Outreach Pilot Maps Paratransit Gaps as Transit Tax Vote Nears
Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC) • Contra Costa Transportation AuthorityJuly 20, 2026
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Contra Costa’s older adults and riders with disabilities want same-day rides, one number to call and simpler eligibility rules. Those findings come from a three-month outreach pilot that heard from 310 residents and was presented to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority’s Accessibility Advisory Committee on July 20, 2026. The report set off a frank debate over a paratransit system carrying rising demand on flat funding, ahead of a Nov. 3 regional sales tax vote and the coming Measure J renewal.
- Outreach pilot reaches 310 residents and recommends same-day booking, a human-staffed information line and simpler eligibility.
- Tri Delta paratransit trips rose from 125,000 to 190,000 without new county or state money, sparking debate over who fills service gaps.
- SB 63 regional transit tax heads to the Nov. 3 ballot, with 19.2% of Contra Costa proceeds returning to CCTA.
- Senior Mobility Action Council seeks closer ties with the committee under California’s Master Plan for Aging.
What 310 Riders Told CCTA
The basics: CCTA’s new Office of Accessibility and Equity hired Next Steps Marketing to run weekly outreach for three months. Paratransit is door-to-door service for people who cannot use fixed-route buses and trains.
Where things stand: Staff member Halima and the Next Steps team of Thea Selby, Harlow Pippenger and Joshua Saunders reported contacting more than 140 partner organizations. The team attended 17 events, heard from 310 community members, collected 92 surveys and gathered more than 60 email sign-ups.
Survey respondents reported moderate satisfaction with current service. Almost two-thirds said they want a single phone number or website for trip information, and about 34% rely on family, friends or rideshare to get around. Selby, principal at Next Steps Marketing, said same-day booking was the most frequently cited unmet need.
Recurring themes included older adults who don’t yet use available services, car culture and the independence it represents, paratransit reliability and notification problems, eligibility barriers, gaps in public transit and fears about safety.
Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The team made six recommendations: on-demand and same-day options, a single human-staffed information source, simpler eligibility and renewal, more one-seat rides, accessible parking at ferry and BART stations, and prioritized travel training. Halima said outreach will continue monthly. The committee took no action because the item was informational.
The other side: Members questioned how the pilot was designed. Drennen Shelton, a nonvoting committee member representing MTC, said, “One thing I was really surprised to see, though, is that the transit agencies weren’t involved in the outreach.”
Committee Chair Jean Clark cautioned against acting on the one-seat-ride recommendation without firmer numbers. “We need to get more actual, now quantitative, not qualitative, but more quantitative data,” said Chair Clark.
Committee Member Bryan Harris asked for data on rideshare use and praised the QR-code survey. “It’s simple, it’s clean, it’s efficient,” said Harris. He also pushed for annual or twice-yearly surveys as baby boomers age.
Other suggestions came from around the table. Karen Mitchoff, a nonvoting member, pointed staff to the county’s Office of Veterans Services. Committee Member Debbie Toth asked whether volunteers could help with outreach. Members also flagged a typo and a map error in the materials.
What’s next: Staff plans to share outreach data with transit operators and fold the findings into planning for the Measure J renewal.
‘Nobody at This Table Is a Villain’
Why it matters: The outreach findings exposed a structural tension. Riders want more from paratransit, but operators say they are already stretched past their funding.
Where things stand: Committee Member Rashidi Barnes of Tri Delta Transit pushed back on any framing that undersells existing service. “Tri-Delta in 2018 provided 125,000 paratransit trips. In FY26, we did 190,000,” said Barnes. “We didn’t get another dime from the county. We didn’t get another dime from the state.”
Barnes also said ride-hailing is no easy fallback in East County. He cited drug-testing requirements for transportation network companies and the lack of wheelchair-accessible Lyft and Uber vehicles there.
Selby responded that the cost of paratransit trips far outweighs fare revenue and that something has to give. Vice Chair Sarah Birdwell said the point was not criticism of operators: “paratransit doesn’t work for everyone.”
The other side: Toth explained the legal bind. The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates paratransit and caps fares at twice the fixed-route fare, but provides no money for it. “It is not a funded act,” said Toth. She closed with a plea to lower the temperature: “Nobody at this table is a villain.”
Halima pointed to Alameda County, which sets aside 10% of its transportation sales tax for seniors and people with disabilities. “The demand is going up, the resources have not changed,” she said.
What’s next: Barnes urged members to press CCTA to include accessible-service spending in the Measure J renewal expenditure plan. That plan is the clearest venue for turning this debate into dollars.
Regional Transit Tax Heads to Voters
The basics: SB 63, the Connect Bay Area Act, places a 14-year sales tax on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The rate would be 0.5%, or 1% in San Francisco, with total revenue estimated at about $980 million.
Where things stand: Lindy Johnson, CCTA’s director of external affairs, walked through Contra Costa’s shares:
- 58.59% to BART
- 11.41% to small bus operators WestCAT, County Connection and Tri Delta
- 3.7% to AC Transit
- 1.09% to Muni
- 0.76% to WETA
- 19.2% returned to CCTA
MTC programs for fares, accessibility and wayfinding also receive funding.
CCTA staff recommended splitting the return-to-source money 60/40. The larger share would go to “fast, reliable and connected” service and the smaller share to “safer, easier and more convenient” travel, including carrying out the Accessible Transportation Strategic Plan. The CCTA board adopted that framework in July.
The other side: The small-operator split is based on an equal mix of passenger miles and vehicle revenue miles. Barnes said Tri Delta faces a $3.2M loss of BART bus-feeder funds.
Toth urged advocates to educate voters and warned of ripple effects on paratransit if the measure fails. Mitchoff explained the math of passage: “It has to pass 50% of the total counties, and that’s why San Francisco is so important.” The artifact summary describes this as a majority of the combined vote across counties.
Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The committee took no action. When Harris asked about marketing, Johnson drew a legal line: “As a public agency, all we can do is educate and inform.” Advocacy will therefore fall to outside groups and individual members. East and West County riders who depend on feeder buses and paratransit have the most at stake.
What’s next: Voters decide on Nov. 3, 2026.
Senior Advocates Pitch a Joint Agenda
Why it matters: California’s Master Plan for Aging assigns CCTA specific transportation actions. Coordinating the committee with senior advocates could prevent duplicate efforts and strengthen funding arguments.
Where things stand: Halima described how CCTA coordinates with the Area Agency on Aging, the Commission on Aging and the Senior Mobility Action Council, known as SMAC.
Jim Donnelly, SMAC co-chair and board president of Mobility Matters, described the county’s 39-member Advisory Council on Aging. That council is funded through the Older Americans Act and supported by Measure X. He also reviewed SMAC’s record: its 2014 mission statement, white papers on Measures J and X, conferences, and transit surveys in 2023 and 2024.
Donnelly drew a sharp distinction between the two bodies. “What we bring that is different from you is we are advocates,” said Donnelly. He said SMAC is less constrained than an advisory body and wants more transit providers at its table.
Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Toth called the alignment historic and noted that disability voices were included in the Master Plan. She pressed for better data: “There is a GIS division in the county that should be mapping our senior and disabled population in the county.” Mapping those populations against transit routes could support paratransit funding requests.
What’s next: Toth advised watching the state Department of Aging’s second-year priorities. Harris, who also co-chairs SMAC, invited members to speak at SMAC meetings.
- Consent calendar approved: The June 15, 2026, summary of actions passed on a roll call (For: 12, Against: 0, Abstain: 2 [Mallory Nestor-Brush, Sarah Birdwell], Absent: 1 [Rob Thompson, with alternate Donecia McKinley voting]). The chair announced one abstention, and the votes of Chalo Buckman and Davis Okonkwo were not clearly recorded.
- Travel training becomes Transit Ready: The curriculum was cut from 12 to five modules, and the program launches Sept. 30 at San Pablo City Hall. Older-adult focus groups are set for the Richmond Annex Senior Center on July 30 and the Pinole Senior Center in August.
- East Bay Paratransit eyes Santa Clara links: Committee Member Kevin McDonald reported two MTC-funded pilots with Santa Clara VTA. “We do hope to launch a pilot of some scope within this fiscal year,” said McDonald. Contra Costa seats on the East Bay Paratransit Access Committee are open, with its next meeting Sept. 1.
- OptiMAT testing timeline set: The federal SMART grant tool will be tested with agency staff in August and with older adults and riders with disabilities in October. Halima said of the current name, “It is a horrible name.”
Looking ahead: The BART Accessibility Task Force meets July 23, and Transit Ready launches Sept. 30. The committee’s next regular meeting is in October 2026, ahead of the Nov. 3 SB 63 vote.