TAKE ACTION
At this year’s session, the General Assembly will inevitably take up some transit-related issues. But how do you know what the folks down at the Capitol are talking about and when you should hit up their inboxes? The Virginia Transit Association’s email list is a great way to stay informed on the important state-level transportation issues of the day, and you can sign up right here. Remember: A ton of GRTC’s budget comes from state and federal sources. We need to let our state reps know that we expect them to be strong supporters of transit in Virginia!
AROUND THE REGION
This is new: GRTC has put the documents from their November 19th board meeting on their website.
Get excited, because included in those board meeting documents is GRTC’s November ridership report (PDF), and, whoa! Richmond’s trend of increased bus ridership continues with 947,064 rides taken in October. That’s almost one million rides in a month! Compared to October of 2017, that’s an increase of 247,770 or 35%! Really incredible stuff. Additionally, Pulse ridership is up and VCU use of the entire bus network is up, too.
Chesterfield County recently released the Chesterfield Millennial Visioning Project Report (PDF), which asked a bunch of county Millennials what they look for in a place to settle down. Unsurprising to readers of this email, but 66% of respondents said “they would not like to live where retail, restaurants, offices, and residences are all kept separate and accessible only by car” and half of respondents said “that a regional bus network in the Richmond Metro Area is important to them.”
Here’s an interesting piece in the Richmond Times-Dispatch by C. Suarez Rojas, that looks at GRTC’s budget planning for next year. Sounds like the concerns from earlier this year over missed budget projections aren’t as dire as previously reported, and that GRTC saw a revenue increase of $825,000.
ELSEWHERE
As Richmond’s bus ridership continues to climb, other cities in Virginia are looking to RVA as a model for juicing their public transportation networks. Wyatt Gordon at Greater Greater Washington, says Norfolk is looking to increase ridership on the Tide, its light rail that launched in 2011. But check this out, the Tide—which is, again, a train—sees daily ridership around 4,500, while the Pulse, a humble bus, averages daily ridership of 8,298 (137% over the initial goal)! Turns out, when public transportaiton is useful and efficient, folks will use it—regardless of how it moves around on a street.
—Ross Catrow