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Transportation 2030 Plan

Prior Commitments

Re-assessing what it means for a project to be “committed”

In the 2001 Regional Transportation Plan, 90% of the available funding was “committed” to:

  • Maintenance and operation of the existing road/transit system
  • Projects that have been specifically approved by the voters and are 100% funded
  • Projects that have been years in preparation and are nearly ready for construction

This left just 10% of the available funding for new investments in roads, transit, bike/walk facilities and other improvements.

At the June 2003 Transportation 2030 Summit, and in workshops and focus groups held in Fall 2003, participants voiced frustration over this “90/10 split.” A majority asked MTC to increase the amount of funding available for new investments in the 2030 Plan, primarily by use of performance criteria to judge every project and drop poor-performing ones, even if they are “committed.” At the same time, participants said not to reduce the region’s investments in operations and maintenance (the biggest chunk of the “committed” funding). Perhaps resolving this dilemma, participants also favored raising new revenue for new projects instead of dropping prior commitments.

In September 2003, MTC proposed four criteria for determining whether a project from the 2001 Regional Transportation Plan was considered “committed” for the 2030 Plan, focusing on these major factors: dedicated funding that could not be redirected to another purpose; ability to maintain and operate the existing system and proposed new projects; project readiness in terms of environmental review and secured construction funding; and existing contractual agreements. However, even if the proposed criteria were satisfied, projects changing significantly—either in cost or scope—would be subject to further evaluation. Regional Transit Expansion Program project sponsors would have to meet additional tests to demonstrate the ability to operate and maintain their current and expanded transit systems.

When MTC applied these criteria to all existing projects and programs, about 90% of the available funding for the 2030 Plan was again termed “committed”.

Applying the criteria still results in 90% committed funds

MTC, while sharing the frustration over having just 10% available for new investments, proposed to maintain the four new criteria that result in 90% of the total available funds for the 2030 Plan staying in the "committed" category. MTC believes this will benefit the region because:

  • There needs to be an ongoing commitment to maintain our existing transportation system.
  • Local transportation sales taxes (10% of the committed funding) have been approved by Bay Area voters for specific purposes and MTC has no direct control over how this funding is spent.
  • About 6% of the committed funding is for projects that are already in the project development pipeline.
  • A small amount of committed funding has been reserved for regional programs with existing executed contracts (e.g., TransLink®, TravInfo®, and RIDES).

Transportation 2030 Committed vs. Uncommitted Revenues
(2004 $ in billions)


Pie chart

New Investments

Priorities for New Transportation Investments

Discussions on how to spend the 10% of remaining “uncommitted” funds (about $9 billion over 25 years) were a primary focus of public involvement during Phase One of the Transportation 2030 process.

Based on this feedback and discussions with its partner agencies, MTC in December 2003 approved a regional investment strategy that:

  • provides an expanded investment level for road and transit shortfalls
  • sustains operational programs such as TransLink®, 511 and the Freeway Service Patrol at current levels
  • reduces investment in the regional ridesharing program
  • and provides funding for the first time for the Bay Area's Lifeline Transportation network and the regional bicycle/pedestrian program.

Additional investments were determined by county agencies as part of Phase 2 of the Transportation 2030 process.

For more details on the regional investment program, see Phase One December 2003 Actions: New Goals, Land-Use Strategy and Breakthrough Investment Choices.