A scathing civil grand jury report launched earlier this week blasted a Silicon Valley bus and light-rail operator as certainly one of “the costliest and least environment friendly transit methods within the nation.”
In a 61-page report launched Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury criticized the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) as too massive and too political to make sound monetary selections, which has led to an ongoing structural deficit.
“The VTA Board is in want of structural change to allow it to higher defend the pursuits of the county’s taxpayers,” the report learn, “and tackle the various advanced challenges introduced by rising tendencies in transportation, quickly evolving expertise and the altering wants of Silicon Valley residents.”
Santa Clara Metropolis Councilwoman Teresa O’Neill, the VTA board chairwoman, mentioned she agreed with lots of the report’s findings, if not all of its evaluation. She famous that when she assumed the function of chairwoman in January, she made higher governance a precedence, appointing a committee to review the problem and provide you with suggestions for the complete board to implement.
“We’ve identified about a few of these points for fairly a while,” O’Neill mentioned.
The report marks the third time in lower than 20 years {that a} civil grand jury has referred to as out the authority’s governance construction as ineffective. And it is available in the identical week {that a} union representing VTA bus drivers and light-rail operators overwhelmingly rejected the authority’s remaining contract provide, opening the door for a potential transit strike.
With an unwieldy board comprised of 12 voting members, six alternates and extra ex-officio members, the VTA administrators undergo from an absence of engagement and conflicts of curiosity, the newest report mentioned. The administrators are all elected officers from Santa Clara County, however some, together with representatives from the Board of Supervisors and town of San Jose, are full-time politicians with devoted workers to assist them digest VTA supplies whereas others from smaller cities maintain different day jobs.
The company not solely operates the county’s public bus and light-rail companies, however can also be planning the event and development of a large, six-station extension of BART into San Jose and Santa Clara and serves because the county’s congestion administration company, overseeing freeway efficiency and enhancements. However regardless of VTA’s advanced and expansive function overseeing practically all aspects of transportation all through the county, attendance to board conferences averaged 87 p.c between 2017 and the primary 4 months of 2019, the report learn.
“Their place on the VTA Board is clearly of secondary significance to most, if not all, administrators,” the report learn, including the job is “seen by some principally as a ‘resume builder’ and a one-day-a-month job.”
The construction of the group and the breadth of its scope has led to some fairly unhealthy outcomes, particularly for the general public transit aspect of the authority, the report’s authors mentioned.
The VTA’s working bills are a few of the highest within the nation, even in comparison with transit businesses of an identical measurement and protection space, the report mentioned. The VTA recoups solely 9 p.c of its working prices by promoting bus and light-rail tickets, one of many lowest charges within the nation, which means taxpayers are on the hook for the remaining roughly 91 p.c, or about $9.28 per passenger, per trip.
These excessive prices will not be all of the consequence poor administration, mentioned VTA board vice chairwoman and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez. City planners within the 1950s designed sprawling suburbs constructed for vehicles, she mentioned, a improvement sample that makes it extraordinarily troublesome to offer efficient public transit.
However the report famous that San Diego has a decrease inhabitants density than the VTA’s service space — which extends from Palo Alto to Gilroy — however its transit company had twice as many riders per hour, on common, than the VTA within the final 5 years.
Regardless of these excessive prices, the VTA’s board has didn’t take steps to curb spending, selecting as an alternative to depend on new taxes, consists of gross sales and fuel taxes, to fill holes within the funds, the report mentioned. And the company continues to put money into expensive capital tasks, such because the Eastridge to BART light-rail extension, which was unanimously permitted earlier this month.
The two.4-mile addition will join the longer term Alum Rock BART station to the Eastridge Transit Heart at a projected price of $599 million, regardless of a 15 p.c decline within the variety of individuals using the sunshine rail within the final 5 years, the report mentioned. Throughout the identical time interval, working prices rose 54 p.c system-wide.
O’Neill mentioned the committee on governance will search to deal with whether or not modifications to the composition of the board itself may result in higher outcomes. It’s going to take a look at the essential construction of the board, board phrases, whether or not it could be higher to carry direct elections or proceed with its system of appointing public officers, find out how to present a greater orientation for brand spanking new board members, in addition to ongoing schooling.
“We must always not ignore this report,” she mentioned. “The group wants the board to be as efficient as potential.”
June 21, 2019
The Today Press
By Press
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