FTA says no to funds for Oakland Airport Connector

I'm delighted to write that the FTA has said no to funds for BART's proposed Oakland Airport Connector because "BART failed to conduct an equity analysis for service and fare changes for the Project." TransForm, Public Advocates, Urban Habitat, and Genesis filed the initial Title VI civil rights complaint that led to this. According to a comment by Wynn at Living in the O,

Not only did BART and MTC fail to make sure the required analysis was done, but they falsely certified to the feds and the state that it WAS done.

So the good news is that BART is unlikely to get federal funds to sink into the boondoggle. The bad news is that if they fart around, some of those funds could be lost to Bay Area transit. You can help by encouraging the MTC to reallocate the $70 million in ARRA funds to Bay Area transit at large. That will be a big step in avoiding service cuts and fare increases by BART, AC Transit, and other agencies. Go to TransForm's website to send a note to the MTC, and encourage others to do so, too.

More reading:

• Living in the O
• TransBay Blog
  
• SF Gate
• Oakland Tribune