Supporters
Legislators:
Former State Senator Don Perata (6/8/09 letter to MTC):
“As the author of SB 916 – which placed regional Measure 2 on the ballot-, I must oppose the Oakland 
Airport Connector project. In short, the proposal is too much money for too little transit and economic value.
“While the connector was included in the menu of RM2 transportation projects, that election was in 2004. The world has since changed dramatically. And so has the project. In 2003 when the project was proposed, only $30M was needed to complete funding for the $230M connector. In fact, we told the voters (in the ballot pamphlet) that this was “the final portion of funds needed for direct BART service” to the airport. Project costs have now increased by over $300M and the RM2 dollars needed have quadrupled. Even more damning, the ridership predicted in 2003 has fallen substantially from 13,540 to fewer than 4500 by 2020. This fails any cost-benefit analysis on its face.”
Oakland City Council Member Rebecca Kaplan
Labor:
Alameda Labor Council
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1555 (BART)
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192 (AC Transit)
Service Employees International Union 1021
Advocacy Organizations:
Alameda Transit Advocates
Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN)
Bay Localize
Berkeley Gray Panthers
BOSS
Berkeley Center for Independent Living
East Bay Young Democrats (6/24/09 letter to MTC):
“As young people, we support the idea of improving public transit access to the Oakland Airport, but the current project is not the way to do it. The OAC’s costs have ballooned from the voter-approved $130 million in 2000 to $522 million today. BART plans to charge riders up to $12 round trip (in addition to the price of a rider’s BART ticket) for a slow, three mile journey. We are concerned that young people and others will not be able to afford this fare, which is double the price of the current AirBART bus.”
Genesis
LIFETIME
PLAN
Public Advocates
Sierra Club Northern Alameda County Chapter
St. Mary’s Center
TransForm
United Seniors of Oakland and Alameda County
At a time when AC Transit, Muni, and BART are all so broke they are talking about raising fares and cutting service to pay their bills, BART wants to build an extension to the Oakland Airport so expensive to construct that it will cost $12 on top of BART fare to get to the airport. This extension would further divide up East Oakland, without providing residents with transportation (it would only stop at BART and the Airport) or long term jobs.
A better, lower cost alternative exists! – Bus Rapid Transit- that will have greater long term benefits for BART riders, East Oakland residents, and workers who need permanent jobs. Don’t let MTC favor the white-collar jet-set over low-income families and others who use transit every day by blowing our money on a wasteful project.
West Oakland Youth Standing Empowered (WYSE)
Webster Tract Neighborhood Association
Press:
Oakland Tribune – Editorial: It’s time for BART to rethink the Oakland Airport Connector (5/14/09):
In an ideal world, it would be great to have a fancy rail system to move passengers from their flights to BART. It would be great to mirror the service across the Bay at SFO. But the San Francisco Airport carries 64 percent of the region’s air passengers, while Oakland serves just 20 percent.
So, even though BART has some federal stimulus money to help pay for the light-rail system, spending it to build a money-losing entity that will create more operating debt for the district in the future makes little sense. The stimulus money could probably be better spent on other Bay Area transportation projects.
Meanwhile, BART has a much cheaper alternative — improved bus service — to shuttle passengers from the Coliseum station to the airport terminal. It’s time to put the brakes on the light-rail plan and look at other solutions.
21st Century Urban Solutions
A Better Oakland
Fragmentary Evidence
Future Oakland
Living in the O
Stop, Drop and Roll