January 21, 2010

Board of Directors
Bay Area Rapid Transit District
300 Lakeside Drive
Oakland CA 94604-2688

BART Boardmembers,

As I know you are aware, the Federal Transit Administration has found BART out of
compliance with Title VI Civil Rights requirements in the planning of the Oakland
Airport Connector. In doing so, they have concurred with the complaint filed by
Public Advocates on behalf of TransForm, Urban Habitat and Genesis.

The tone of the FTA letter is striking in its strong language, an indication that this is
not just a bureaucratic technicality, but that significant work, work that BART staff
assured MTC and the public was done, was never completed. Further, the FTA has
rejected a rushed analysis thrown together by BART staff. Despite BART's public
statements, I assume that the General Manager has informed you of the severity of
this issue.

During the upcoming January 27th MTC discussion on whether or not to shift $70
million in ARRA stimulus funding from the OAC project to funds that can be used for
system preservation and operations, we want to make sure that you are aware that
BART's share of preservation funding would cover much of your recently announced
budget deficit. This action would literally keep the District from needing to cut most
of the 74 jobs you will be asked to cut on January 28th.

Moving forward, FTA is requiring BART to complete the analysis of the OAC project
and its alternatives. Analysis that TransForm, the Oakland City Council and
community groups have been requesting for months. This analysis, if done, will
allow the Board and the public to make wise decisions as to how to move forward
with this project.

While BART has publicly stated that your staff can complete this by March 5th, this
stands in contrast to previous statements by General Manager Dugger, Project
Manager Dunscombe and MTC Executive Director Heminger, to both your board and
MTC commissioners, that this type of analysis cannot reasonably be completed in 6-
8 weeks, as TransForm and community partners proposed last spring. The FTA's
response to the rushed analysis submitted by BART staff last Thursday bears this
point out.

436 14TH STREET, SUITE 600, OAKLAND, CA 94612 | T: 510.740.3150 |

WWW.TRANSFORMCA.ORG
Further, it would not be credible to have BART staff rehire the same OAC
consultants who were paid thousands of dollars to “debunk” TransForm’s
RapidBART proposal. This process needs openness and objectivity, not more slanted
"analysis" that is put together to prove a preconceived idea. It is therefore
imperative that BART create a public committee that includes Boardmembers,
advocates and outside agency personnel not connected to the OAC project to
oversee the analysis that the FTA is requiring your agency to produce.

The silver-lining to this problem is that a measured, rational analysis will help both
the Board and the community garner a clear understanding of the pros and cons of
the OAC and its alternatives. At that point, funding for this project can be sought,
knowing that an appropriate analysis of the project has been completed and the
appropriate project is moving forward.

We look forward to working with the Board and the FTA in helping to make sure that
the Bay Area community receives the open, independent analysis that it deserves
from our world-class transit system provider. We hope that this is the beginning of a
more open and public process in planning for BART's infrastructure needs.

Thank you for your continued attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

John Knox White

Program Director