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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

January/February 2004

Regional Measure 2 Fuels System Expansion With $1 Bridge Toll Hike

March 2004 Primary Ballot to Give Voters Chance to Expand Commute Options
Bay Area voters will soon get a chance to decide whether they want to take regional mobility issues into their own hands. A bill authored by state Senator Don Perata (D-Oakland) places a Regional Traffic Relief Plan on the March 2, 2004, ballot in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Solano counties. If approved, the plan would be funded through a $1 toll increase on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges, and is expected to raise approximately $125 million annually to help relieve traffic congestion and enhance the convenience and reliability of the region’s public transit system in the vicinity of bridge corridors.

Questions and Answers about Regional Measure 2

AC Transit busWhat projects are included in the expenditure plan?
The expenditure plan addresses three major goals: beefing up public transit service in the bridge corridors; enhancing transit safety while improving the connectivity of the region’s various bus, rail and ferry systems; and relieving traffic bottlenecks in the bridge corridors. Approval by Bay Area voters of Regional Measure 2 (RM 2) will trigger the toll hike and activate the plan, providing $1.5 billion over the next 35 years for capital investments ranging from BART extensions and new bus purchases to strategic highway improvements (see list).

Recognizing that covering operating costs is critical to improving transit service, the plan dedicates up to 38 percent of total annual revenues to these expenses, an amount expected to reach approximately $48 million annually by 2016. At the same time, RM 2 makes public transit more convenient by investing in new technology, like real-time transit information at transit stops, and TransLink®, the universal transit fare payment card.

Which agency will allocate the toll revenue?
MTC will allocate toll revenue for public transit projects intended to help relieve traffic congestion on the bridges. If a project included in the plan runs into problems down the road, the legislation permits MTC to redirect the funds to another regional transit project within
the same bridge corridor provided MTC consults with the project sponsor and holds a public hearing.
BART
How will the toll increase work?
The current toll of $2 (charged in one direction only) for autos and two-axle trucks would go up to $3, effective July 1, 2004. Fees for larger trucks likewise would rise by $1. The toll increase would affect the seven state-owned toll bridges, but not the Golden Gate Bridge, which is run by a separate district and already charges a $5 auto toll. The Bay Area Toll Authority (an offshoot of MTC) would accelerate project schedules by issuing bonds backed by the new revenue stream.

When did voters last raise tolls and how was the money spent?
RM 2 is the successor to Regional Measure 1 (RM 1), which was passed by voters 15 years ago, in 1988. RM 1 raised fees on several of the region’s state-owned toll bridges so as to reach a uniform $1 toll. Proceeds from that set of toll hikes have funded a series of sorely needed mass transit and bridge expansion/re-placement projects, including the just-opened westbound span of the Carquinez Bridge. The second dollar of the current $2 toll was added by the state Legislature in 1997 (effective January 1998) for critical seismic retrofitting of five Bay Area toll bridges.

CaltrainHow were the projects in Regional Measure 2 chosen?
In 2002, the California Legislature initiated hearings on Bay Area
traffic congestion. Spearheaded by Senator Perata, the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Transportation reviewed traffic forecasts — most notably an anticipated 50 percent increase in transbay travel by 2025 — and determined that new investments in the bridge corridors, particularly new public transit options, were needed along with a new revenue source. Concluding that a bridge toll increase was the most appropriate funding mechanism, legislators convened a public advisory committee to develop an expenditure plan. Representing transportation, business, environmental and social equity interests, the advisory group screened individual projects according to rigorous performance measures covering everything from cost-effectiveness and congestion relief to environmental and social equity impacts. The group’s findings coalesced into an initial expenditure plan that became the heart of Perata’s Senate Bill 916. The Legislature approved the bill in September 2003, paving the way for placing RM 2 on Bay Area ballots.

What is required for passage?
As a user fee rather than a tax, RM 2 requires a simple majority (50 percent plus one) of the combined votes in the seven participating counties. If the measure fails to garner a majority in one or more counties, it still can win passage provided the combined results from the seven counties meet the threshold.

How does the state budget crisis relate to Regional Measure 2?
Not only is the state fiscal crisis threatening to undermine the region’s transportation network, but also, Congress is debating the size and scope of federal transportation programs. RM 2 offers the region’s voters a chance to consider self-reliance — to proceed forward with building long-awaited congestion-relief and safety projects despite uncertainties at the state and federal levels.

For more details, view the RM 2 ballot description.
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