March 15, 2022
The Honorable Toks Omishakin
Secretary, California State Transportation Agency
915 Capital Mall, Suite 350B
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: Support for the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s Grant Application for the 2022 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program; Interstate 680 Express Bus Project Dear Secretary Omishakin,
On behalf of City of Manteca, we would like to offer this letter of support for the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s (CCTA) application to the California State Transportation Agency’s (CalSTA) 2022 Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) for the Interstate 680 (I-680) Express Bus Project.
This project will fund new, critical Express Bus service along the I-680 Corridor between the Martinez Amtrak station and the Dublin/Pleasanton Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station – with intermediate stops at Walnut Creek BART and the Bollinger Canyon Road Park-n-Ride lot – extending to the ACE Pleasanton station during peak periods. Providing a one-seat ride along this corridor not only provides more transit connectivity to major job centers in the region with zero-emission vehicles, but it also fills a significant gap identified in the 2018 California State Rail Plan by implementing an express bus service that connects riders to regional, state, and national passenger rail networks including BART, the Altamont Commuter Express, the Capitol Corridor and San Joaquin intercity rail lines, Amtrak’s national network and the future Valley Link rail project.
As a collaborative and coordinated effort between CCTA, the Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection), the Livermore-Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA), and the Tri-Valley – San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority (Valley Link), this project has been carefully considered to ensure that limited resources are used to facilitate transformative capital improvements. The I-680 Express Bus Project is seeking funding to support key elements of the service including hydrogen fuelcell buses, fuel and maintenance infrastructure to support the fleet, roadway shoulder improvements and transit signal priority systems to enable Transit Bus on Shoulder (part-time transit lanes) along I680, research and development of technology to improve first-and-last mile connections, and upgrading of planned bus stops to mobility hubs to increase transit access for neighborhoods along the corridor. The project will also include the construction of a new hydrogen fuel plant at the Valley Link operations and maintenance facility to provide a source of “green” hydrogen for the buses operating the I-680 Express Bus service to be produced with renewable energy.
ATTACHMENT 1
This new express bus service also fills an unmet need for the congested I-680 corridor by enhancing transit connectivity for passengers traveling from disadvantaged and low-income communities throughout the Bay Area region and beyond. The key elements of the I-680 Express Bus Project are designed to complement each other by strengthening regional connections to reduce congestion and vehicle miles traveled, implementing technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and meeting modern transportation challenges by reducing barriers to taking transit.
The I-680 Express Bus Project aligns with CalSTA’s efforts to improve and better integrate rail and transit services in California, and City of Manteca strongly supports this project for 2022 TIRCP funding. Thank you for your consideration of this request, which will help advance California’s climate change goals and highlight the State’s commitment to transit innovation.
Sincerely,
Toni Lundgren
Acting City Manager
ATTACHMENT 1