RTD Update
Alex Clifford, CEO
December 2, 2025
Jason Lee, Vice Mayor Stockton
ATTACHMENT A
Who We Are and Our Service Area
• San Joaquin County’s regional
transportation provider
• Special district (not municipal transit)
as defined in PUC 50000-50507,
initially serving the Stockton
Metropolitan Area and amended in
1994 to include the entire county
• RTD services a large geographic
area:
➢ Over 1,400 square miles
➢ ~ 800,000 population
1 ATTACHMENT A
RTD Facilities
Downtown Transit Center (DTC)
Union Transfer Station (UTS)
Hammer Transfer Station (HTS)
County Transportation Center (CTC)
Regional Transportation Center (RTC)
Mall Transfer Station (MTS)
2 ATTACHMENT A
RTD – The San Joaquin County Transit Provider
A comparison of RTD to the city transit systems in San Joaquin County 3 ATTACHMENT A
RTD Local & Regional Services
RTD provides many types of services:
• Commuter service to Sacramento and Dublin BART Station • Five Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridors
• Traditional fixed-routes within the Stockton
• County and Metro Hopper deviated fixed-routes
• Shared Mobility On-Demand - Van Go! (Outside Stockton only) • Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Paratransit
4 ATTACHMENT A
Post-COVID Ridership
5 ATTACHMENT A
Where Does RTD Get its Funding?
Funding Sources:
• Federal Government
• Formula and Discretionary Grants
• State Government
• Local Transportation Funds (LTF)
• State Transit Assistance Funds (STA)
• Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP)
• SB 125 (No funding received)
• Local Government
• Measure K (half-cent sales tax in San Joaquin County) • Farebox, advertising, school partnerships, property tax, etc.
Funding typically falls into one of two categories:
• Capital Funds—Formula and Discretionary
• Operating Funds—Formula (typically)
6 ATTACHMENT A
FY26 Operating & Capital Budget
7 ATTACHMENT A
SB 125
8 • July 10, 2023 - Governor Newsom signed AB 102, The Budget Act of 2023, and SB 125. $5.1 billion for transit.
• August 10, 2023 – SJCOG announced SJ County to receive $93.5 million. • January 25, 2024 - SJCOG approved a $67.8 million apportionment for FY 2024/2025 and 2025/2026. RTD was identified to receive $43.3 million (64% of funds). • June 20,2024 - RTD Board adopted its Fiscal Year 2024-25 (FY25) Budget, assigning SB 125 revenue to its operations and assigned its TDA funds to FY25 Capital Budget. • November 2024 -SJCOG received the first SB 125 allotment of $44,967,419. • July 7 and 25, 2025 - SJCOG notified RTD of its decision to deny SB 125 reimbursement request.
• After adjustment/reprioritization of projects, RTD has a FY25 Deficit of $21,340,599.
• RTD has received no SB 125 funds.
ATTACHMENT A
Measure K
• January 23, 2025 – At the SJCOG Board meeting, staff shared MK had reserves that included the following:
➢ Approximately $62.0 million in the Regional Arterials subcategory ➢ Approximately $37.8 million in the Passenger Rail subcategory ➢ Approximately $18.8 million in the Bus Transit subcategory (RTD is guaranteed to receive a minimum of 50%)
➢ Approximately $9.7 million in the Bus Rapid Transit subcategory ➢ Approximately $0.4 million in the Bicycle & Pedestrian subcategory • March 28, 2025 – SJCOG sent a letter to its partners to identify urgent MK needs. • April 11, 2025: RTD submitted five projects to SJCOG for MK urgent funding. Four projects were in the Bus Transit category, with a total funding request of $25,120,000, and one project was in the BRT category, with a funding request of $10,000,000. • July 30, 2025 - RTD received a letter from the SJCOG Executive Director notifying RTD that the Executive Committee affirmed the ineligibility of RTD’s request for MK funding. • RTD has received no MK reserves/urgent funding.
9 ATTACHMENT A
Funding Being Appealed by RTD
SB 125 :
FY25 SB 125 28,746,522$
FY26 SB 125 14,601,390
Total SB 125 Due to RTD 43,347,912$
Measure K Urgent Needs Reserves:
50% of $18.8 million under Bus Transit
subcategory 9,400,000$
100% of $9.7 million in the Bus Rapid
Transit subcategory 9,700,000
Total MK Urgent Needs Reserves Due to RTD 19,100,000$
GRAND TOTAL 62,447,912$
10 ATTACHMENT A
SJCOG’s Free Bus Transfer Program
RTD’s Core Requirements:
1. Immediate Full Fare Settlement – RTD must receive its full fare immediately when a free transfer is honored, via electronic transfer (Visa/MC-like). No advance payments.
2. No Operator Involvement – Operators shall not perform visual verification, button pushing, or issue paper transfers.
3. No Paper Transfers – Program must operate without paper slips or visual inspection.
4. Title VI Analysis - This must be led by RTD, not SJCOG, and address impacts on seniors, people with disabilities, and discount programs.
5. Countywide Application – Applies to all operators and includes RTD-to-RTD transfers.
6. Program Duration – Not a pilot. SJCOG must commit funding through the end of Measure K.
7. Funding Source Restrictions - It cannot be funded from MK Bus Transit or BRT categories.
8. Technology Platform - This is likely feasible only via the Vamos app and contactless payments via Masabi validators.
11 ATTACHMENT A
RTD
THANK YOU
12 ATTACHMENT A