The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) in San Jose was awarded federal grants for research studies pertaining to efficient transportation systems. The institute won $7 million federal grant funding as part of transportation center programs in San Jose State University. The institute will also receive $3.5 million from local contributions and Caltrans state transportation agency for research elements. Part of specific research projects includes transportation options for disabled people, seniors, usage of self-driving cars, and policy framework to reduce traffic congestion.

The ridership for passengers using Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) transportation to San Francisco airport has declined. Many people shared concerns about health and safety issues on BART trains, and not including problems causing passengers to miss their departing flights. Ride-sharing companies have taken the opportunity at SFO (San Francisco International Airport) and BART ridership has dropped tremendously. The BART services to SFO ridership has dropped immensely and negatively impacting the agency operational budget with $3.6 million deficit.

The latest research study indicates some ways to save money and expediting national airports check-in lines for passengers. A professor from University of Illinois and his associates provided the research finding information during their presentation on issues impacting national airport security. The university professor and his team advocates for TSA (Transportation Security Administration) to provide free pre-checking in for airline passengers.

The Apple company may steer their interest into self-driving software only at this point regarding autonomous sustainable vehicles. An Apple business correspondence was submitted to U.S.Transportation regulators indicating the company interest is focusing on building software and not automaking. It also identifies Apple is investing into machine learning and automation software, for many reasons including self-driving car transportation.

The latest report identifies Santa Clara County in San Francisco Bay Area with 4 of 10 congested freeways in the Bay Area region. The annual transportation report is published by MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) sharing information to assist with planning, funding, and coordinating efforts within regional areas. The Santa Clara County VTA (Valley Transportation Authority) is hosting a series of events within the region to entice people about carpooling during commuting hours.

The San Francisco Muni transportation system is under cyber-attack and SFMTA (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency) is working closely with law enforcement agencies regarding this matter. The FBI (Federal Bureau Investigations) officials are working closely with SFMTA administration during the investigation. The hackers cyber-attack on muni system last Saturday leads into free passenger rides and approximately $73,000 ransom payment amount.

The minimum wage level is leading many people upset and finding themselves hard to make it in San Francisco Bay Area - they protest during the holiday season at airports. Many service employees have taken the day off and protest at San Francisco and Oakland airports to have a higher minimum wage in the Bay Area. Some protesters were arrested this Tuesday morning when they were blocking 98th and International Boulevard in Oakland approximately 6:35 AM. Disrupting traffic within the regional area and traffic was back to normal around 7:35 AM for commuters.

As highways and roadways improvement projects are in place within San Francisco Bay Area, freight transportation is also becoming part of the improvement plan. The MTC (Metropolitan Transportation Commission) administration is working closely with agencies to complete the Interstate 80 highway express lane from Fairfield to Highway 505 interchange. MTC approved this as part of the regional improvement plan to help ease traffic along highways avoiding more traffic congestion.

The state transportation Caltrans is painting the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to refresh its appearance for safety and well being standards. The reconstruction painting crew is making sure the project will avoid corrosion on the bridge metal, and been painting for two months during the refreshing developmental process. The painting crew have been using wooden platforms and suspended from mid-air safely to apply painting areas, and have to grind down the steel before priming it.

Autonomous self-driving cars are trending with many variations for passenger safety during roadway trips. Including innovative tools for assistance during the course of autonomously driving on the road - meaning Nexar's dashcam tool. The Nexar company makes an app turning smartphones into dashcam tools while driving on the road, and collecting information about what is happening on and ahead of the road. The dashcam will provide warning signs to drivers about a vehicle is stopped ahead, and have a display on the dashcam screen using the smartphone camera.