Press Releases

For Immediate Release

PRESS ADVISORY

CONTACTS:

Trent Lethco
510.464.7737

Joe Curley
510.817.5847

What: Regional Express Bus Training Workshop

When: Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2000, 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Alameda County Training Center, 125 - 12th Street, Oakland


MTC – the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area – is teaming up with the National Transit Institute and the Federal Transit Administration to sponsor a one-day workshop on regional express bus and bus rapid transit services.

MTC is currently working with local transit operators to develop a Regional Express Bus Program, which would take advantage of the Bay Area's high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane network and system of Park-and-Ride lots to offer high-quality, high-frequency transit service along key commute corridors.

The state's recently enacted Traffic Congestion Relief Program earmarked $40 million for the purchase of 96 low-emission buses to provide express bus service in the Bay Area. MTC had requested express bus funding as part of the Bay Area Transportation Blueprint for the 21st Century – Phased Implementation Plan, which was forwarded to Gov. Gray Davis and the California Legislature in the spring. Studies done for the Blueprint showed that the fastest growing parts of the Bay Area would be best served by a fleet of express buses operating on the region's expanding network of HOV lanes.

The morning session of the workshop will feature presentations on successful express bus programs in metropolitan areas in North America (Seattle, Houston, Montreal) and Europe. The afternoon will be dedicated to exploring in detail issues specific to the emerging Bay Area express bus program. More information on the workshop is available on MTC's Web site, at <www.mtc.ca.gov>.

###

Previous | Contents | Next