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Core Capacity Transit Study (CCTS)

The 2017 Bay Area Core Capacity Transit Study (CCTS) was a collaborative effort to identify and prioritize investments to improve public transportation to and from the core of San Francisco.

Core Capacity Transit Study
Core Capacity Transit Study

Every day, transit operators move hundreds of thousands of people in and out of the downtown core of San Francisco. The Bay Area region is growing, and an effective transit system must grow with it.

The Core Capacity Transit Study (CCTS), released in 2017, was the first major study to bring Bay Area transit operators together to look at transportation solutions for the core of San Francisco.

Areas of Focus

The CCTS study area included two primary transit corridors: the Transbay Corridor and the San Francisco Metro Corridor.

  • Transbay Corridor: The Transbay Corridor focused on investments to transport commuters on BART, AC Transit and WETA from the East Bay, and it explored potential new connections across the Bay.
  • The San Francisco Metro Corridor: The San Francisco Metro Corridor focused on Muni’s light rail and bus network, Caltrain’s peninsula service to San Francisco, and BART service through the southern neighborhoods of San Francisco.

Staff Contact

Matt Maloney, Regional Planning Program
Phone: 415-778-5220
Email: mmaloney@bayareametro.gov

Transbay Transit Center

Conceived as the “Grand Central Terminal” of the West, the Salesforce Transbay Transit Center is the primary bus terminal and potential future central rail terminal for the San Francisco Bay Area.

Inside the Salesforce Transbay Transit Center
Plan Bay Area 2040

Results of the Core Capacity Transit Study were folded into Plan Bay Area 2040 — the Bay Area’s previous long-range, regional transportation plan.

Plan Bay Area 2040 cover
Plan Bay Area 2050

Plan Bay Area 2050 is the current 30-year regional plan that charts a course for a Bay Area that is affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant for all residents through 2050 and beyond.

2050 blue and white logo
Plan Bay Area 2050+

Plan Bay Area 2050+ is a limited and focused update to the currently adopted long-range plan, Plan Bay Area 2050.

Plan Bay Area 2050+ logo.
Partnership

The CCTS was established through commitments by seven Bay Area agencies, and is also supported by a U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant.

The seven partner agencies are:

  • Lead agency: MTC
  • Transit operators: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Alameda-Contra Costa Transit (AC Transit), the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA), and Caltrain
  • Funding and planning partner: San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA)

Each of these operators had worked independently on various improvements, but committed to identifying investments and improvements in the collaborative Core Capacity Transit Study effort.

Study Documents

Over the course of the study, the Core Capacity team has shared presentations and documents:

Summary Materials:

Transbay:

  • Transbay Problem Statement: A synthesis of the trends and challenges that the study aims to address in the transbay corridor
  • Transbay Capacity and Demand Summary: A detailed review of ridership trends and a description of methodologies used to forecast future demand in the corridor and categorize planned capacity-increasing projects (“prerequisites”)
  • Initial Engineering Study Memo and Appendix: Initial review of potential transbay crossing landing locations and review of potential tunneling techniques and technologies

San Francisco Metro:

Market Assessments: