Speaker Highlights - Visionary Panel
Sergio Lopez
Chair of VTA/ Mayor of Campbell
VTA has seen stronger post-pandemic rider recovery driven by youth
and weekend events–transit has shifted from serving office workers to service workers. The focus moving forward is getting the SB 63 ballot measure across the finish line by clearly telling the story of how strong transit supports affordability and quality of life.
Clarrissa Cabansagan
Executive Director, Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Santa Clara County is one of the most unaffordable counties in
the nation, with significant income and health disparities for Black and Brown communities. Transit alone is not enough—combining transit with e-bikes and e-scooters allows real competition with cars. A successful system must support people throughout their entire life cycle, from childhood through older age.
Sheri Burns
Executive Director, Silicon Valley Independent Living Center
Accessibility improvements must be ongoing. ADA compliance is a process, not a one-time fix, and includes ramps, signage, curb cuts, and strong paratransit service. Potential improvements from the ballot measure include a Bay Pass for paratransit, a permanent Mobility Assistance Program (MAP), uncoupling paratransit from fixed-route transit, and eliminating same-day surge charges.
Padma Balaji
Co-Chair, Bay Area Youth Climate Summit
Regional transit works well for trips to San Francisco, but not for everyday needs like grocery shopping. Living car-free in the suburbs exposes these gaps. Youth experience these challenges daily—40% of high school students cannot drive. Youths’ lived experience is a form of expertise, which is why they should also be centered in decision-making.
Keynote Q&A with Senator Dave Cortese
Early Transit Access
Senator Cortese shared how receiving a bus pass as a child shaped his lifelong relationship with transit.
Farebox recovery
Farebox recovery is not a meaningful metric—at VTA it represents only 10–12% of revenue, and alternative funding sources are available.
On High-Speed Rail
As Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, he emphasized the economic significance of High-Speed Rail as one of the largest infrastructure projects in North and South America.
SB 63
While concerns existed with the bill’s predecessor, amendments to SB 63 addressed Santa Clara County’s needs, leading to full support for the measure.
Speaker Highlights - Shared Successes
Sara Barz
Sara Barz
Sara Barz
Transportation Product Manager, Apple / SeamlessCA Co-Founder
The Clipper Bay Pass is a powerful near-term solution. When people get access to transit passes, they ride more. Increased transit use also leads to better health outcomes through more walking. COVID weakened the link between transit revenue and fare payments, creating new opportunities to fund transit differently.
Pat burt
Sara Barz
Sara Barz
Palo Alto City Councilmember / MTC Commissioner
Ridership grows when transit passes are put directly into people’s hands. In Palo Alto, requiring transit passes as mitigation for Stanford Hospital and University expansions led to increased boardings and improved employee recruitment. Caltrain electrification generated excitement among riders—momentum that should be fully leveraged.
Daniela Castañeda
Daniela Castañeda
Daniela Castañeda
Emerging Mobility Community Engagement Lead, City of San Jose
San José is launching a mobility wallet pilot starting March 1, distributing 500 mobility cards usable across transit and shared mobility options, including VTA, Bay Wheels, Zipcar, and Uber. Fifty cards are reserved for domestic violence survivors. The focus: improving quality of life in East San José.
Raj Singh
Daniela Castañeda
Daniela Castañeda
President and Business Agent, ATU Local 265
Operator health and safety are essential. Transit workers spend long hours seated with repetitive motion, making wellness supports critical. Safety measures for riders and operators, on-board code-of-conduct enforcement, and strong communication help maintain trust. Smart passes have been highly successful, growing ridership among students and seniors and VTA increased service frequency to meet demand–that’s how it should work.
Raashi Sachdeva
Raashi Sachdeva
Raashi Sachdeva
Safe Routes to School Representative, Cupertino High School
Youth-focused programs work. Initiatives like “Don’t Drive for Donuts” and “Dr. Bike” successfully motivate students by meeting them where they are. Raashi got two $10,000 grants, the latest will expand free bike repair programs to more high schools beyond Cupertino. Teenagers are motivated by incentives, and youth engagement drives long-term mode shifts.
Raashi Sachdeva
Raashi Sachdeva
Left to right: Raj Singh, Daniela Castañeda, Sara Barz, Pat Burt, Raashi Sachdeva, Cherie Barnett
Discussion Activity Highlights
We invited participants to visualize a future where the South Bay has become a national model for sustainable and healthy transportation by 2040. They were asked to consider this question from the perspective of different community members, such as bus/train drivers, commuters, families, students, seniors, and more. See below for key takeaways from each of the discussion questions.
A heartfelt thank you to our sponsor
Thank you to our participating partners
Organized by Move Bay Area
Move Bay Area brings climate, health and transportation leaders with community in-person to discover commonality and regional solutions to our transportation challenges with the goal of building a regional transportation vision together.
