The Riverside Transit Agency board voted unanimously June 26 to participate in the Western Riverside Council of Governments’ voluntary vehicle miles traveled mitigation program and to authorize the CEO or designee to enter a credit generator participation agreement with WRCOG.

Jennifer Nguyen, the agency’s director of planning, told the board that Senate Bill 743, implemented July 1, 2020, requires development projects to use vehicle miles traveled (VMT) rather than level of service to assess transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act. “Projects are then required to mitigate their impact by reducing VMTs using a variety of methods,” Nguyen said.

The program, developed by WRCOG staff with direction from its executive committee, creates a voluntary market in which participants offset CEQA‑significant VMT impacts by purchasing VMT credits generated by approved projects. Nguyen said WRCOG approved the program on May 5, 2025, and that the agency, together with the Riverside County Transportation Commission and WRCOG, worked on a program manual (Attachment A) and named a program administrator.

As a credit generator, RTA can submit eligible projects for inclusion in the program and for potential funding. Nguyen listed example credit projects: increased service or frequency, bus‑pass programs including free fares, new or expanded service, and installation or maintenance of bus stop amenities. She said participation could provide additional funding for operational and capital projects and would not delay credit‑generating projects due to inability to offset impacts.

The board’s budget and finance committee recommended participation unanimously on June 4. There was brief board discussion about whether specific development types (for example an SB 35 project on Grand Avenue in Wildemar) could apply for credits; Nguyen responded such projects could be eligible and noted that infrastructure improvements such as bike lanes and curb, gutter and sidewalk work could be included.

Nguyen told the board there is no fiscal impact associated with joining the program and that any individual credit projects would be brought back to the RTA board for approval either in standalone staff reports or as part of the annual budget cycle. After a motion, the board approved participation “carried unanimously.”

The decision allows RTA to submit projects for possible inclusion in WRCOG’s credit registry; any project approvals, funding awards or contract commitments would require separate board action when specific projects come forward.