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SANDAG Reboot

Report Summary

SANDAG Reboot is a summary analysis of the San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) Draft 2021 Regional Plan (2021 Plan). It is intended to make SANDAG’s proposed plan more accessible to decisionmakers, the media, and the public.

The key take-away from this analysis is that the 2021 Plan reflects a welcome shift in priorities towards less polluting modes of transportation, as compared with the predecessor 2015 Regional Plan (2015 Plan). However, SANDAG’s new plan relies on substantial new revenue that is highly speculative. There is real risk that SANDAG will not be able to deliver what it promises.

Some key changes to the Regional Plan are as follows:

  1. Bus and Rail Upgrades: The 2021 Plan includes modest transit frequency improvements by 2025, which will occur earlier than was previously scheduled under the 2015 Plan. More significant bus and rail frequency improvements are scheduled through 2035, including frequency upgrades on over two thirds of all bus routes.
  2. The Managed Lane Network: Managed lanes are highway lanes reserved for bus travel and cars paying tolls. By 2035, the 2021 Plan proposes a network of managed lanes through a combination of new construction and the conversion of many general-purpose highway lanes into managed lanes. If accomplished, this would be an unprecedented change of highway usage in California.
  3. The Purple Line: The Purple Line has been converted from a trolley to a commuter rail, and would provide better service at a much higher cost. The northern section, from Chula Vista to Sorrento Valley, is scheduled to be completed in 2035.
  4. The Central Mobility Hub and Airport Connector: SANDAG plans to tie a rail connection to the Airport with the construction of a Central Mobility Hub. SANDAG’s current preferred concept is to locate that Central Mobility north of the Airport, which would require many riders to travel past the airport and double back.
  5. Supporting Programs and Policies: The 2021 Plan includes more supporting policies and programs compared to the 2015 Plan. These include grants and funding for Vision Zero, Climate Action Planning, Zero-Emissions Vehicles, Transportation Demand Management, Land Use and Regional Growth, and Housing.
  6. Commuter Rail: Much of the media attention for the 2021 Plan has focused on its commuter rail proposals. However, only Phase 1 of the Purple Line is scheduled to be completed before 2050. They are also would rely on uncertain and unprecedented road charge funding sources.

SANDAG proposes to fund many of its larger and later projects with about $60 billion from road charges, more than twice what it expects to generate from ballot measures. The scale of these proposed charges are without precedent, and SANDAG does not currently have the legal authority to impose them. There is a danger that SANDAG will be forced to scale back or abandon its flagship projects if these hoped-for revenues do not materialize.

Executive Summary

This is a summary analysis of the San Diego Association of Government’s (SANDAG) Draft 2021 Regional Plan (2021 Plan). It is intended to make SANDAG’s proposed plan more accessible to decisionmakers, the media, and the public. The key take-away from this analysis is that the 2021 Plan reflects a welcome shift in priorities towards less polluting modes of transportation, as compared with the predecessor 2015 Regional Plan (2015 Plan). However, SANDAG’s new plan relies on substantial new revenue that is highly speculative. There is real risk that SANDAG will not be able to deliver what it promises.

The near-term changes to the 2021 Plan are positive but modest. Frequency enhancements for existing transit lines will occur by 2025, which is earlier than in the predecessor plan. These changes are very likely to happen because they rely on existing funding sources. Near-term improvements are the most consequential elements in the 2021 Plan, because they do not rely on subsequent plans, ballot measures, or legislation to be adopted.

More significant capital improvements for transit like the Purple Line and Airport Connector would come as late as in 2035. These projects are both more robust, and more expensive than versions in prior Regional Plans. They would also likely require the adoption of ballot measures by the voters. Ballot measures have been a part of prior Regional Plans and they have a history of adoption in San Diego and in similar regions.

The most ambitious elements of SANDAG’s 2021 Plan include a regional network of commuter rail. While these projects have attracted the largest share of the media attention about SANDAG’s plans, only Phase 1 of the Purple Line is scheduled to be completed before 2050.

SANDAG proposes to fund many of its larger and later projects with about $60 billion from road charges, more than twice what it expects to generate from ballot measures. The scale of these proposed charges are without precedent, and SANDAG does not currently have the legal authority to impose them. There is a danger that SANDAG will be forced to scale back or abandon its flagship projects if these hoped-for revenues do not materialize.

Some key changes to the Regional Plan are as follows:

  1. Bus and Rail Upgrades: The 2021 Plan includes modest transit frequency improvements by 2025, which will occur earlier than was previously scheduled under the 2015 Plan. More significant bus and rail frequency improvements are scheduled through 2035, including frequency upgrades on over two thirds of all bus routes.
  2. Managed Lane Network: Managed lanes are highway lanes reserved for bus travel and cars paying tolls. By 2035, the 2021 Plan proposes a network of managed lanes through a combination of new construction and the conversion of many general-purpose highway lanes into managed lanes. If accomplished, this would be an unprecedented change of highway usage in California.
  3. Purple Line: The Purple Line has been converted from a trolley to a commuter rail, and would provide better service at a much higher cost. The northern section, from Chula Vista to Sorrento Valley, is scheduled to be completed in 2035.
  4. Central Mobility Hub and Airport Connector: SANDAG plans to tie a rail connection to the Airport with the construction of a Central Mobility Hub. SANDAG’s current preferred concept is to locate that Central Mobility north of the Airport, which would require many riders to travel past the airport and double back.
  5. Supporting Programs and Policies: The 2021 Plan includes more supporting policies and programs compared to the 2015 Plan. These include grants and funding for Vision Zero, Climate Action Planning, Zero-Emissions Vehicles, Transportation Demand Management, Land Use and Regional Growth, and Housing.
  6. Commuter Rail: Much of the media attention for the 2021 Plan has focused on its commuter rail proposals. However, only Phase 1 of the Purple Line is scheduled to be completed before 2050. They are also would rely on uncertain and unprecedented road charge funding sources.
Blue Line. Photo source: SANDAG

Introduction

SANDAG’s Regional Plan is a document that outlines the agency’s expectations for funding, building, and operating transportation projects for the next three decades. This summary analysis was undertaken primarily by comparing the list of projects and phasing of the Regional Plan adopted in 2015[1] with the Draft Regional Plan published in May 2021.[2] While it is likely that the final version of the 2021 Regional Plan will differ somewhat from the draft version released in May 2021, the May draft is a statement about SANDAG’s priorities and values, prior to public review.

The list of projects funded by each of the two plans are collected from the “Appendix A” sections of each of those two plans. Additional information came from other parts of the Regional Plans and their appendices. Circulate also consulted with advocates and SANDAG staff. SANDAG staff shared certain additional materials when requested by Circulate.

Direct comparisons between funding amounts in the Regional Plans can be challenging. The 2015 Plan relies primarily on year of expenditure dollars, while also using 2014 dollars. The 2021 Plan uses only 2020 dollars for individual project expenditures. This makes apples-to-apples spending comparisons difficult for individual projects.

Published along with his report is our own “SANDAG Reboot Appendix A”, which is a spreadsheet compiled from information contained in the Appendix A for each of the 2015 and 2021 Plans. It contains information and comparisons regarding funding of project categories, individual projects and costs, phasing, and frequency enhancement phasing. “SANDAG Reboot Appendix B” is a document showing SANDAG’s proposed phasing of transit projects and local bus route frequencies. “SANDAG Reboot Appendix C” is a document showing phased funding for SANDAG’s proposed supporting programs and policies.[3]

Expenditure Overview

The 2021 Plan allocates approximately the same percentage of funding to highways (including managed lanes), transit, and active transportation as the 2015 Plan.[4] From 2021-2035, the 2015 Plan allocates 27.2% of total funding to highways and managed lanes,[5] while the 2021 Plan allocates 25.7% of funding to the same category.[6] For the same period, the transit funding[7] allocation in the 2015 Plan is 46.4%, while the 2021 Plan has 43.1%. The active transportation funding[8] allocation in the 2015 Plan is 2.9%, while the allocation in the 2021 Plan is actually lower at 2.3%.[9]

One major difference between the plans is the funding allocation for programs. From 2021-2035, the 2021 Plan allocates 7.6% of funding to programs, while the 2015 Plan allocated only 2.9% of funding to programs. New programs are explained later in this report.

From 2021-2035, the 2015 Plan allocates 14.3% of funding to local streets and roads, while the 2021 Plan allocates only 9.2%. The 2021 Plan allocates 6.4% of funding to Mobility Hubs, 1.0% of funding to flexible fleets, and 1.1% of funding to airport connectivity during that period. Those categories do not exist in the 2015 Plan.[10]

The 2021 Plan includes more overall funding for the 2021-2035 period than the 2015 Plan. In YOE dollars, for the 2021-2035 period, the 2021 Plan allocates $89.4 billion, while the 2015 Plan allocated $60 billion. For the period 2036-2050, the 2021 Plan allocates $147.2 billion, and the 2015 Plan allocated $128.3 billion.[11]

Revenue Overview

Like the 2015 Plan, the 2021 Plan incorporates a variety of local, state, and federal revenues. In addition, funding for the 2021 plan depends on both an $11.5 billion MTS ballot measure, a $16.3 billion SANDAG ballot measure, and $22 billion in FasTrak revenues based on the buildout of a Managed Lane network.[12] These revenues have their own political challenges, but they are similar qualitatively to revenues projected in the 2015 Plan.

One of the key differences with the 2021 Plan is that it relies on a substantial amount of new revenues from road charges. The 2021 Plan predicts $27.7 billion in revenue from state road use charges, and an additional $27.7 billion from local road use charges.[13] The 2015 Plan assumed that a road use charge would generate $10.7 billion in total revenue, with a base year of 2020.[14] The road use charge was not enacted in 2020. The new plan has pushed off the road use charge by six years, and assumed that it would generate almost six times as much revenue as was predicted in the 2015 Plan.

It is unlikely that SANDAG currently has the legal authority to enact a local road use charge. SANDAG was created by state statute, and is specifically authorized to enact sales taxes to generate revenue for transportation projects.[15] It does not have specific authority to enact any other kind of tax. A local road use charge would likely require statutory authorization from the California legislature.

Road use charges are also particularly divisive. Only 45 percent of respondents to a national survey favored using road charges, with 49 percent favoring green road charges.[16] Respondents concerned about privacy were particularly unlikely to support the tax, which would likely require tracking mileage of drivers.[17]

Many of the most ambitious transit expenditures in the 2021 Plan rely on the road charge to be feasible. This is especially true for the flagship commuter rail projects slated for the final years of the 2021 Plan. There is a significant possibility that this scale of road use charge revenues will not materialize, and SANDAG will be forced to abandon or scale back its flagship projects.

Proposed Expenditures

I. Bus and Rail Upgrades

Frequency is an important and often overlooked facet of a transit system. Higher frequencies allow transit riders to count on transit without needing to schedule their day around what time their bus or train will arrive. In addition, frequency upgrades decrease wait times for transfers, thereby decreasing total travel time.[18] Frequency and overall speed of trips are the highest priorities of local transit riders, above and beyond cost, parking availability, or proximity to stations.[19] Following the stated preferences of actual transit riders, Circulate San Diego has advocated for frequency enhancements to be a priority in SANDAG’s plans.[20]

Before the end of 2025, more than two thirds of all local bus routes are proposed to receive a frequency upgrade.[21] Many of these frequency improvements were scheduled to occur later in the 2015 Plan. In addition, five new local routes will be created. Six of the eleven existing Rapid bus routes will receive frequency upgrades, three new Rapid bus routes will be created, and local bus Route 10 will be converted into a Rapid bus route.[22] In addition, the Coaster will upgrade to 30-minute peak frequencies and 60-minute off peak frequencies, and be extended to the Convention Center.[23]

In the next phase of the plan ending in 2035, an additional ten bus routes will receive capital improvements or frequency upgrades. This is different from the 2015 Plan, which would have created fifteen new Rapid bus lines.[24] More than one quarter of existing local bus routes will receive a frequency upgrade in 2035.[25] All light rail lines will receive capital improvements including some double/third tracking and grade separations. In 2035, all Trolley lines are set to run every 7.5 minutes, whereas most run at only 15-minute frequencies currently. In addition, the Sprinter and the Coaster will receive frequency upgrades. The northern segment of the Purple Line, from National City to Sorrento Mesa, will be completed, and run at 10-minute frequencies.[26]

The 2015 Plan included three streetcar lines and a Blue Line Trolley extension to connect to the Coaster at UTC in 2035. The 2021 Plan instead includes a single streetcar line and a tunnel project to connect the Blue Line Trolley to the Coaster, both phased for 2050. The 2021 Plan includes an automated people mover to connect the Central Mobility Hub to the Airport, and a military ferry between Coronado and San Diego in 2035.[27]

Sprinter Light Rail. Photo source: SANDAG
II. The Managed Lane Network

Little public attention has been paid so far to the 2021 Plan’s proposed use of managed lanes. However, they represent a major shift in thinking by SANDAG. If implemented, they would facilitate a robust freeway-based bus transit system.

Managed lanes are highway lanes reserved for transit and cars that pay a toll. In general, the 2021 Plan shifts away from highway expansions towards managed lanes as compared to the 2015 Plan. Where the 2015 Plan included plans to create managed lanes as additions to the existing highway lanes, the 2021 Plan would create many of those same managed lanes by converting existing general-purpose highway lanes. For instance, the 2015 Plan had much of the I-5 slated to change from eight general purpose lanes to eight or ten general purpose highway lanes, plus two or four managed lanes, depending on the section. The 2021 Plan instead converts much of the I-5 from eight general purpose highway lanes to six general purpose lanes and four managed lanes.[28]

The elimination of new general purpose lanes appears to produce significant cost savings. However, those cost savings drop out with the construction of numerous managed lane connectors that were not contained in the 2015 Plan. The 2021 Plan proposes $7.76 billion (2020 dollars) worth of managed lane connectors, where the 2015 Plan proposed only $897 million (2014 dollars) for the same category. Managed lane connectors join the managed lanes on intersecting freeways or highways. The network of managed lanes is planned to generate toll revenue and allow busses to travel more quickly.[29]

The concept of converting general purpose lanes into a form of managed lane, or into a lane that prioritizes transit is not new.[30] Transit advocacy organizations like Circulate San Diego generally support these ideas. However, general purpose lane conversions have a limited history in the United States, and have the potential to draw substantial public opposition.[31] A massive program to convert general purpose lanes would be unprecedented, and it would certainly be a benefit for transit. It remains unclear how realistic such a proposal can be.

Managed Lanes. Photo source: SANDAG
III. The Purple Line

The Purple Line of the 2021 Plan is significantly more ambitious than the version contained in the 2015 Plan. It would no longer be a new trolley line, but a commuter rail with higher speeds and at a much higher cost.

The 2015 Plan estimated the cost of Phase 1 of the Purple Line at $2.33 billion, and Phase 2 at $0.63 billion in 2014 dollars, while the 2020 Plan estimated Phase 1 of the Purple Line at $12.66 billion for Phase 1 and $2.98 billion for Phase 2 in 2020 dollars. Adjusting for inflation to 2020 dollars, the entire project is estimated at $3.31 billion in the 2015 Plan, and is estimated at $15.64 billion in the 2021 Plan.[32]

This increase in cost is the result of several factors. The new Purple Line will be constructed as a heavy rail project, rather than light rail. Moreover, the Purple Line is planned to be routed through neighborhoods, rather than near existing freeways. [33] This will result in increased land acquisition costs, and likely require tunneling or elevated rail construction.

These expenses will likely result in a significantly more robust transit line than was part of the 2015 Plan. Heavy rail allows higher capacity, faster trains that can result in lower travel times for some riders. Although this will come at the cost of fewer stops, making the service less convenient to as many locations. Overall travel times may be higher for some that require taking a bus, bicycle, or other mode to access one of the fewer transit stations. Moving the transit line away from the highways will allow the new Purple Line to locate its stations closer to where people live and work, resolving some last mile problems. As imagined, SANDAG projects that the new Purple Line would achieve more ridership.

IV. Central Mobility Hub and Airport Connector

The Central Mobility Hub and related Airport Connector are big-ticket items. The Central Mobility Hub is conceptualized as a large building in which transit riders will be able to access micromobility, rideshare, a variety of busses and transit lines, and a connection (Airport Connector) to the San Diego International Airport (Airport).[34] However, the new Central Mobility Hub would not connect to any new rail lines other than the proposed Airport Connector until at least 2050.[35]

The Airport Connector is a proposed people mover that would travel from the Central Mobility Hub to the Airport.[36] The current proposed routing of the Airport Connector would require transit users coming from south of the Airport to travel an additional 1.5 miles north past the airport to the Central Mobility Hub, before doubling back to reach the Airport. This process would add an extra three miles to those trips. This routing would negatively impact most transit riders, who live south of the Airport. Circulate San Diego previously outlined these concerns in a scoping letter for the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Central Mobility Hub,[37] and in a scoping letter for the Environmental Impact Statement for the Navy’s proposed NAVWAR site redevelopment.[38]

The Draft 2021 Plan includes a line item for Central Mobility Hub Land Acquisition at $2.42 billion (2020 dollars). SANDAG represented to Circulate staff that this line item is actually intended to represent all construction costs for the project. With such a budget, there are presumably a variety of locations that SANDAG could choose for the Central Mobility Hub. In addition, a more efficient routing for the Airport Connector would likely reduce its $1.40 billion (2020 dollars) price tag. Of note, the construction cost of the Central Mobility Hub itself is not listed within the 2021 Plan, though conceptual renderings suggest a large price tag.[39] In addition to the Airport Connector, there is $836 million (2020 dollars) for Airport road connectivity phased for 2035.[40] Elsewhere, SANDAG has estimated that the entire cost of a Central Mobility Hub, and it’s associated projects, would cost up to $4.7 billion.[41]

Central Mobility Hub and Airport Connector, Showing Route from South of the Airport. Photo source: Circulate San Diego
V. Supporting Programs and Policies

The 2021 Plan proposes a variety of Supporting Policies and Programs. Each of these programs are detailed in “SANDAG Reboot Appendix C.”[42] By 2035, SANDAG plans to spend $462 million on Land Use and Regional Growth, $2.13 billion on an Affordable Housing Grant Program, $300 million on Climate Action Planning, $1.33 billion on Electric Vehicles and related infrastructure, $108 million on Parking and Curb Management, $287 million on Transportation Demand Management.

Earlier this year, Circulate San Diego organized a coalition to advocate for SANDAG to include funding and a commitment for Vision Zero.[43] SANDAG responded to that request by including $235 million for Vision Zero.

Notably, from the present to 2035, the 2021 Plan contemplates spending almost twice as much on incentives for zero-emission cars as it does on zero emissions buses and infrastructure. In addition, the plan will spend 30 times more on incentives for zero emission cars as it does on e-bike incentives.

Vision Zero Infrastructure. Photo source: SANDAG
VI. Commuter Rail in 2050

Much of the media attention for the 2021 Plan has revolved around its vision of a network of commuter rail. However, it is important to understand that most of these projects are scheduled to be built toward the end of the plan, in 2050. Many future updates to SANDAG’s Regional Plan will occur between 2021 and when these new projects would be funded, designed, and constructed.

The commuter rail network would include a Purple Line rail from the San Ysidro Port of Entry connecting via Mid-City to Sorrento Valley, another line connecting from El Cajon to Old Town via Hillcrest, North Park, and City Heights, and a further line connecting Old Town to San Ysidro via Downtown. The 2021 Plan also proposes Sorrento Mesa and UTC tunnels, and a tram connecting Downtown, Logan Heights, Golden Hill, North Park, and Hillcrest. Of these, only the Purple Line would be even partially completed by 2035.[44]

Changes in population, land use patterns, construction costs, and technologies will undoubtedly necessitate some changes in the commuter rail proposals before construction were to start. Most importantly, these projects are slated to be funded by road use charges that SANDAG currently does not have legal authority to collect. While long-term planning is important, these projects and their funding sources are more speculative than definitive.

Commuter Rail. Photo source: SANDAG

Conclusion

SANDAG’s 2021 Plan will create some immediate and modest improvements to public transit and mobility. When the plan is adopted, existing resources will be spent on frequency improvements to current transit lines as soon as 2025. These improvements will happen faster than was proposed in the 2015 Plan.

By 2035, additional improvements are planned, including bus and rail frequency upgrades, the Purple Line, the Central Mobility Hub, and a network of freeway managed lanes. Even these projects will be subject to change or elimination based on their politics and popularity, and the availability of funding from future ballot measures. Although much of the media attention for the 2021 Plan has focused on the proposed commuter rail network, most of these projects are not scheduled to be completed until 2050.

All in all, SANDAG’s 2021 Regional Plan is an improvement on its 2015 effort. It reflects a welcome change of priorities for the agency and the region. Unfortunately, the plan relies on very large hoped-for revenues from road use charges that do not currently exist. These charges are politically fraught, and SANDAG currently lacks the authority to implement them. By relying so heavily on these revenues, SANDAG risks not being able to deliver what it promises.

Acknowledgments

Jesse O'Sullivan
Primary Author Jesse O’Sullivan Policy Counsel, Circulate San Diego

Jesse is policy counsel for Circulate San Diego, where he researches and advocates for land use and transportation policy solutions for a more affordable and sustainable San Diego.

Prior to working at Circulate, Jesse practiced law for over a year as a litigator on a variety of matters. He also externed for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and for the Honorable Gonzalo P. Curiel for the Southern District of California. He graduated from the University of San Diego with a Bachelor's degree in sociology, and earned his Juris Doctor at the University of San Diego School of Law. During law school, Jesse was a member of the San Diego Law Review and his comment, Increasing the Effectiveness of California's Density Bonus Law, was published in The Real Estate Law Journal.

Colin Parent
Editor & Co-Author Colin Parent Executive Director and General Counsel, Circulate San Diego

Colin Parent is Executive Director and General Counsel at Circulate San Diego. He has authored a number of reports and academic publications detailing how local land use and transportation policy can be improved to advance equity, promote economic development, and to address climate change.

Colin served on the Jerry Brown for Governor 2010 campaign, and was appointed by Governor Brown as the Director of External Affairs for the California Department of Housing and Community Development. Prior to working for Governor Brown, Colin practiced law for three years as a commercial litigator at DLA Piper US LLP. During 2013- 2014, Colin served as the Director of Policy at the San Diego Housing Commission. He is also an elected member of the City Council of La Mesa, California.

Special Thanks

A special thank you goes to Hunter Collins, Circulate’s legal intern, who conducted research and helped to create the dataset on which this report is based. Thanks to our working group, which helped guide the direction of the report. Working group members include:

  • Matt Stucky
  • Clint Daniels
  • Noah Harris
  • Jacob Mandel
  • Randy Torres-Van Vleck

Thanks to Morgen Ruby for designing this report

Endnotes

[1] SANDAG, Regional Plan (October 9, 2015), available at https://sdforward.com/2019-federal-rtp/2015-regional-plan, last visited September 1, 2021. An archive of Appendix A from this document is also available at https://www.circualtesd.org/sandagreboot [2] SANDAG, Draft 2021 Regional Plan (May 2021), available at https://sdforward.com/mobility-planning/2021-regional-plan-draft, last visited September 1, 2021. An archive of Appendix A from this document is also available at https://www.circualtesd.org/sandagreboot [3] SANDAG Reboot Appendices A, B, and C are available as electronic appendices to this report, located at https://www.circualtesd.org/sandagreboot [4] The comparison between 2021 funding percentages and 2015 funding percentages uses 2020 dollars for the 2021 Plan and YOE dollars for the 2015 plan, resulting in an imperfect comparison. Base year dollars are preferable to YOE dollars because YOE dollars weight the comparison towards spending that occurs later on in the plan. Base year dollars are unavailable in the 2015 Plan. More detailed explanation of the differences between funding in the 2015 Plan and the 2021 Plan were presented to the SANDAG board in March. https://sdforward.com/docs/default-source/2021-regional-plan/meetingid_5673_28837_item8b_31221-2.pdf; https://sandag.org/uploads/meetingid/meetingid_5673_28850.pdf [5] This category includes managed lanes, active transportation demand management/smart intersection systems (ATDM/SIS), managed lane connectors, freeway connectors, direct access ramps, rural corridors, operations and maintenance, and highway lanes. [6] The 2015 Plan phases funding from 2014-2020, 2021-2035, and 2036-2050. The 2021 Plan phases funding from 2021-2025, 2026-2035, and 2036-2050. By ignoring 2015 Plan funding from 2014-2020, and adding 2021 Plan funding from 2021-2025 to the funding from 2026-2035, this report draws a direct comparison between funding in the 2015 plan allocated for the period of 2021-2035 and the period 2036-2050. See SANDAG Reboot Appendix A, sheet “Phased Funding Direct Comparison.” [7] This includes capital, operations, transit fare subsidies, vehicles, and California high speed rail (in the 2015 Plan between 2036 and 2050, no such funding exists in the 2021 Plan). [8] This category includes local bicycle projects and the adopted regional bicycle network in the 2021 Plan. The 2015 Plan does not make this distinction and lists “active transportation program.” [9] SANDAG Reboot Appendix A, sheet “Phased Funding Direct Comparisons.” [10] Id. [11] 2021 Plan, Appendix U, p.14–15. [12] Id. Year of Expenditure dollars. [13] 2021 Draft Regional Plan, Appendix V: Funding and Revenue, p. 27, available at https://sdforward.com/docs/default-source/2021-regional-plan/appendix-v---funding-and-revenues.pdf?sfvrsn=9744fd65_2. $17.2 billion in 2020 dollars, $27.7 billion in year of expenditure dollars. Citation is to a full chart of planned revenue sources for the Regional Plan. [14] 2015 Regional Plan, Appendix O: Transportation Financial Background, p. 6–7, available at https://www.sdforward.com/pdfs/Final_PDFs/AppendixO.pdf [15] Cal. Pub. Util. Code § 132300 et seq. [16] Asha Weinstein Agrawal and Hilary Nixon, “What do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options to Support Transportation? Results from Year Eleven of a National Survey”, Mineta Transportation Institute (June 2020), available at https://transweb.sjsu.edu/sites/default/files/2007-RB-Agrawal-Public-Opinion-Federal-Tax-Options-Transportation.pdf [17] Id. [18] See Jarrett Walker, “The Transit Ridership Recipe”, available at https://humantransit.org/basics/the-transit-ridership-recipe#frequency, last visited September 1, 2021. [19] Metropolitan Transit System, Community Survey, (December 8, 2016) page 301, available at https://www.sdmts.com/sites/default/files/2016-12-08_board.pdf [20] Maya Rosas, “San Diego Forward: The 2021 Regional Plan’s Five Big Moves”, Circulate San Diego (July 11, 2019), available at https://www.circulatesd.org/letter_san_diego_forward_the_2021_regional_plan_s_five_big_moves [21] SANDAG Reboot Appendix B p. 1–5; SANDAG Reboot Appendix A sheet “Frequencies and Spans.” SANDAG identifies 119 existing local bus routes, 84 of which are slated to get frequency upgrades in 2025. [22] The 2021 Plan includes phasing for both “light” and “full” versions of some Rapid routes. SANDAG staff represented to Circulate that the “light” version of rapid includes increased frequencies and stop placements at farther distances as compared to local bus routes. “Full” versions of Rapid will include as-yet undetermined project-specific upgrades that may include transit lanes, median construction, grade separation, signal priority, and a branded package of upgraded shelters and smart signs. [23] Id. [24] SANDAG Reboot Appendix B p. 6–8; SANDAG Reboot Appendix A sheet “Project List.” Seven of the Rapid bus lines in the 2015 Plan were eliminated, and replaced by different Rapid lines in the 2021 Plan. [25] SANDAG Reboot Appendix B p. 6­–10; SANDAG Reboot Appendix A sheet “Frequencies and Spans.” 36 bus routes are slated to get frequency upgrades in 2035, out of 123 local bus routes existing as of 2025. Some of the 36 bus routes are also scheduled to receive frequency upgrades in 2025. [26] SANDAG Reboot Appendix B, p. 6–9; SANDAG Reboot Appendix A sheet “Frequencies and Spans.” The Purple Line is designated “Commuter Rail 582” in the 2021 Plan. In the 2015 Plan, the Purple Line was designated “Trolley 562.” [27] SANDAG Reboot Appendix B, p. 6–8; SANDAG Reboot Appendix A sheet “Project List.” [28] SANDAG Reboot Appendix A, sheet “Project List.” [29] SANDAG Reboot Appendix A, sheet “Phased Funding Direct Comparison”; “Complete Corridors” San Diego Forward (accessed Aug. 26, 2021), https://sdforward.com/planning/completecorridors [30] Jeff Hobson and Joseph Kott, Innovation Required: Moving More People with Less Traffic, TransForm California (2013), available at https://www.transformca.org/resource/innovation-required-moving-more-people-less-traffic [31] Juan M. Matute and Stephanie S. Pincetl, Unraveling Ties to Petroleum: How Policy Drives California's Demand for Oil, Next 10 (June 20, 2013), pages 153-154, available at https://www.next10.org/sites/default/files/2019-07/Unraveling-Ties-to-Petroleum.pdf [32] Inflation calculation performed using the CPI Inflation Calculator provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, available at https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm. Calculations performed comparing January of 2014 to January of 2020. [33] Proposed routing of the newly redesigned Purple Line can be seen in SANDAG’s data viewer, available at https://sandag.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=897af882e8c14b1e996c33e48bc15347 [34] A conceptual rendering of the Central Mobility Hub is available on SANDAG’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7qh0aEpoFU. More information on mobility hub features are available in the Mobility Hub Features Catalog, available at https://www.sdforward.com/fwddoc/mobipdfs/mobilityhubcatalog-features.pdf [35] SANDAG Reboot Appendix A, sheet “Project List.” [36] “Notice of Preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report”, SANDAG (Apr. 21, 2021), available at https://www.sandag.org/uploads/projectid/projectid_612_29013.pdf [37] Colin Parent, “Letter: Central Mobility Hub Draft EIR – Analyzing for Airline Passengers and Airport Workers”, Circulate San Diego (May 28, 2021), available at https://www.circulatesd.org/letter_central_mobility_hub_draft_eir_analyzing_for_airline_passenger_and_airport_workers [38] Jesse O’Sullivan, “NAVWAR Site Redevelopment EIS” Circulate San Diego (July 8, 2021), available at https://www.circulatesd.org/letter_navwar_site_redevelopment_eis [39] A conceptual rendering of the Central Mobility Hub is available on SANDAG’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7qh0aEpoFU [40] SANDAG Reboot Appendix A, sheet “Project List.” [41] SANDAG, Airport Connectivity Subcommittee, September 25, 2019, page 65, available at https://www.sandag.org/uploads/meetingid/meetingid_5268_26543.pdf [42] SANDAG Reboot Appendix C is available as an electronic appendix to this report, located at https://www.circualtesd.org/sandagreboot [43] Colin Parent et. al., “Letter: SANDAG Adoption of Vision Zero”, Circulate San Diego et. al. (April 5, 2021), https://www.circulatesd.org/coalition_letter_sandag_adoption_of_vision_zero [44] SANDAG Reboot Appendix A, sheet “Project List.” These projects are designated Commuter Rail 581, Commuter Rail 582, Commuter Rail 583, and Commuter Rail 398.