This week in transit: The CVTA has arrived!

AROUND THE REGION

In big news, the Central Virginia Transportation Authority (CVTA) has arrived, holding its first meeting last Thursday, August 27. The RTD has a recap, and you can also relive the meeting's 3-plus-hour glory on youtube.

As a refresher, the CVTA is the new regional body overseeing funding dedicated to transportation projects and transit. Its revenue flows from increases in the regional sales tax as well as gas taxes. The meeting's agenda packet has a very good overview of the CVTA (labeled pgs 2-3) as well, which notes its core functions:

1. Reviewing the governance structure of existing transit service in the Richmond region, and evaluate the possibility of creating a transportation district, and report its findings by December 1, 2020, to the Governor and the General Assembly

2. Developing a Regional Prioritization Process for project selection pertaining to the regional apportionment of revenues (35% of revenue)

3. Developing a Regional Public Transportation Plan that annually prioritizes regional transit projects and spending needs (15% of revenue)

4. Overseeing the distribution of member locality revenues (50% of revenue) 

5. Issuing bonds as needed for project development and construction

How the CVTA and our respective localities ultimately decide to budget this new revenue each year is, shall we say, a key opportunity for public input and advocacy, and the pandemic will almost certainly reduce that revenue in the near-term too. But the CVTA marks a crucial demonstration of and opening for regional cooperation on transit, as Chesterfieldian Maxwell Johnson highlighted nicely in his call to "Connect the suburbs" earlier this week.  

In the months and many years ahead, the CVTA will have immense bearing on public transit governance, funding, and progress, so stay tuned for updates on the CVTA and ways to be involved.

On a related note, the Richmond Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RRTPO, also part of PlanRVA) is hot on the trail of possible expansions of public transit and supporting infrastructure (e.g., sidewalks, crosswalks, shelters, and such) for the region. You can check out current recommendations in the "Greater RVA Transit Vision Plan: Near-Term Strategic Analysis," or catch a summary of them from a presentation to GRTC's Board in July (see "Transit Vision Plan Update from TPO" on pg. 4 of the meeting minutes). The RRTPO Policy Board will be reviewing this plan at its virtual meeting tomorrow morning, September 3, and we'll dive in more on this front in the weeks ahead.  
 

ELSEWHERE (...& HERE)

Wyatt Gordon has a very helpful Virginia Mercury article on the current state of transit funding and zero-fare policies across the state, with a highlight on GRTC: "Fare or no fare? Transit agencies face tough choices amid COVID-19 budget crunch." Transit systems around the country continue to wrestle with losses in revenue due to the pandemic. The CARES Act included $25 billion to help transit agencies cover operating costs, as well as costs for additional cleaning and safety precautions. Yet as the pandemic continues to disrupt normal life and commerce, aid is still needed to help transit agencies weather this storm. You can still join Transportation for America's call for Congress to act and incorporate $32 billion to support transit agencies in any new relief package.  


Nelson Reveley
Director of Operations, RVA Rapid Transit

RVA Rapid Transit - Organizational Update

As many of you may have heard, Ross Catrow has now stepped down as Executive Director of RVA Rapid Transit. It was a very amicable departure as Ross looked to pursue other vocational and professional interests. RVA Rapid Transit's Board is enormously grateful for Ross's leadership, wit, and devotion to transit advocacy (and you can still catch Ross in action at Good Morning, RVA). 

RVA Rapid Transit's Board took Ross's departure as an opportunity to restructure our staffing model, increasing our advocacy work with current core bus riders, as well as potential riders not presently served by bus lines. As such, in Ross's place, the Board is seeking a full-time Director of Community Engagement and also staffed Nelson Reveley as a part-time Director of Operations. 

Big developments lie in the months and year ahead, including working with the new Central Virginia Transportation Authority and localities to grow our transit network, exploring the sustainability of zero-fare policies, and launching RVA Rapid Transit's inaugural State of Transit report this fall, among other initiatives.   

Public transit remains as essential a service as ever in this time of COVID and financial crisis. And RVA Rapid Transit remains focused as ever on educating, organizing, and advocating for frequent, far-reaching transit that affords everyone the chance to lead healthier, more productive, and more interconnected lives. Thank you as always for your support!

Kendra Norrell
Board President, RVA Rapid Transit

GRTC suspends bus service, plans to resume service on Monday

AROUND THE REGION

After Friday night's protest in downtown Richmond, GRTC suspended evening bus service on Saturday and all bus service on Sunday. This does include CARE service. Friday night's protest resulted in one Pulse bus destroyed, but no operators or passengers were injured. GRTC CEO Julie Timm had this to say:

"The safety of our staff and passengers is the most important factor in determining service levels. We can replace property, but we can’t replace people. I also believe it is important for GRTC to make space for people to protest this weekend without endangering our GRTC Family members. We are closely monitoring this evolving situation in Richmond and will only provide service when we determine it is safe.”

Marc Cheatham took some pictures of the destroyed Pulse bus on Saturday morning.

Should GRTC resume bus service on Monday, as per the Governor's Executive Order masks will be required to ride. Remember: Please only use the bus for essential trips, and make sure to check either the GRTC website or their twitter account for up-to-date service announcements.

—Ross Catrow