Emerging Mobility Partnerships in an Era of Transit Challenge: Lessons and Observations from a Pair of Cases in San Francisco

摘要

In recent years, transit operators in cities across the U.S. have reduced service levels, in large part to helpaddress operating budget shortfalls. These cutbacks reflect both the constrained public sector fiscalenvironment generally, and transit provision cost trends specifically. At the same time, policy goalsincreasingly emphasize the need to improve and expand transportation options and to reduce vehiclemiles traveled (VMT). This paper explores the planning and policy implications of this apparentincongruity through an examination of two case studies from San Francisco, California. The first casestudy concerns the proliferation of private, employer-provided shuttles, which transport workers residingin San Francisco neighborhoods to corporate campuses outside of the city. The second exampleinvestigates mobility barriers within the city's Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood, a low-income,majority minority district, and discusses current efforts to advance community-based transportationstrategies and partnerships to address key mobility needs in the area. Although the cases varysignificantly in character, the investigation reveals common themes and lessons regarding evolvingnotions of public and private transit and the role of new and often unfamiliar partnerships in addressingmobility and accessibility needs.