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Transportation

Our goal: Make walking, biking, taking transit and carpooling the default options for getting around

SPUR’s Five-Year Priorities:


Improve the region’s transit network, and the institutions that run it, so that all people have fast, reliable access to their city and region.

Make it faster, easier, more dignified and less expensive to get around without a car.

Leverage transportation investments to build great neighborhoods and connect people to opportunity.

 

​​ Read our policy agenda

SPUR Report

A Regional Transit Coordinator for the Bay Area

The Bay Area’s two dozen different transit services would be easier for riders to use if they functioned like a single network. This type of coordination is complex, but that’s not why it hasn’t been done. The real reason is that it’s not anyone’s responsibility.

SPUR Report

More for Less

Around the world, building major transit projects is notoriously difficult. Yet the Bay Area has an especially poor track record: Major projects here take decades from start to finish, and our project costs rank among the highest in the world. SPUR offers policy proposals that will save time, save money and add up to a reliable, integrated and frequent network that works better for everyone.

SPUR Report

Value Driven

Roads and parking are expensive to build, but they’re mostly free for drivers to use as much as they’d like. This kind of free access imposes serious costs on others: traffic, climate change, air pollution, and heart and lung disease. SPUR’s new report Value Driven shines a light on the invisible costs of driving and offers five pioneering strategies to address them.

SPUR Report

The Future of Transportation

Will the rise of new mobility services like Uber and bike sharing help reduce car use, climate emissions and demand for parking? Or will they lead to greater inequality and yet more reliance on cars? SPUR proposes how private services can work together with public transportation to function as a seamless network and provide access for people of all incomes, races, ages and abilities.

SPUR Report

Seamless Transit

The Bay Area’s prosperity is threatened by fragmentation in the public transit system: Riders and decision-makers contend with more than two dozen transit operators. Despite significant spending on building and maintaining transit, overall ridership has not been growing in our region. How can we get more benefit from our transit investments?

SPUR Report

Caltrain Corridor Vision Plan

The Caltrain Corridor, home of the Silicon Valley innovation economy, holds much of the Bay Area’s promise and opportunity, but its transportation system is breaking down. Along this corridor — which includes Hwy 101 and Caltrain rail service from San Francisco to San Jose — the typical methods of getting around have become untenable.

Updates and Events


A Regional Ballot Measure Could Sustain and Transform Bay Area Transit — But There Are Many Details to Get Right

News /
The California State Legislature will soon consider legislation that would enable the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to put a regional transportation measure on a future ballot, potentially authorizing significant new funding for transit and other mobility investments. SPUR has not yet taken a formal position on a prospective measure, but we are weighing in now to ensure that any legislation that moves forward is grounded in good policy and positions the region for success at the ballot.

Coalition Signals Opposition to Highway Widening in Regional Transportation Measure

Advocacy Letter
SPUR and a large coalition of environmental, environmental justice, transit, and housing advocates have signaled their view that a new Bay Area's regional transportation measure should not include highway widening. Highway widening - expanding the physical footprint or geometry of highways and roadways exclusively for vehicular throughput - promotes driving and consequently increases climate pollution and safety hazards, while drawing riders away from public transit alternatives.

SPUR Input to MTC on Enabling Legislation for a Potential Regional Transportation Measure

Advocacy Letter
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is working with the State Legislature to develop input on enabling legislation for a potential regional transportation measure that could go to the ballot in 2026. SPUR has been following this process closely and provided input to MTC's Legislation Committee at their December 8th meeting.

Joint Letter Opposing SFMTA Budget Charter Amendment

Advocacy Letter
San Francisco Transit Riders Union, SPUR and other groups jointly oppose a proposed San Francisco charter amendment that would require the mayor to approve certain aspects of SFMTA's budget.