policy brief

Public Transit’s Post-pandemic Fiscal Challenges

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath have caused significant financial uncertainty and distress for most transit operators in California (and, indeed, nationwide). Emergency measures taken early on to protect drivers and passengers meant increased operating costs at the same time that ridership and revenues — especially from fares — plummeted.In the face of this crisis, the federal government provided transit agencies with unprecedented operating support through three pandemic stimulus bills, which proved essential in fi lling budgetary gaps, stabilizing finances, preventing layoffs, and maintaining service. Other transit subsidies such as local option sales taxes (LOSTs) bounced back robustly after an initial decline.Yet ridership has returned only slowly and unevenly on most systems. In 2023, as some agencies spend down the last of their federal relief funds, financial shortfalls loom at formerly high farebox recovery and commuter-focused systems. Meanwhile, protracted labor shortages of vehicle operators and mechanics are preventing many systems from providing desired levels of service.To explore these issues, the research team surveyed transit agencies in California and across the country, conducted interviews with agency management, and analyzed financial and ridership data.

research report

Examining US Transit Vehicle Passenger Loads during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Transit ridership plummeted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what constituted passenger crowding contracted dramatically as well. We examine trends in average passenger loads and their correlates in a national sample of U.S. transit operators during the first year of the pandemic and find that passenger loads in high-transit-ridership areas and on the largest systems fell the most early on. Passenger loads were actually somewhat more likely to increase in places where COVID-19 rates were higher during the first year of the pandemic, which suggests that pandemic transit riders had fewer options to travel by other means.

research report

Parking, Working from Home, and Travel Behavior

Abstract

Drawing on the California Household Travel Survey, the research demonstrates strong associations between choosing to drive and having free parking at work or home. The research team found that the median household vehicle in California spends 22 hours a day parked and that households with parking included in the rent or purchase price of their homes are more likely to drive and less likely to use transit. The team further found that employees with free parking at work are more likely to drive for their commutes. Regressions were estimated that analyzed the decision to work from home. Largely for data reasons, these regressions are less conclusive.

research report

Experiences with Autonomous Vehicles in U.S. Cities

Publication Date

May 1, 2024

Author(s)

Mollie Cohen D'Agostino, Cooper Michael, Prashanth Venkataram

Abstract

This project convened a series of meetings and workshops to prioritize listening to multi-sector stakeholders from local government, advocacy, and industry in US cities where autonomous vehicles are operating. The objective was to listen and learn from all stakeholders, raise issues surrounding accessibility and equity, and solicit responses. Key findings from the workshops include a consensus across the three sectors on the need for good channels of multi-stakeholder communication, and voices across all sectors agreed on the importance of disability access and serving diverse populations. Many parties, representing voices from all sectors, recognized that federal regulatory activities appear to be moving too slowly. Preventing any roadway incidents is a priority for many stakeholders, and some suggest a playbook for handling day-to-day roadway issues and common standards for first-responder interactions. Disability access is a high priority across all sectors, and there many see nearer term to accommodations for blind, hearing-impaired riders, but the timeline for providing service to people with non-folding wheelchairs is less clear. There is also ongoing debate surrounding the limits of regulatory purview, the role of cities, and how to actualize equitable expansion into rural areas. There is more work to do to advance a multi-sector dialogue around the role of local governments and community-based organizations in shepherding a safe, equitable, and sustainable expansion of autonomous vehicles.

white paper

Options for the Future of State Funding for Transit Operations in California

Abstract

California supports transit with operating subsidies through Transportation Development Act (TDA) funding. However, these subsidies are not directly linked to an agency’s performance, and they do not provide transit agencies with any direct incentive to improve performance, efficiency, or effectiveness other than to avoid a (seldom enforced) financial penalty. TDA funding is often uncoordinated within regions, and its disbursement is not well aligned with the state’s contemporary social, economic, and environmental goals for transit. Moreover, for transit to be effective at meeting any of these goals, it needs riders above all else—and while the TDA is an important source of operating revenue for agencies across the state, the TDA does not directly support agency actions that increase ridership. On the contrary, the TDA’s funding eligibility threshold requirements at times gives transit managers an incentive to cut service. By restructuring how TDA funds are paid, the state can more effectively shape what transit service is provided in service of state goals.

research report

Charging Up the Central Coast: Policy Solutions to Improve Electric Vehicle Charging Access in Watsonville

Abstract

California’s goal to eliminate internal combustion engine sales by 2035 poses challenges for lower- and moderate-income residents, hindering their access to electric vehicles (EVs). Barriers include limited EV charging stations, exacerbated by lower home ownership and inadequate grid infrastructure in lower-income communities. To address this, UC Berkeley School of Law’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE) partnered with the City of Watsonville. Due to its location, demographics, and ambitious policy goals, Watsonville represents a potential model and case study for other cities around the state grappling with how to boost EV charging infrastructure. Center for Law, Energy & the Environment conducted stakeholder interviews and convening in Watsonville in May 2023 and developed a set of policy recommendations for both state and local entities to accelerate investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Watsonville, which could inform other cities facing similar challenges and seeking to meet state targets and residents’ needs.

research report

Transit, Belabored: Issues and Futures for California’s Frontline Transit Workforce

Publication Date

February 22, 2024

Author(s)

Jacob Wasserman, Allie Padgett, Keenan Ky-An Do

Abstract

Frontline transit work can be satisfying and secure—but also stressful or unsafe. Many agencies across the state lacked transit operators in the wake of the pandemic, delaying service restoration. Interviews, wage data, and other sources demonstrate that these shortages were due to both compensation issues and longstanding issues of workforce safety, culture, and practices. Wages have stagnated over the past decade, though California operators earn more than their area’s median incomes, trucking employees, and comparable transit jobs in other states. Workers have made notable gains in recent contract negotiations. Nonetheless, working conditions, which worsened during the pandemic, have driven away existing workers and potential recruits. While health and retirement benefits represent a significant perk of the job, operators face slow wage and seniority progression, two-tiered pensions, high housing costs, grueling schedules and overtime, and security and discipline concerns, atop daunting initial barriers to hiring. Raises alone are necessary but not sufficient: pay is generally lower than necessary to attract and retain needed employees—and recent increases in pay and hardships in other aspects of the job point to the importance of factors beyond wages alone. Agencies, advocates, and unions will need to rethink and expand transit operations funding, raise wages, and implement a variety of reforms: reducing hiring hurdles, expanding outreach, making scheduling fairer, improving facilities and support offerings, removing enforcement duties from operators, and creating career pathways for advancement. Ultimately, the pandemic underscored that transit workforce issues are transit rider issues.

published journal article

Going Nowhere Fast: Are Changing Activity Patterns Behind Falling Personal Travel?

Abstract

The inexorable rise in personal travel in the 20th century has given way to stagnation in the 21st, a phenomenon some call “peak travel.” We use 2003–2019 data from the American Time Use Survey to explore whether and why personal travel per capita has stopped growing. We show that time spent on personal travel has been dropping consistently over these years, and suggest that one important cause is likely a dramatic and ongoing decline in the time Americans spend on out-of-home activities. We find significant changes in time spent on many of the 34 activities conducted inside and outside of the home that we examine. Many of these changes appear related to advances in information and communications technology (ICT), as this period saw the quality of in-home ICT continually rising and its real cost falling, resulting in ever-improving gaming, surfing, watching, and streaming options. For example, our data suggest that out-of-home work and shopping time fell significantly during our study period, while in-home time spent on work and education rose. Game playing (presumably mostly computer games) and TV watching in the home both increased dramatically, while attendance at live entertainment, arts, and sports activities fell. Reading and writing fell substantially both inside and outside the home, perhaps replaced by electronic communication. Our findings suggest that increased in-home ICT use may have been associated with 25–30% of the reduction of out-of-home time. We also find a significant increase in sleeping and a decrease in time spent eating and drinking both inside and outside of the home. Although we deliberately chose to examine time use and travel prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we suspect that, even as the pandemic fades, the trend toward more time at home and less time spent traveling may well increase further.

published journal article

A Multifaceted Equity Metric System for Transportation Electrification

Abstract

Transportation electrification offers societal benefits like reduced emissions and decreased dependence on fossil fuels. Understanding the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) has been a popular focus, however, achieving their equitable distribution in the transportation system remains a challenge for successful electrification. To address this issue, this paper proposes a multi-dimensional equity metric system that assesses the equity status in the impacts of EV and EVSE deployment across different socio-demographic groups. Four types of equity are considered in the equity metric system: a fair share of resources and external costs that are grouped into horizontal equity, as well as inclusivity and affordability that refer to vertical equity. This paper performs a case study to examine equity concerns regarding the adoption of EVs and EVSE in Los Angeles County in 2035 by leveraging the proposed equity metric system. The results reveal disparities in the adoption of EVs and public chargers, as well as variations in EV trips and economic status across different socio-demographic groups. These disparities underscore the urgency to address equity issues during electrification. Building upon the results, this study puts forth recommendations to tackle these equity challenges to provide valuable insights for local agencies.