CONTACT: Jeff Wagner,
Communications Director - CTA
Phone:  (916) 752-4150

December 3, 2009 

Assembly Transportation Committee to Address California’s Public Transit Funding Crisis

Ongoing discussions between the California Transit Association and Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Mike Eng (D-Monterey Park) have culminated in the scheduling of two legislative field hearings to address the public transit funding crisis.

Lawmakers will convene Friday, Dec. 4 in Los Angeles and Tuesday, Dec. 8 in Sacramento to hear from public transit and other transportation representatives to discuss the challenges faced by transit providers and riders in the wake of nearly $3.4 billion in transit-dedicated funding having been diverted over the past three years. This year’s budget included the elimination of the only ongoing source of funding for day-to-day transit operations, leaving California as one of only 15 states in the nation that does not provide direct funding for transit operations.

“The budget situation in California has wreaked havoc on programs and services of every kind, but public transit has borne more than its fair share of the burden,” said Joshua Shaw, Executive Director of the California Transit Association. “We understand the hardships that lawmakers
face in crafting a budget, and we appreciate their efforts to work with us to find reliable, stable solutions for public transit and the millions of Californians who depend on it.”

Staff from the Association and the Committee have organized the hearings as a means to address the transit operations funding crisis going forward, and to build an understanding among policymakers of how cuts to transit affect not only the ability of transit providers to serve their
communities, but also their ability to comply with and assist state efforts to reduce greenhouse gases as part of AB 32 and SB 375.

“The Governor and the Legislature have received ample praise for adopting these measures to reduce emissions and promote smart-growth planning, and deservedly so,” said Shaw. “But the goals of these measures cannot be achieved without a commitment to stable funding for transit– the one program we have in place that is best-equipped to help meet these goals.”

The Dec. 4 hearing begins at 9:30 a.m. in the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Room, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles. The Dec. 8 hearing takes place in the Sacramento Regional Transit District Board Room, 1400 29th Street, at 1 p.m.

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