Transit Transformation Task Force to deliver recommendations this year; TDA reform, value capture and land use flagged as priorities

The Transit Transformation Task Force, created by legislation and convened by the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA), is preparing a set of principles, strategies and policy recommendations intended to grow transit ridership, improve the rider experience and address long‑term operational needs across California, task‑force staff said at the joint meeting.

Hunter Owens, Research Data Manager for the Caltrans Division of Data and Digital Services representing CalSTA, described the task force as a 25‑member body set up under Senate Bill 125 and said the "report is going to be due to the legislature in October of this year." Owens said the group has used a technical working group of agency practitioners and more than 100 subject‑matter interviews to ground recommendations in operational realities.

The draft report will be organized into three parts — principles, strategies and individual policy recommendations — and CalSTA staff said it will be released in three chunks over the summer with public meetings so stakeholders can comment before the full October submission.

Task‑force discussions and presentations at the joint meeting highlighted several specific topics that members and technical experts identified as central to any effort to reverse long‑term declines in transit usage and to support VMT reduction goals: TDA reform (Transportation Development Act reform), value‑capture mechanisms to reinvest property and development gains around transit into operations, tighter alignment of land‑use and housing planning with transit, and operational reforms such as signal priority, bus lanes and first/last‑mile improvements.

Owens told the meeting that TDA reform is already a staff priority: "This is often penalizing agencies from operating additional services to maintain their TDA formula ratios," he said, explaining that farebox recovery requirements can discourage agencies from adding services that would grow ridership. He and members of the task force said reform could remove barriers that cause agencies to cut pilot services that have proven successful.

On value capture, task‑force members said the state should study ways to direct revenue generated by development near transit back to transit operations and service, and the draft report will include staff recommendations and member‑proposed ideas to present to the legislature.

Owens emphasized that many recommendations remain drafts and must be voted on by task‑force members, but he said the group has already approved core themes such as the centrality of land use to transit success. CalSTA staff said the task force will continue extensive public engagement through its meetings and subject‑matter channels and that the final recommendations will be accompanied by staff reports and implementation guidance for agencies and the legislature.

The task force includes representatives from large and small transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, academia, labor and advocacy groups; Owens named several members participating in the process, including executives from major operators and smaller regional systems.

CalSTA staff said the task force also intends to produce proposals that are actionable for the legislature, regional agencies and local transit operators — for example, draft language or options for TDA reform that lawmakers could adopt to remove structural disincentives to service expansion.