Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area)
Encyclopedia
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is a regional planning, financing, and funding government agency in the San Francisco Bay Area
. It was created in 1970 to coordinate the transit systems in the area's nine counties. For the purpose of state funding, MTC is the Bay Area's regional transportation planning agency (RTPA) as well as being the region's metropolitan planning organization
(MPO), which receives and distributes federal funding per ISTEA
. The commission is not, however, the Bay Area's council of governments (COG), which holds special influence on regional land use by distributing to local governments State of California
-produced housing needs numbers; the Association of Bay Area Governments
holds this role.
Since 1999, MTC has worked to implement a regional transit fare-collection system called Clipper (formally Translink), for which transit riders use a single card to pay fares on differently-priced transit systems.
MTC is also responsible for oversight of regional bridge toll revenue through the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA). MTC also runs regional operational programs, including the Freeway Service Patrol (FSP), call box, 511 (Transit), rideshare, Fastrak electronic toll collection, regional pavement management (including the pavement management system software StreetSaver), arterial operations, and regional signal timing programs.
MTC also has a library which jointly supports both MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments. The library is open to the public and its collection covers regional transportation and planning issues for the Bay Area.
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. It was created in 1970 to coordinate the transit systems in the area's nine counties. For the purpose of state funding, MTC is the Bay Area's regional transportation planning agency (RTPA) as well as being the region's metropolitan planning organization
Metropolitan planning organization
A metropolitan planning organization is a federally-mandated and federally-funded transportation policy-making organization in the United States that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities...
(MPO), which receives and distributes federal funding per ISTEA
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in the post-Interstate Highway System era...
. The commission is not, however, the Bay Area's council of governments (COG), which holds special influence on regional land use by distributing to local governments State of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-produced housing needs numbers; the Association of Bay Area Governments
Association of Bay Area Governments
The Association of Bay Area Governments is a regional planning agency incorporating various local governments in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. It deals with land use, housing, environmental quality, and economic development. Non-profit organizations as well as governmental...
holds this role.
Since 1999, MTC has worked to implement a regional transit fare-collection system called Clipper (formally Translink), for which transit riders use a single card to pay fares on differently-priced transit systems.
MTC is also responsible for oversight of regional bridge toll revenue through the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA). MTC also runs regional operational programs, including the Freeway Service Patrol (FSP), call box, 511 (Transit), rideshare, Fastrak electronic toll collection, regional pavement management (including the pavement management system software StreetSaver), arterial operations, and regional signal timing programs.
MTC also has a library which jointly supports both MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments. The library is open to the public and its collection covers regional transportation and planning issues for the Bay Area.
See also
- BART or Bay Area Rapid Transit
- AC TransitAC TransitAC Transit is an Oakland-based regional public transit agency serving the western half of Alameda County and parts of western Contra Costa County in the western, Bay-side area of the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area...
or Alameda-Contra Costa Transit - San Francisco Municipal RailwaySan Francisco Municipal RailwayThe San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
or Muni: operates cable car system - CalTrainCaltrainCaltrain is a California commuter rail line on the San Francisco Peninsula and in the Santa Clara Valley in the United States. The northern terminus of the rail line is in San Francisco, at 4th and King streets; its southern terminus is in Gilroy...
: regional rail - Santa Clara Valley Transportation AuthoritySanta Clara Valley Transportation AuthorityThe Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is a special-purpose district responsible for public transit services, congestion management, specific highway improvement projects, and countywide transportation planning for Santa Clara County, California, United States...
or VTA - Golden Gate TransitGolden Gate TransitGolden Gate Transit is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It mainly serves Marin and Sonoma Counties, and also provides limited service to San Francisco and Contra Costa County.Golden Gate Transit is one of three...
: also operates ferry service - SamTransSamTransSamTrans is a public transport agency in and around San Mateo, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It provides bus service throughout San Mateo County and into portions of San Francisco and Palo Alto...
- 511 (Transit)
- Clipper
External links
- MTC Info
- MTC-ABAG Library
- BART
- MUNI
- VTA
- AC Transit
- CalTrain
- Clipper Home Page
- Golden Gate Transit
- Bay Area Toll Authority
- Bay Area FasTrak
- Bay Area Freeway Service Patrol
- Bay Area 511
- SmartCommute.net
- MTC Pavement Management Program
- California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 4
- Metropolitan Transportation Commission
- Considerations Regarding the Possible Merger of the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Reform (Public Policy Institute of California)