Senate Bill 1031: Transit Riders on the Back Burner

Genesis began our Public Transit Campaign nearly 15 years ago when our ally, Public Advocates, approached us to get involved in restoring transit lines in some of the most vulnerable neighborhoods in Oakland.  Our mission is to create access to opportunities for people who depend on public transit, especially those who are most vulnerable:  low income workers, people who live with disabilities, elders and youth. One of the key objectives of supporting public transit is to combat climate change by encouraging people who want to get out of their single-use vehicles with the state-of-the-art transit system.

Senate Bill 1031 was an opportunity for voters to support these goals. SB1031 was a regional bill and enabled a measure that could have more fully funded public transit in our neighborhoods. Earlier this month, Senator Scott Weiner, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, too the bill out of consideration for now. 

We are disappointed because we had hoped that we would get the chance for voters to consider a clear way to support public transit in our community. The Genesis Transit/Disability Justice Task Force will learn from this experience and continue to organize. Please email us for more information. For more on what happened to SB 1031, read here.