Hundreds Gather For Unprecedented Transit Forum

Congresswomen Loretta Sanchez addresses participants of the Southern California Transit Forum about workable solutions to the challenges facing the transit systems in Orange County.

More than 400 people concerned about the future of public transportation in California joined together Friday to explore issues surrounding the current transit funding crisis and offer solutions to protect the millions of impacted riders and industry employees statewide.

Sponsored by OCTA, Chapman University’s law school, Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez and Teamsters Local 952, the Southern California Transit Forum provided an opportunity for open dialogue about how agencies are dealing with the lack of funding and what steps may be taken to reverse the trend that has had devastating effects on public transportation.

The forum was unprecedented with leaders from government, business, labor unions, academia and the transit-riding public from Orange County and throughout the state gathered at Chapman University for a program hosted by Timothy A. Canova, associate dean and professor of law at the university. More than 300,000 people were reached online via live-streaming video and on Twitter. 

Public officials at the event included:

• Congresswoman Laura Richardson 
• Congresswoman Grace Napolitano 
• Senator Alan Lowenthal 
• Assemblyman Jose Solorio 
• OCTA Chairman Jerry Amante, mayor of Tustin 
• OCTA Director Carolyn Cavecche, mayor of Orange 
• OCTA Director Curt Pringle, mayor of Anaheim and chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority 
• OCTA Director Peter Buffa 
• Los Angeles Metro Board Member Richard Katz 

“This transit forum is a significant step in bringing together all the stakeholders who can make a difference in this fight,” OCTA Chairman Amante said. “Not only is our bus service critical to moving people but there are thousands of families supported by the transit industry and the jobs it provides.”

OCTA CEO Will Kempton and Metro CEO Art Leahy headed a distinguished list of business and industry professionals who joined the discussion including:

• Josh Shaw, executive director of the California Transit Association 
• Lucy Dunn, California Transportation Commissioner and CEO of the Orange County Business Council 
• James Earp, California Transportation Commissioner and executive director of the Alliance for Jobs 
• Hasan Ikhrata, CEO of the Southern California Association of Governments 
• Art Guzzetti, vice president of policy of the American Public Transportation Association

Kempton helped put the crisis into perspective by talking about the harsh reality faced by those who rely on OCTA as their primary means of transportation. OCTA has been forced to cut approximately 20 percent of bus service in the last year with additional future service reductions possible. The average annual family income for bus passengers is $31,800. 

“These are employees in our hospitals, the clerks who bag our groceries, the servers who keep our restaurants running and the hospitality workers who keep tourism thriving in Orange County,” Kempton said. “OCTA buses are a lifeline service for a significant portion of Orange County’s population.”

Not all the news from the transit forum was grim. Director Curt Pringle shares an update on high-speed rail getting a major funding boost. The state's project won $2.3 billion in federal stimulus funds. Video courtesy of the California High-Speed Rail Authority.

Funding in California has been decimated in the past three years with the state illegally raiding more than $3.5 billion from local agencies — funds intended for public transportation. 

With millions of transit riders throughout the state already suffering from higher fares and reduced service, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recently released budget proposal would take an additional $1.5 billion from public transportation next year.

Transit experts and elected officials also shared ideas at the forum to improve the current financial crisis. The options include allowing local agencies more flexibility with state and federal funding, allowing increased use of federal stimulus dollars for operations rather than capital investment, developing a federal lending and financing program, increasing the gas tax, supporting a ballot initiative to protect transit funding and fighting the state’s attempt to divert dollars.

The Southern California Transit Forum brought together federal, state and local elected officials along with top transit experts and advocates from the region to discuss challenges facing the transportation industry. For more Transportation in 2 videos, visit OCTA’s YouTube channel.

While opinions differed on the methods to ensure the long-term viability of transit, the message of working cooperatively emerged as clear theme throughout the day. 

“We need to work on a nonpartisan basis to build consensus to effectuate political change,” said Patrick D. Kelly, secretary-treasurer and principal officer of Teamsters Local 952.

Panelists took questions and comments from YouTube and Twitter for a highly interactive day-long session. The transit event was the No. 1 trending topic on Twitter in Southern California.

“If not for the transit forum, I would not have known that there is a transit crisis. Even more importantly, I wouldn’t have cared,” said Mark Davidson, a micro-blogger from Anaheim who joined a dozen other social media practitioners in participating in the forum. “Social media is a powerful tool to create awareness, involve people, promote discussion, share ideas and affect change.”

 
Click here for additional information and statistics about the transit forum.