Getting There:
A Governor's Playbook for Making it Easier and More Affordable to Get Around and Live in California
The Stakes
Everyone needs to get somewhere. Where someone lives, what they earn, and whether they own a car shouldn’t limit their mobility or economic opportunity.
Affordability
With the cost of owning a car at over $1,000 per month, transportation is the second highest household expense for most Californians. For those who are forced to live far from jobs and services, car ownership becomes a necessity rather than a choice, and access to opportunity and economic mobility shrinks.
Safe Access
Too many Californians are killed or seriously injured on our streets every year just trying to get to work, school, or the grocery store. Every Californian should be able to get where they need to go safely, including the 35% of Californians who don’t rely on a car, disproportionately low-income people, older adults, and people with disabilities.
Clean Air
California’s freight transportation is dirty—and deadly—for environmental justice communities adjacent to the state’s trade hubs and corridors. Every Californian deserves a chance at a healthy life, protected from super pollutants like diesel in the air they breathe.
The Vision
Every Californian can get where they want to go – efficiently, affordably, and safely.
Imagine in Fresno, a parent gets their kids to daycare and themselves to work without waiting an hour for the bus. A Sacramento sixth grader walks safely to school every day without having to cross a dangerous intersection. A Riverside family chooses an affordable home close to extended family, jobs and schools. And every Californian has a shot at a better economic future.
California’s transportation spending exceeds $30 billion every year, yet too little of that investment addresses the everyday needs of Californians, especially our most underserved. The next Governor can put the state’s resources–dollars, public land, and project delivery capacity--to work to give Californians better choices about where they live and how they get around.
2035 Goals
Paying For It
Make the most of California’s existing revenue, and explore new sources of funding
California can get more out of the money it already spends, and reduce how much new revenue it needs by aligning spending with its priorities and improving how transit, rail, and active transportation projects are planned and delivered.
Make the most of existing revenue
Despite California's ambition to expand rail, transit, walkable and bikeable infrastructure, much of the state's transportation spending still goes towards highways in pursuit of an outdated goal: moving more cars faster.
And while the state designs and permits road projects, it leaves transit and local transportation agencies to build the capacity they need on their own. Projects take longer and cost more as a result.
Explore new sources of funding
California’s gas tax revenue is declining as vehicles become more efficient and drivers shift to electric. And, rising construction costs are shrinking what that revenue can buy, even as maintenance costs on our existing roads climb with each fire and flood season. Meanwhile, transit agencies are struggling to fund operations of their existing services. New funding sources will be needed to sustain current levels of service.
How new revenue is raised and spent matters. Replacement sources should be stable, designed so they do not fall disproportionately on low-income Californians, and aligned with the state's transportation project priorities.
Potential Replacement Revenue Sources
- Road user charges
- Vehicle weight fees
- Congestion pricing
- Retail delivery fees
Top Priorities for the Next Administration
Put Transportation Resources to Better Use
Better project prioritization can help California get more from every transportation dollar. The state should use Caltrans’ System Investment Strategy (CSIS) to prioritize investments, retire legacy projects that no longer deliver public benefits, and create a new Transportation Planning Office at CalSTA to build a new pipeline of projects.
Read the 2-pager: Put Transportation Resources to Better UseMake Public Transit Work Across California
Frequent, reliable, easy-to-use public transit gives Californians a real and affordable alternative to driving. But there’s no state plan to sustain existing service, let alone improve it. California should set strong service goals and hold agencies accountable, provide the statewide operating funding needed to meet those goals, and speed up transit projects.
Read the 2-pager: Make Public Transit Work Across CaliforniaBuild Homes Where It’s Affordable to Get Around
Housing is only affordable if people can afford to get around, too. Building homes in places with good transportation options in communities of all sizes can lower the cost of living, increase quality of life, and make better use of existing infrastructure. California’s transportation agencies can help by building affordable infill housing on agency-owned land, avoiding displacement when widening highways, and aligning land use goals across state government.
Read the 2-pager: Build Homes Where It’s Affordable to Get AroundLead the Way on Clean Freight
California doesn’t need to choose between its economy and the health of Californians. California should plan for clean freight infrastructure where it is needed and where it can protect vulnerable communities, dedicate more freight funding to that infrastructure, and make zero-emission freight the easiest and most economical choice.
Read the 2-pager: Lead the Way on Clean FreightMake California’s Communities Walkable, Bikeable, and Accessible
Getting around shouldn’t put anyone’s life at risk. California should make pedestrian and bicycle safety a standard part of road maintenance, especially in underserved communities, increase funding for local priorities through the oversubscribed Active Transportation Program, and dedicate Caltrans resources to deliver safety projects faster.
Read the 2-pager: Make California’s Communities Walkable, Bikeable, and AccessibleThe First 100 Days
The first 100 days are an opportunity to redefine how California sets priorities, spends transportation dollars, and delivers projects. These 8 actions would put priorities into motion and lay the groundwork for longer-term progress.
Executive Orders
Fast Track Projects that Advance State Goals
Direct transportation agencies to deliver rapid response solutions to the top 10 bus delay bottlenecks and top 100 crash locations for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Set Measurable 2035 Goals
Establish statewide goals for safe access, affordability, and clean air, including a measure of housing and transportation affordability together, and require agencies to track progress toward them.
Issue a ‘Make Transit Work’ Executive Order
Direct CalSTA to quantify the transit operating funding gap, plan for service around rider needs, and publish a dashboard tracking implementation of the SB 125 Task Force recommendations.
Direct Transportation Agencies to Deliver on Housing Goals
Issue an executive order for state housing and transportation agencies to coordinate investments and outcomes, including linking affordable housing production with transit investments, protecting natural and working lands, and avoiding displacement from transportation projects.
Direct a 100 Day Project Audit
Direct Caltrans to conduct a public 100-day audit of capital projects in development and use transparent, consistent criteria to identify which projects best advance state goals and which should be reconsidered.
Administrative Actions
Appoint Strong Transportation Leaders
Appoint CalSTA and Caltrans leaders who will chart a new direction, manage change effectively, and bring experience delivering a complex multimodal transportation system.
Launch a Clean Freight Future Plan
Launch a Clean Freight Future Plan that builds on the CTC’s clean freight corridor assessment and identifies specific infrastructure projects, investments, and incentives needed to protect health and transition to zero-emission freight.
Budgetary Actions
Create the Office of Transportation Planning
Create a new CalSTA office using existing Caltrans planning resources to build a pipeline of projects that align with state goals and integrate transportation, housing and land use planning.