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Executive Director's Report

Report to the Commission: September 24, 2025

Personnel

Departures

  • Amba Gupta – Amba started in July 2024 as a Planner/Analyst III in the Regional Planning
    Program section. Her last day with MTC was Sept. 5.
  • Laura Krull – Laura started in Sept. 2020 as a Program Coordinator II. Her last day with MTC was
    Sept. 17 as a Principal Planner/Analyst in the Sustainable Mobility & Operations section.

New Appointments

  • Mei Lei – Mei started on Aug. 18 as a Compliance Analyst in the Procurement, Risk and
    Property Management section.
  • Christian Reif – Christian started on Aug. 18 as an Associate Project Engineer in the Capital
    Delivery, Asset Management, Roadside Tolling section.
  • Toto Vu-Duc – Toto started on Aug. 18 as a Principal Program Coordinator, Bay Area Regional
    Energy Network (BayREN) in the Energy Programs section.
  • Aliza Paz – Aliza started on Sept. 15 as a Principal Planner/Analyst, Transportation Planning in
    the Regional Planning Program section.
  • Michael Meehan – Michael started on Sept. 29 as a Principal Planner/Analyst, Major Plans in
    the Regional Planning Program section.

Updates

This was a productive last month for MTC-supported legislation. Senate Bill 63 (Wiener/Arreguín) reached the Governor’s desk and two MTC-sponsored bills, AB 697 (Wilson) regarding State Route 37 and AB 670 (Quirk Silva) related to housing preservation are also awaiting his signature.

Chair Noack joined San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, BART general manager Bob Powers and a host of representatives from the financial services, travel and entertainment sectors at an Aug. 19 press event to celebrate the launch of Tap-andRide, which allows people with contactless debit and credit cards to pay their fares on BART. This is a key milestone in the transition to the Next Generation Clipper system. In the coming months, the debit and credit card payment functionality will be expanded to include all Bay Area transit agencies that accept Clipper for payment.

Commissioner Mashburn represented both MTC and the Solano Transportation Authority at a press event held Aug. 15 to celebrate the groundbreaking for the long-awaited new westbound truck scales and inspection facility along Interstate 80, less than a mile east of the existing and outdated Cordelia scales. This project has been a longtime priority — not just for MTC and Solano County but also for Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol, both of which had a lot of people at the groundbreaking event. The eastbound facility opened in 2013. The relocation and redesign of the much larger westbound facility will accommodate trucks coming in from Highway 12 and I-80.

Chair Noack, Vice Chair Moulton-Peters and Commissioners Ezzy Ashcraft, Burt, John-Baptiste, Papan and Ramos, along with Alix, Lisa and I, participated in the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Investment Tour with other local leaders on Sept. 5. The tour provided an immersive look at VTA’s strategic transportation projects, including Palo Alto Transit Center, Rengstorff Station, Great America Station, Milpitas Station, West Portal Site and Diridon Transit Center.

Federal policy that allows Clean Air Vehicles in the High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes without the required number of occupants is set to expire Sept. 30. Congressman DeSaulnier recently introduced H.R. 4948 to extend it another six years. Congress is not expected to enact such legislation. Accordingly, we are implementing this change in the field through customer communications and coordinating with our state and regional partners.

A reminder that the first phase of the toll increase approved by BATA late last year to help pay for the preservation, rehabilitation and operation of the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2026. In October, staff will begin a customer information campaign to remind drivers of these changes. Tolls for all regular two-axle cars and trucks will increase by 50 cents to $8.50 on Jan. 1.

Yesterday, Sept. 23, was All Aboard Bay Area Transit Day, a day when MTC, in partnership with Bay Area transit agencies, encourages residents to ride the bus, take the train or travel by ferry. This is part of September’s Transit Month celebration, which spotlights the work the Bay Area’s transit agencies do to keep residents moving — whether going to work or school, seeing friends and family, or attending an event. During Transit Month, residents and visitors alike can look forward to a region-wide ride contest and prizes, and a calendar full of transit-themed activities (https://lu.ma/transitmonth2025).

This Friday, Sept. 26, Alix Bockelman, Lisa Klein and I will attend “All Aboard with Transit CEOs,” a multi-modal ride-along and social event giving the public a chance to ride with and meet regional transit leaders as part of Transit Month. This Friday, Sept. 26, Alix Bockelman, Lisa Klein and I will attend “All Aboard with Transit CEOs,” a multi-modal ride-along and social event giving the public a chance to ride with and meet regional transit leaders as part of Transit Month. The ride-along will start at 3 p.m. with a BART ride into San Francisco and then continue with a Golden Gate Ferry trip to Larkspur, followed by a ride on SMART and then the bus.

On Aug. 11, Alix Bockelman spoke alongside leaders from BART, Caltrain, Tri Delta Transit and the Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority at a news conference promoting the Big Sync. In mid-August, Bay Area transit agencies updated their schedules at the same time to significantly improve transfer reliability and timing. With these changes, riders using more than one system will see a variety of improvements across the Bay Area, saving some as much as 20 minutes on their trips. This was the third coordinated Big Sync in the region.

Last week, I participated on the panel Toll Roads and Transit: Integrated Mobility Strategies for Corridors at the American Public Transportation Association’s TRANSform Conference and Expo in Boston. The panel focused on how road tolling and transit can be planned and operated as a system, and how regions can benefit as a result. Combining toll roads and transit enables regions to address travel demand more holistically while providing travelers with choices that save both time and money.

The Regional Housing Technical Assistance (RHTA) webinar on the housing provisions in budget trailer bills AB 130 and SB 131 — including major reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act — was one of the largest and most engaged RHTA webinars to date. A total of 453 people participated from all nine counties and most Bay Area cities, with most attendees staying for 70 minutes or more. This success would not have been possible without the Regional Early Action Planning Grant Program 2 (REAP 2.0), which funds our contracts with legal consultant Goldfarb & Lipman and TA consultant Community Planning Collaborative.

MTC’s Transit 2050+ team was honored with the 2025 Excellence in MPO Coordination and Partnership Award at the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations national conference in Rhode Island this month. Managed jointly with the region’s transit operators, Transit 2050+ re-envisions our transit network for a post-pandemic future with fewer resources. A final update on Transit 2050+ was presented at the Sept. 12 MTC Planning Committee meeting, and the final report will be published in early 2026.

The Power-Building and Engagement (Pb+E) grant program, part of MTC’s Community Action Resource Empowerment initiative, is now accepting applications for community-driven projects that expand housing choices and affordability and reduce car dependency. Pb+E will distribute $1.3 million in grants to community-based organizations under three project categories. The application window opens Friday, Sept. 26, and closes Oct. 9, 2025. Please help spread the word about this opportunity in your counties. More information is available on the MTC website: https://mtc.ca.gov/funding/funding-opportunities/community-action-resou…. The program is funded through the state’s REAP 2.0 program.

Matt Maloney, MTC Metro Planning & Policy Deputy Executive Director, has been appointed to the California Sustainable Communities Task Force — a cross-sector coalition tasked with advancing the state’s climate, housing, equity and transportation goals. The 30-member task force, launched by California State Transportation Agency Secretary Omishakin in August, will explore sustainable transportation investments, land use planning, funding and authority needed for regional implementation, among other topics. The task force will release a final report in Nov. 2026 with recommendations for legislative, regulatory and budgetary action.

Finally, mark your calendars: a Commission workshop will be held October 22–23 at the Embassy Suites in Walnut Creek, located across from the Pleasant Hill BART station. The workshop will follow our regularly scheduled Commission meeting at the Bay Area Metro Center.