RVA Rapid Transit

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This week in transit: #SavePublicTransit

Join the American Public Transportation Association's #SavePublicTransit campaign today, and call on Congress to provide at least $32 billion in emergency funding for public transit systems and the essential service they provide.

More info and content available here that's easily shared on social media.

AROUND THE REGION

At its meeting on December 4, the CVTA (Central Virginia Transportation Authority) approved the scope of work for the "Transit Governance Report" (see p. 18-28 of agenda). This will of course become a key document in deliberations about public transit governance moving forward for our region. The timeline for its completion has been pushed back a bit given COVID, with a new final date being no later than June 30, 2021 (though phases and portions of the report will likely be finished before that final deadline).

For those interested in digging in a bit more on this topic, the Eno Center for Transportation is hosting a webinar tomorrow, Wednesday, December 16, at 4 pm on transit governance: "Transit Governance Reform: Examples from Baltimore, Minneapolis, and Boston." TransitCenter also has a good report on the role of governance in regional transit.

Richmond City Council adopted the Richmond 300 Master Plan last night. Richmond 300 casts a powerful vision for transit and alternative modes of transportation, calling for Richmond to be a city that “prioritizes the movement of people over the movement of vehicles through a safe, reliable, equitable, and sustainable transportation network” — a city in which “walking, biking, and transit options are the most convenient and used forms of transportation” (see p. 108).

The key, as always, is implementing that vision by prioritizing people's capacity to get around by bus, bike, and foot in funding, zoning, etc. decisions. Clearly, the goal is for the whole region to catch the vision too! Come on Greater RVA Transit Vision Plan.


Nelson Reveley
Director of Operations, RVA Rapid Transit