Quote:
Originally Posted by CityKid
Has anyone looked into the amount of money wasted, the inefficiency, and the logistical problems associated with having so many separate transit agencies in the Bay Area? I can't imagine that they communicate much with each other leading to scheduling conflicts. Further, they probably duplicate resources unnecessarily such as routes, equipment, down to administrative personnel. Then there's the problems of branding and the public's familiarity with the varying systems (Muni, BART, AC Transit, SamTrans, Golden Gate Transit, etc...) Not everyone is as enthusiastic or comfortable figuring out how to use these systems as many people on this forum. I'd really be curious to see how much could be saved and how much more comfortable people would feel if at least all of the light rail and buses were operated under one company?
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There's always the question of "what if" we had a real regional agency. We probably had the most chance when BART was formed in the 50s but even as a region, we couldn't agree on BART. The MTC serves as our regional planning and funding agency but operates no service.
And the public transportation that we have is exactly the public transportation that we as the 9-county have voted for - fractured and not willing to give up one area's independence for fear of favor over another. Even AC Transit is not Alameda County specific - it represents a special district which includes both Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. And for the life of me, I have NO idea why Tri Delta and County Connection and WestCAT don't merge into one agency.
Did you also know the Santa Rosa, Hayward, Vacaville, and other random cities in the Bay Area also operate their own transit systems. Even Rio Vista operates the Rio Vista Delta Breeze, which carries a massive average of 4 riders a day.