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SamTrans seeks local priorities for potential Connect Bay Area measure; San Mateo urged to weigh equity and east–west service needs
Summary
SamTrans presented the Connect Bay Area (SB63) proposal and asked San Mateo residents to rank local priorities by April 30; council members and riders pressed for clarity on how the county’s $50M/year return-to-source funds would be allocated and stressed equity and east–west connections.
SamTrans representatives briefed the San Mateo City Council on April 20 about the Connect Bay Area proposal (SB63) and sought community input on a local investment plan that would govern roughly $50 million per year if the regional sales-tax measure advances and passes.
Emily Beach, SamTrans chief communications officer, said the statewide act proposes a limited-term, 14‑year regional sales tax. She said most revenue is prescriptively directed to major operators (BART, Caltrain, Muni) but that a portion — roughly one-third of the county share — would return to counties and be administered locally; SamTrans’ estimate for San Mateo County is about $50 million per year (a county-level slice to be distributed through SamTrans’ local investment plan).
Beach described a public outreach effort that includes a survey (in English, Spanish, simplified Chinese and Tagalog) and a ten-category priority list for residents to rank; the outreach window is short, with a survey close date of April 30 and a SamTrans board review scheduled in May with a targeted local plan adoption in June should the measure reach the ballot.
Public commenters and council members asked for greater transparency on allocation formulas, stronger equity protections for historically underserved neighborhoods, and improvements to east–west (cross‑corridor) service and last‑mile options. A SamTrans CAC member and frequent rider urged more frequent service and transit-priority infrastructure on El Camino Real to shorten slow trips.
SamTrans staff said the local plan can reflect community priorities and includes a free‑form survey option for topics that do not fit preset categories. Staff also described constraints in the legislation (prescriptive allocations for major operators) and said the local plan is intended to make the local return-to-source funding more accountable and aligned with county priorities.
Council members pressed SamTrans for details on how formula distributions to cities would be calculated and how smaller or historically underserved areas would be protected; staff responded that formula and distribution details will be refined during the outreach and governance process and that the SamTrans board will consider feedback in May. Several council members emphasized east–west connectivity, on-demand options for low-ridership hours, and bus lanes or rapid service restoring previous high-frequency routes.
SamTrans reiterated that its outreach materials and survey tools are online, that multilingual printed surveys are available, and that staff will accept phone input for residents who prefer direct assistance. Beach asked council members to encourage constituents to complete the survey before April 30 so the county plan reflects local priorities.
