Editor’s note: This story has been updated with response from the Regional Transit District.
Warning of a “transit disaster,” the city managers of San Joaquin County’s eight incorporated cities are urging the Regional Transit District to reconsider plans to expand intercity service.
In a letter to RTD CEO Alex Clifford, the city managers say a proposed expansion will cost millions of additional dollars in taxpayer money at a time when ridership levels have not recovered from COVID-19 pandemic lows.
“We are dismayed to learn that RTD wants to expand its intercity transit routes and wants (not needs) even more than the millions they have received,” they wrote in the July 22 letter.
Those signing the letter include Stockton Interim City Manager Steve Colangelo. City managers and administrators from Tracy, Lathrop, Manteca, Ripon, Lodi, Escalon and Mountain House also signed the missive.
They are asking that RTD staff work with them to devise intercity transportation that is cost-effective for all residents of San Joaquin County.
Reached for comment, the RTD says its officials were surprised by the request because service changes have been discussed in committees. All the cities had an opportunity to attend and comment.
“However, in the spirit of transparency, RTD will provide the city managers with a forum at a future date so our partners can express their city transit needs and to learn more about RTD’s transit planning process,” said Maximilian Cao, supervisor of Marketing and Customer Engagement.
The city managers say that in 2019, several cities joined together to craft a financially responsible plan to provide intercity bus service. The deal was drafted in such a way that no transit operator would be unduly burdened, and Lodi, Manteca and Tracy would receive federal funding to make the project happen.
But the plan has since fallen apart.
“What was a collaborative and innovative proposal has now given way to unneeded sniping between our cities and RTD,” the letter states. Unless the transportation agency is willing to work with the cities on a better plan to connect San Joaquin County cities, there could be a “transit disaster.”
In the meantime, the city managers are demanding to see detailed route and ridership data from RTD for their own analyses, questioning whether the expansions are “necessary, efficient or even lawful.” The request includes operating costs, operating cost per passenger and revenue service hours.
Cao said the district is treating the letter as a public information request and will respond with the details requested by the city managers.
The city managers say their goal is to make sure residents are getting the most service for the dollar.
“No one, including the residents of San Joaquin County and the partner agencies with our region, wants to see a bus transit system that wastes even a single penny of federal, state or local taxpayer money,” the managers said in their letter.
RTD already provides intracity service. For instance, Line 90 connects Stockton to Lathrop and Tracy. Line 91 provides service between Stockton, Manteca and Ripon. Line 93 goes to Lodi. RTD’s most recent service adjustments went into effect last weekend.