TAKE ACTION

It’s official! The Henrico County Board of Supervisors approved their FY2018–2019 budget this past week, which included $1.2 million in money for additional bus service. At some point this year, you should see new nights and weekends hours on Henrico’s major bus routes and an extension of the #19 route all the way to Short Pump. Excellent news and excellent work by the Board of Supervisors! If you can, take a moment to thank the Supervisors for their work in moving us toward a truly regional public transportation system. You can find their contact information on the Henrico County website.

In Richmond, City Council will also soon finalize their budget. They’ll meet again on Monday to continue working on amendments—this means the funds proposed by the Mayor to provide RPS high school students with unlimited bus passes is not yet 100% secure. If you haven’t yet, and are a City resident, please contact your Councilmember and ask them to keep this money in their budget!

AROUND THE REGION

Rich Griset at the Chesterfield Observer has a great piece up comparing the incredible public transit progress in Henrico to the limited Uber pilot recently tested in Chesterfield. Anytime we talk about microtransit—like Chesterfield’s Uber program—and compare it to suburban fixed-route buses, it’s good to reread this piece by expert Jarrett Walker comparing the efficiency of both services. The least efficient suburban bus will still serve multiple times more passengers per hour than the most efficient microtransit service.

ELSEWHERE

What would our cities look like if we prioritized moving people instead of cars? Prioritized sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus lanes instead of vehicle travel lanes? Some places around the world are doing this and the results are pretty great.

Here’s an interesting idea from San Diego combining public transit and affordable housing: The city’s transit agency owns several unused or poorly-used parking lots near trolley stations and could potentially build housing there instead.

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