**🎉NEW RELEASE!**

This State of Transit Report lays out our region's transit progress to date and the key steps still requisite to reach and reap the benefits of a robust, regional public transit system. Thank you for your interest and your support!

A Transit System for the Richmond Region

What is the long-term vision for transit in the Richmond Region?

The Greater RVA Transit Vision Plan was developed to address this very question. This study used current transit and demographic data, land use data and plans, transit and population forecasts, public opinion surveys, and stakeholder input to create a vision for transit development in the region through 2040.

Having this plan is excellent and problematic all at once. It is excellent because it is an officially and regionally approved by our own Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RRTPO) Policy Board. Yet it is problematic because 2040 is a generation away! And the benefits of regional transit are needed today.

Providing frequent public transit along the major corridors in our region as laid out in the Vision Plan would transform our metro area into a top-ten city for public transit.

That kind of connectivity would enhance mobility, drive economic growth, and position metro Richmond as a vastly more accessible, equitable, and attractive place for people to live, work, play, and visit. As Rev. Ben Campbell highlights, “The real question is whether now, having seen this, can we make it effective?... Once you put these major lines in, everyone can relate to them and everyone can get to them. There’s just this immense opportunity." ("Transit vision plan is an 'immense opportunity' for Richmond region, advocate says" Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dec 16, 2016).

It's time for us to join together in this common constructive cause!

Goals

Ongoing: Advocate, educate, and organize towards a truly regional public transportation system.
Ongoing: Create a regional transportation authority that funds, in part, a regional public transportation system.
Extend the span of all hourly routes to 10:00 PM.

Regional transit wins

2021: GRTC’s ridership exceeds pre-panedmic levels, one of the only transit systems across the county to do so.
2021: The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation awards a grant to GRTC to keep the bus Zero-Fare through 2025.
2020: Chesterfield expands service south along Route 1/Jeff Davis Highway.
2020: The Central Virginia Transportation Authority is created, giving GRTC it’s first dedicated revenue stream and paving the way for regional expansion.
2020: GRTC implements a zero-fare policy, making all bus rides free.
2019: VCU signs a three-year contract with GRTC to provide unlimited rides across the entire transit network for employees, students, faculty, and staff.

2019: Route #87 now runs until 10:00 PM.
2018: Henrico’s Route 19 is extended to Short Pump, running half-hourly.
2018: GRTC now publishes their scheduling data on their website. This allows for popular 3rd part apps, like Google Maps and Apple Maps, to display GRTC route and direction information.