Roadmap Toward Transit Recovery and an Affordable, Connected, Diverse, Healthy and Vibrant Region for All

SAN FRANCISCO, March 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) today adopted Plan Bay Area 2050+ and certified the plan's associated Environmental Impact Report — giving final approval to the Bay Area's long-range plan for transportation, housing, economic resiliency and environmental sustainability.

Plan Bay Area 2050+ was adopted unanimously by the Association of Bay Area Governments' (ABAG) Executive Board last week. The votes by both boards cap a nearly three-year process during which over 17,600 Bay Area residents, community organizations, advocacy groups and public sector partners contributed to the development of the new plan, which MTC and ABAG are required to develop jointly.

Defined by 35 strategies for transportation, housing, the economy and the environment, Plan Bay Area 2050+ lays out a suite of policies and investments that define what it would take to make the nine-county region more affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and economically vibrant for all residents through 2050 and beyond. From housing and transportation strategies that would reduce cost of living and construct more affordable housing to investments in public transit that prioritize service improvements in Equity Priority Communities, the goal of a more equitable Bay Area is interwoven throughout the plan. With a major focus on climate change, strategies also are crafted for resilience, including protection from hazards such as sea level rise and wildfires.

ABAG Executive Board President and Napa County Supervisor Belia Ramos, who also serves as an MTC Commissioner, acknowledged some of the region's biggest challenges the plan seeks to address. "Today, our communities face rising costs, widening inequality and persistent housing shortages," said Ramos. "This is not the future we want for the generations of Bay Area residents to come. Plan Bay Area 2050+ charts a course for how we can bring about our shared vision for a Bay Area where everyone has access to opportunity and a better quality of life."

Unique to this plan cycle is the parallel Transit 2050+ planning effort, developed in partnership with Bay Area transit agencies, which culminated in the first-of-its-kind plan to re-envision the future of public transportation across the region.

"Plan Bay Area 2050+ will help shape the vital service improvements and funding solutions we need to keep Bay Area transit running, while also making it faster, more frequent, more reliable, safer and better connected," explained MTC Commission Chair and Pleasant Hill City Councilmember Sue Noack. "Plan Bay Area 2050+ lays the groundwork for how our region can meet the challenges of today, while also advancing a shared vision for an even better tomorrow."

Plan Bay Area 2050+'s policy and investment framework has the potential to strengthen the region for decades to come, representing a major step toward a stronger, more resilient future.

ABAG is the council of governments and the regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns, and nine counties of the Bay Area. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission