2015 Report to Congress
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Will CongressChoose a NewDirection? 36th AnnualReport to Congress ~ ~~~ ~-~~------~---~--------~~---------t!:a-lfllo.............. ~l WillCongress Choose a NewDirection? 36thAnnual Report to Congress March2015 e METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION Publishedby the Legislationand 510.817.5700tel PublicAffairs Section 510.817.5848fax JosephP. Bort MetroCenter 510.817.5769tty/tdd 101Eighth Street [email protected] Oakland,California 94607-4700 www.mtc.ca.gov \..... .. ~'''ll '···,.... , \\, ........r ~. I ~~ .,.,·1Li.i.,i, /""",,,.. ..., ·, . ....... ................. .... .. ........... ··············-···--··--·······--···········--!···· :;7, ,.. ..., .. , <\ ~" --·-,\ ....t?S __ ;"" .. 10!,... .. .. ................. ,... , .•\ .••,\ .., . "\...._,.,·-... ••\, ~""'-, I .- ') 1 ...................................!. ····, 1·.. .., ', ,-.,r · ' Clo,erdale ,._, ) \ '··,f" , ( !J \, _/, '--\ r· .....................···- ---...-............. ........ 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Area(P DA)- Potential SanBruno sso .!) 84 _,/ 238 Priority ConservationArea (PCA) Pacifica• Millbr,:-' Mn~f: 92 un~ <:!_tY~"' am cl •' ./ Mateo Hayward !,I,~ &so ;;, / ROADS KiPsborouch r.. terCoy ,!J Jv '-~--, ./ Freeway !I 280 101 Roowood City •• New) !) \ , ,-· Belmont CM \ .~ MajorRoad s.tJ:arto. ~:11.1o Fre t / ................................ - ...... ...................?, 92!,I East PaloAko , ~-~ · s.. RAILS YSTEM HalfMoon Bay is Atherton/ '-./ . !) '--·· MHpifjs ,' Altamont CorridorE xpress Wooxtside /PaloAlto m _ ~ \ Amtrak !J ( sz ,-"' - - "', ~ "-·--.., MounttJ:!X/PW , , \ , / BART PortolaV.0'11,, Alms H 'II•" Sunnyvale , 130 \ Caltrain !!J ~ \ ~80 SantaClara SanJose \ .! ~~~· & VTA) 84 ,,'~I Cupertino ff~,l' <.... CableCar (M uni) !) '\ ~ ) Campbell/ 87t !> ! c. t s,ratSeoga 85 ,l - • ·.\..,_ 2010POPULATION M 1!''·· ,,,., Monte reno ~ ~ \ Oakland i as, LosGatos • 1 Novato > 350,000 j ' ' '\ 17 IOI ~ /'·-.. .... .J\ .., 0 Pacffiea :S~~i;i50,000 r·····-• ,.,."~. !J ; !J Morga~ I 'v ...\, .....-... .... .......~ ........... \ . 0 10 20 30 .. \ Miles "'"'' ....., ;;,•' / <,.· / 152 Gilroy ,I •••c ===i•·~~==~Kil ometers -'• -,; ,....,f' 1:~ \.. 0 10 20 30 40 \...... \ , !J i , ~ ·-......... .................................. ,,~··, ..., !, ( " ,,. ./ ....,-. .r-·\.. ........\ ..r ·-.....,..... t.J Table of Contents MAP-21 Reauthorization Recommendations Enact a Long-Term Fix to the Highway Trust Fund 2 National Freight Program Needed to Ensure America's Global Competitiveness 6 Metropolitan Mobility Fuels National Prosperity 10 Federal Appropriations Request Bay Area's New Starts Projects 12 Bay Area Update Bay Area's Next Generation of Transit Projects 14 Caltrain Electrification Advances Mobility on the Peninsula 16 Preserving the Region's Transit Systems Is Top Priority in Plan Bay Area 18 San Francisco Bay Area Core Capacity Transit Study 19 Bay Area Express Lane Network Expands Travel Choices 20 Vital Signs Initiative Monitors Bay Area's Performance 22 Bay Area's Economic Resurgence Drives Up Congestion 23 MTC Programs Keep the Bay Area on the Move 24 Clipper ® - It's All You Need to Ride Transit Around the Bay 25 Bay Area Partnership 26 MTC Commission 27 2 Enact a Long-Term Fix to the Highway Trust Fund Americaonce again faces a loomingdeadline -May 31 , 2015-when the currentsurface transportation bill expires.MTC calls for anend to stop gapfunding gimmicks from the GeneralFund . Instead,Congress should raisethe gastax to restorepredictable federal transportation funding. ucommon sense tells Since 2008 , Congress has transferred $62 billi on in General Fund us that it'll cost a revenue to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to maintain current funding lot less to keep the levels without raising user fees. With the national average gas price system we have in dipping as low as $2.15 in early February , the impact of a higher gas ta x good repair than to let would be dwarfed by recent fluctuations in the pri ce of fuel . it crumble and then have to start all over again. Good tax policy decrees that wherever $54 $7 possible a fee for a per month per month service should be ~ assessed against those who directly benefit from that service . Our highways were built largely with such a user tee - the Savings Cost From gasoline tax. I think it makes sense to From Lower 15C/Gallon follow that principle in Gas Prices Gas Tax restoring them to the condition we all want Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration price data comparing average gas price from April· June 2014 with average price November 2014-January 2015. Mileage and fuel economy data from them to be in." U.S. Department of Transportation . President Ronald Reagan Radio Address, November 7, 198 2 Not a Partisan Issue While raising the gas tax has long been decried as po,litically risky, 42 states - led by Democratic and Republican governors - have done so since 1993, the last time the federal gas tax was raised . Since 2012, 13 states have raised their gas taxes. More recently, Democrat and Republican members of the 114th Congress have been outspoken that now is the time to raise the gas tax. ThirteenStates Have Raised the GasTax since 2012* Increase Increase "Twenty-first State/Governor'sParty (Cents/gallon) State/Governor'sParty (Cents/gallon) century businesses Connecticut (D) 3.8 New Hampshire (D) 4.0 Florida (R) 2.0 North Carolina (R) 0.1 need 21st century Iowa (R) 10.0 Pennsylvan ia (R) -9.0 infrastructure - Kentucky (D) 2.4 Vermont (D) -6.0 modern ports, and Maryland {D) 3.5 Virginia (R) -s.o stronger bridges, Massachusetts 4 (D) 3.0 Washington, O.C. (D) -1.0 faster trains and Nebraska (R) 1.7 Wyoming (R) 10.0 the fastest Internet. *Increases include automatic adjustments and legislative changes. Source: http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/marketing/monthly/pdf/enote.pdf Democrats and Republicans used to Provide Long-Term Sustainability for the Gas Tax agree on this ... Let's Critics of raising the gas tax point out that with vehicle miles tra veled pass a bipartisan on the decline and fuel efficien cy improving, gas tax revenues are infrastructure plan." on a downward trajector y. While this may be true over the long run, President Barack Obama the extent to which it is occurring is very gradual and can be offset State of the Union Address, January 20, 2015 by indexing the tax to annual inflati on or constru ction costs. Another approach is to link the ta x to the price of fuel or repla ce it w ith a price based tax, but with a flo or provision to preven t cuts to the program. Kentucky's gas tax is adjusted based on fuel price and has grown from 12 cents per gallon in 1993 to 37 cents in 2014. of Americans support increasing infrastructure 77°/o investment to create jobs Source: United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, Nov. 2013 Metropolitan Transportation Commission I 35th Report to Congress 4 Risks of Relying on General Revenue for Transportation While we support the Obama Administration's proposal to substantially grow the federal transportation program , we do not support its reliance on a General Fund source of revenue. We have several specific objections to funding the program through a one-time 14 percent tax on offshore profits: "It's time for Congress • The revenue forecast is uncertain . Unlike a gas tax , which has a to hike the federal gas high level of complf ance, estimating and enforcing the taxes owed tax and actually solve a on overseas profits . will be very challenging, jeopardizing funding fiscal problem instead commitments. of kicking the can down • Reliance on one-time funds does not provide long-term solvency for the road." the Highway Trust Fund, leaving us with the same problem six years Senator BobCorker from now. (R-Tennessee), January 2015 • When transportation has to compete with other general government needs, it does not fare well , particularly when budgets are tight. California 's experiment with this over the last decade led to numerous funding diversions and deferrals. HighwayTrust Fund Forecast 100 </> U1 50 5 ~ VI c 0 .!2 :c c -so VI c -:::, - Outlays ·100 E - Revenue 111 ... - Transfers, Carryover ~ -150 0 Cl - Cumulative Shortfall -200 FY2015