Editor’s Note: Former Deputy Executive Officer at the California Air Resources Board Craig Segall wrote this open letter to the legislature, including members of the Senate and Assembly committees currently working on a response to Governor Newsom’s proposed state budget. According to statute, both legislative houses and Newsom must agree on a final version of […]
A new analysis of the costs of not helping public transportation agencies fill a $2.5 billion funding gap found that it would cost former riders twice that much - $5 billion - in annual car ownership costs alone.
The current e-bike incentive program is in the process of being set up, but it only has $10 million available, including administrative costs. That could provide between 3,000 and 7,000 vouchers - a drop in the bucket in a state as big as California.
The Governor's proposals to shift money from transit and the Active Transportation Program are "reasonable," given budget constraints, says the LAO. But the legislature could do something different. Like make cuts to highways instead??