Last night City Council voted unanimously in favor of RES. 2016-R092. This resolution formally states Council's support for the Richmond Transit Network Plan! In addition, ORD. 2017-022 has been submitted and authorizes the CAO to accept $3.8M from VDOT to fund implementation of the Richmond Transit Network Plan.

With the resolution passed and the implementation money nailed down, all of the pieces are in place for the City to rejigger the bus lines to work more efficiently and integrate seamlessly with the Pulse—dramatically increasing access for a ton of folks. We should expect both of these incredible updates to Richmond's transit system, the RTNP and the Pulse, to launch later this fall. This is an excellent first step towards our vision of a regional transit system.

But it's not the final step by any means.

Several citizens spoke against the RTNP last night, asking for more: more coverage, more frequency, and more buses that connect people living in the city to jobs in the counties. These things are our goals as well and goals that require more money in GRTC's budget alongside healthy partnerships with our neighboring jurisdictions. Our work is by no means finished—we've only just begun!

Now that the RTNP is settled and on its way, we will turn our attention to Chesterfield and Henrico where there are some exciting opportunities to improve existing service while starting the process of bring truly rapid transit to our region's major corridors.

And, finally, thank you so much for your support in making the Richmond Transit Network Plan a reality.

P.S. If you're ready to get involved in Chesterfield County and Henrico County specifically, please let me know! There's work to do, and we're excited to get started.

—Ross Catrow