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