission Chair Dave Cortese (also president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors)

San Francisco County Transportation Authority

“These federal funds have allowed us to rebuild Doyle Drive and the Transbay Terminal, to build the Central Subway, and replace our entire Muni bus fleet. These are critical investments in our transportation system that we must continue to make to accommodate our growing population, and to make cities all across our region more livable and sustainable."

Scott Wiener, Chair, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and member of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

“Going forward, there will be an even heavier reliance on transit systems as we work to reduce the need for single-occupant automobiles on our streets, which causes congestion, makes parking harder to find and slows down transit. Considering some of our infrastructure is more than 100 years old, we need to maintain a strong local-federal partnership to ensure that riders are safe and our system reliable.” 

Ed Reiskin, Director of Transportation, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

San Mateo County Transportation Authority/Transit District (SamTrans and Caltrain)

Millennials are riding transit in growing numbers and we need to give them the improvements they need to keep them off the roads for years to come. In the Bay Area that means modernizing and improving aging systems like Caltrain to keep up with the demand for expanded services and providing cleaner, more environmentally-friendly buses and rail cars. Now is the time for Congress to fund a long-term transportation bill and support our country’s economic growth through access to high-quality public transportation.”

San Mateo County Transportation Authority Executive Director Jim Hartnett

Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority

“Building the transportation infrastructure that meets the needs of our growing communities requires leadership, support and collaboration at all levels of government. We need a reliable, long-term surface transportation bill that provides federal funding so that VTA, our county and our cities can continue to work together to deliver services and projects that move Silicon Valley and California forward. Our lasting growth and prosperity depends on it.” 

Valley Transportation Authority General Manager and CEO Nuria I. Fernandez

SolTrans

“I am deeply concerned about the uncertainty we face without a long-term, sustainable investment in public transportation. Without a long-term federal funding bill, it is impossible for us to plan for the future, even as we struggle to keep our transportation services in a state of good repair. SolTrans strongly urges the U.S. Congress to enact a new multi-year authorization bill that provides dedicated funding through the Highway Trust Fund to help grow our local economy.” 

SolTrans Executive Director Mona Babauta

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