TRANSPORTATION

The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties. MPOs are charged to ensure a "continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process that results in plans and programs that consider all transportation modes and supports metropolitan community development . . ." This is known as the "3-C Process." As the MPO, AMBAG is responsible for metropolitan transportation and mobile source air quality planning for the three-county region. AMBAG facilitates and coordinates the programming and budgeting of all transportation planning and projects to meet identified transportation needs while meeting collective air quality limitations set forth for transportation facilities.

The Monterey Bay region is the only area in the State of California where the responsibility for transportation planning is shared between the following: a Council of Governments (AMBAG), Regional Transportation Planning Agencies which operate at a county level, the local transit operators, and the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). AMBAG also works closely with the region's air quality planning and monitoring agency, the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) and the local jurisdictions within the region.

AMBAG's Primary Transportation Responsibilities

Overall Work Program

AMBAG annually develops a cumulative summary of transportation and air quality planning activity in the Monterey Bay region. This document is a coordinated statement of the transportation and air quality planning process among the region's partners. It includes budgets and descriptions of specific work activities. A copy may be requested through info@ambag.org. A mailing and reimbursement charge for copying will be assessed.

Metropolitan Transportation Plan

AMBAG triennially prepares a 20+year, long-range planning document for the region. The Metropolitan Transportation Plan establishes general goals, policies and strategies governing the conduct of a 3-C planning process in the region. In general, the plan is a multimodal, financially constrained transportation plan, which expresses the current state of system planning for the region. It provides the basis for a coordinated delivery of transportation facilities and public transportation services within the region. AMBAG builds a travel demand model to assess quality impacts of planed transportation projects; after developing the long-range plan, AMBAG assesses whether the plan meets the air quality emissions budget for the region. If the plan is found to meet the air quality budget, it is then deemed conforming. A copy of the 2005 Monterey Bay Region Metropolitan Transportation Plan is available through AMBAG, order from info@ambag.org for $25.00.

You may find this report under AMBAG online publications (Monterey Bay Metropolitan Transportation Plan)

Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP):
FFY 2008-09 to FFY 2011/12

Biennially, AMBAG prepares a Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP). The MTIP FFY 2008-09 to FFY 2011/12 is the region’s short range transportation programming document that contains transportation improvement projects including public mass transit, highway, local road, bicycle and pedestrian projects proposed for funding based on anticipated available federal, state and local funding over the next four years (FFY 2008-09 to 2011-2012), that will receive federal funds or are subject to a federally required action or are regionally significant. The MTIP must be financially constrained by year, and must be updated at least every four years. The Monterey Bay MTIP FFY 2008-09 was developed to be consistent with AMBAG’s 2005 Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) for the tri-county (Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties) Metropolitan Planning Region.
The AMBAG Board of Directors adopted the Monterey Bay Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MITP) FFY 2008/09 to FFY 2011/12 at their June 11, 2008 meeting and forwarded for the State and Federal approval. The MTIP FFY 2008/09 to FFY 2011/12 was jointly approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)/Federal Transit Administration (FTA) on November 17, 2008.

To view/download complete MTIP document please use following web link (all in PDF format). http://www.ambag.org/publications/reports/MTIP.html

Please contact Bhupendra Patel at (831) 883-3750 or bpatel@ambag.org with questions regarding the MTIP.

Metropolitan Transit Planning

In the Monterey Bay region, AMBAG oversees metropolitan transit planning requirements and federal regulations. AMBAG may fund, and/or assist in, the development of special transit studies. AMBAG also incorporates transit operations, projects and studies into the long-range transportation plan and the short-range transportation improvement program for the region.

Commute Alternatives Program

Commute Alternatives, the rideshare program of Monterey County, promotes the use of sustainable transportation options as a daily commute choice. The program assists individuals who live or work in Monterey County in finding an alternative to driving alone. Commute Alternatives also partners with employers to help them develop and implement alternative commute programs for their employees. Employees and students of participating organizations are eligible for the incentive programs offered to individuals who use sustainable transportation modes. Commute Alternatives provides information on carpooling, vanpooling, public transit, bicycling, walking, telecommuting, alternative work schedules, park and ride lots, commuter tax incentives, and the Emergency Guaranteed Ride Home Program. For more information on Commute Alternatives visit the program website or call Sasha Tepedelenova at (831) 883-3750.