Transit Transformation Task Force sets principles, TDA reform and value-capture on agenda ahead of October report

CalSTA and Caltrans staff briefed the joint meeting on the Transit Transformation Task Force (TTTF), established under Senate Bill 125, which must submit findings and policy recommendations to the Legislature by October 31, 2025.

Hunter Owens, Research Data Manager for the Caltrans Division of Data and Digital Services, described the task force as a 25-member body appointed by CalSTA that combines agency leaders, transit operators, labor, advocacy groups and legislative committee representation. "This body comprised of 25 members ... has been set up to provide recommendations to the legislature and the administration on how we can transform transit," Owens said.

Owens told commissioners the task force is organizing the final report into three buckets: principles, strategies and policy recommendations. The task force is finalizing four principle statements (one already agreed emphasizes the importance of land use for ridership) and intends to cover topics required by statute including housing and land use, value capture, Transportation Development Act (TDA) reform, safety and cleanliness, prioritization of transit in operations and first/last-mile access.

Several commissioners and board members focused on two areas they said will determine whether transit can grow ridership: reform of TDA rules and use of value-capture tools. Owens said TDA reform is a key topic for the task force because current farebox-recovery requirements can penalize agencies that add new or pilot services. "This has been 1 thing that we've heard loud and clear from our task force members and are looking to come back with on a staff report," Owens said, noting that TDA rules date to the 1970s and can create incentives to cut services rather than expand them.

On value capture Owens said the task force and its subject-matter experts are developing policy recommendations on how revenue generated near transit stations can be returned to support transit operations and capital investments. "Transit agencies worldwide generate value being near these transit hubs ... We currently do not necessarily...put that revenue back into the transit operations itself," he said.

The staff brief also outlined the technical working group process used to ground recommendations in operating realities: a technical working group of transit agency staff, more than 100 subject-matter interviews, and multiple task force meetings. Owens said the task force will release the report in three sections over the summer with public meetings and will deliver the final report in October.

Members of the task force and meeting participants raised other operational issues the TTTF is examining, including rural transit needs, first/last-mile service models, schedule and fare coordination, workforce development (including student passes and recruiting younger workers) and the market transition to zero-emission transit vehicles. Owens said recommendations remain in draft form and will return for public review during the summer.

The agencies promised additional briefings for commissioners and to provide the public with multiple opportunities to review and comment on draft recommendations before the October deadline.