This week in transit: Free to Ride on August 21st
TAKE ACTION
On August 21st, the Isaiah Project (our faith-based outreach initiative) will host a screening of Free to Ride. This documentary explores the intersection of public transportation and Civil Rights in Dayton, Ohio plus raises key issues about the important role public transportation plays in our communities and the role faith groups can have in advocating for change. You can see the trailer of the film here, and you can RSVP here (but the event is free!).
Also, July’s nearly done, and RVA Rapid Transit is still on the hunt for 100 new supporters. If you’d like to donate (any amount!) to our work of advocating, educating, and organizing for a frequent and far-reaching public transportation system, you can do so over on our website.
ELSEWHERE
According to a new study, Uber, Lyft, and other ride-hailing services (aka Transportation Network Companies or TNCs) are not reducing traffic in American cities. Keep in mind, though, this research mostly applies to large American cities. However, this makes a lot of sense wherever you live: “The main conclusion is that TNCs are bound to generate more car traffic in cities for two reasons: They mostly draw passengers who wouldn’t have otherwise used a car, and each TNC trip includes significant mileage with no passenger.”
Speaking of fixing congestion, the head of Washington DOT says the state can’t highway-build their way out of traffic. In fact, he says that the issue stems from a lack of affordable housing in the transit-rich city center, which, in turns, forces folks to live in the outlying suburbs which lack public transportation.
Cincinnati may look to an increase in sales tax to help fund its current public transportation system. Here’s a good explanation of why a regional tax for public transportation helps everyone, even if you never plan on riding the bus: “If you don’t ride the bus, this still affects you. It affects the tax rate on everything you buy in Hamilton County. And public transit, whether you use it personally or not, is key to a city’s success or failure. It affects the environment, when there are more or fewer exhaust pipes on the road. It affects the unemployment rate and investment, whether companies want to move to a city or not.”
If you'd like to support RVA Rapid Transit's work to bring a truly regional transit system to Richmond, consider making a tax-deductible donation.
—Ross Catrow
This week in transit: Pulse ridership numbers
TAKE ACTION
Just a tiny, quick reminder that we’re quickly approaching the end of July, and RVA Rapid Transit is quickly approaching our goal of 100 new supporters before the month’s end. You can make a donation, of any amount, on our website.
AROUND THE REGION
A couple days ago, I got my hands on ridership numbers from the first three weeks of Pulse service. I went ahead and wrote up three quick takeaways from these initial numbers: 1) Ridership consistently exceeded goals, 2) Lots of folks are connecting at Willow Lawn, and 3) The Pulse is a fast way to get across town. You can download the PDF of the numbers yourself and dig in. Please let me know if you find your own interesting takeaways!
On Friday, I took part in a panel on how the Pulse and the other improvements to our public transportation network could impact tourism in the Richmond region. Turns out, when folks from out of town come to visit, they expect robust and functional public transit. Not only that, but the thousands of employees that support our local tourism industry can benefit from a frequent and far-reaching public transportation network. It’s not a zero-sum game: Building high-quality public transportation benefits everyone in the entire region.
ELSEWHERE
The Charlotte Area Transit System, headed up by once-and-former Richmonder John Lewis, has announced the details of their massive new transit plan. Better transit to the airport! Light rails! Transit tunnels! Whoa!
Albuquerque continues to face serious issues in launching their BRT, but, as they continue to push forward, they’ve implemented a $80 fine for driving in the bus-only lanes. While Richmond may have an issue with folks parking in the curbside BRT lanes, I haven’t seen a ton of people driving in our bus-only lanes. But, enforcement like this is an important part of prioritizing a bus full of people trying to get to work over a single, empty car.
Our friends at TransitCenter have released a new report focused on building an inclusive and equitable public transportation system (PDF). You can read a summary of the report over on StreetsBlog if you’d like!
If you'd like to support RVA Rapid Transit's work to bring a truly regional transit system to Richmond, consider making a tax-deductible donation.
—Ross Catrow