Join the discussion below and speak up about transit related topics that are on your mind. This wall will be used as a showcase to present to the decision makers and to have your voice heard.
TransitTalk.com on August 30, 2010 at 1:58 pm
Following is the text of a letter sent by John M. Lewis, Jr., CEO, GRTC Transit System, to all GRTC employees.
August 30, 2010
Dear Fellow Employee:
I am writing to encourage you, your family and friends and your customers to express support for public transportation here and throughout the nation by signing the petition urging Congress to act and to pass a long-term surface transportation bill that increases investment in public transportation.
It is a demonstrated fact that public transportation provides mobility for all, reduces congestion and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. It also stimulates jobs, strengthening the economy, and provides for an overall improved quality of life. The transportation funds in this bill will allow us to continue and expand our vital Capital Investment Program to upgrade or replace infrastructure, facilities and systems as well as to provide a better work place for you and your fellow workers and improvements in the riding environment for our customers.
Simply click http://www.publictransportation.org/petition/ to register your support for public transportation which will be shared with members of Congress at an event in Washington, D.C. on September 22. You can also add your personal comments on how and why public transportation matters to you, our city and our world-class region.
I thank you for taking the time to keep our elected officials informed about your support for swift action on the surface transportation bill that will direct your federal tax dollars to keeping our public transportation systems in a state of good repair and to expanding services to meet growing demand.
Electronic Buttons Available for Use on Websites and Social Media
APTA has created the National Public Transit Petition to urge Congress to pass surface transportation authorization. In addition to signing the petition to show your support for increased funding, we are asking you to share the petition with your riders, advocates, stakeholders and community members.
To help you do this we have created a variety of electronic buttons that can be used on your organization’s website, shared with supporters for use on their websites, or used in your social media outreach.
The buttons are available for download, in a variety of sizes on the Telling Our Story toolkit.
Each signature is important, be creative, and remember Congress needs to hear our story. Sign today!
Just found out about this national campaign hosted by APTA (American Public Transportation Association), where individuals can let their voices be heard. Through this site, your thoughts and opinions can be viewed by legislative leaders. Also, when you get the chance, make sure you sign the public transportation petition, to persuade Congress to invest more money into public transportation. See the links below:
We just heard that GRTC’s Fare Increase that was set for August 1, has been postponed until September 19. Just wanted to let everyone know.
TransitTalk.com on July 15, 2010 at 9:01 am
Look at this new company, B-cycle. It’s the new way of getting to where you have to without rising the rate of pollution, not having to deal with traffic & is a great way to avoid rising gas prices. Check out the link below for more information & make sure when you get the chance to join their group on FaceBook & follow them on Twitter!
For all those interested in discussing their thoughts on transit and have ideas that they want to share, try to make an appearance at the open house at Varina High School. The main topic of discussion will be Route 5. Hope to see you there! Check the “Route 5 Corridor Study” under the update section on the GRTC site posted below for more information.
I just saw the press release issued by GRTC regarding the fare increase, here it is:
GRTC Transit System Will Initiate the First Fare Increase in 17 Years, Effective Sunday, August 1, 2010
Richmond, VA (July 13, 2010) – GRTC Transit System announced initiation of its first fare increase in 17 years. The proposed effective date of August 1, 2010, is pending City Council approval.
On June 28, 2010, the Richmond City Council approved the GRTC Transit System’s plan to increase bus fares by 25 cents. Fares will go to $1.50 from $1.25 for local routes. Commuter express route fares will go to a range of $2.00 - $6.25, depending upon the route. Senior or disabled rider fares will go to 75 cents from 50 cents. Transfers will rise to 25 cents from 15 cents.
GRTC officials said the increase will be the first since 1993 and is needed to generate about $1.5 million in revenue to close a budget gap of $5.1 million. GRTC is a pay as you go system and cuts in funding from both federal and state levels and flat funding from city and county governments, as well as higher operations costs, result in a budget deficit. John M. Lewis, Jr., GRTC’s chief executive officer, said the transit company is continuing to improve efficiencies but cannot ignore immediate needs for revenue.
For more information, riders may call the GRTC Customer Service Center at 358-GRTC (4782), or visit http://www.ridegrtc.com website.
Corrie Barton on June 25, 2010 at 11:43 am
I have been riding the bus for ~ 3 to 4 months now & am still utterly dismayed and frustrated by the LACK of service. I have always considered Henrico Co. to be part of the ‘Greater Richmond’ area yet the closest stop to my home is over 2 miles away & would put me getting home 2.5 hours after I left work. My other GRTC option drops off 4 miles away from my home & puts me there 2.25 hours after I am out of work. “GRTC Me, It’s So Easy” is an incredible lie if you live outside of the city limits.
When I first started riding the bus I was working a second job at a local theatre several nights a week & needed to find the closest route there. I went to the website & used their Trip Planner function. It did not recognize the address. When I called & asked for assistance with this I was given a stop that was 2 miles away from the theatre (the one that is the furthest Northbound stop on Chamberlayne. Only after much looking and asking people who were riding the Chamberlayne bus was I able to figure out that if I caught the Azalea Connector it would place me only a mile away from my destination. Why was the Trip Planner & a GRTC representative unable to tell me this?
Also, when I first began to take the GRTC bus to get back to the West End I phoned & asked a GRTC representative on which side of the street a particular bus picked up. The choices are the Eastbound side of Broad @ 9th, the Westbound side of Broad @ 9th & 9th Street @ Broad. After having to describe that there were, in fact, 3 separate stops on 3 separate corners at Broad & Ninth I was told that it was the one by City Hall. There is a stop directly in front of City Hall at Broad Street & there is also a stop on 9th Street. She finally got someone else to tell her where the bus stopped but it took ~30 minutes to get this figured out. Then, I looked at the schedule vs. how the bus actually runs. There are buses scheduled at 3:38, 3:55 & 4:06 from the 9th @ Broad stop. The bus I (try to) take arrives at 3:47 every day & oftentimes the next bus is not there until 4:06. So is the 3:47 bus that I am taking the 3:38 bus or the 3:55 bus & why, if it is the 3:38 bus, is it arriving so late & if it is the 3:55 bus, why is it arriving and departing so early?
Add to all of this the fact that I have not been able to find anything on the GRTC website about the route cuts they will be implementing in August & it’s enough for me to go buy a car, stop riding the bus & tell everyone who will listen to also not ride any vehicle owned, or operated by or on behalf of the Greater Richmond Transit Company.
DUMP THE PUMP DAY on June 17, 2010 at 7:53 am
Today - The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and public transportation systems across the country will celebrate the 5th Annual National Dump the Pump Day.
In these tough economic times with high gas prices, everyone is looking for a way to save money. National Dump the Pump Day encourages people to ride public transportation (instead of driving) and save money.
Riding public transit is the quickest way to beat high gas prices. The latest APTA Transit Savings Report shows that a two car household that downsizes to one car can save – on the average – more than $9,000 a year.
The average household spends 18 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 94% of this goes to buying, maintaining, and operating cars, the largest expenditure after housing.
Thanks for all your help in spreading the word about the financial benefits of using public transit!
TransitTalk.com on June 16, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Transittalk.com received this email the other day and we wanted to share the story.
Does anyone else have a story to tell?
“I live in the Museum District and work in Downtown Richmond, and I ride to
work in a carpool with Ashton and Jane, who make the same daily commute. We
take turns driving and split the cost of parking. We keep a shared calendar
to coordinate our schedules, and we count on the GRTC bus as a backup in
case any of us need to leave early or late.
The benefits are way beyond economic. Not only is it much more affordable,
but we’ve become good friends. Most mornings, we make a pit-stop at our
local coffee shop (Lamplighter Roasting Company), and by the time we get to
work, we are all three in the best of moods, even on Mondays! We’ve even
started to call ourselves The Bossy Posse, after the way we jokingly holler
to other cars on the road. My work day starts and ends with laughter, and I
can’t imagine life without my Posse!”
Ann Bayliss on June 01, 2010 at 7:14 am
Although I have consulted GRTC’s website to find bus times, I still found it confusing to try to ride the 70N from Stratford Rd. to downtown. Couldn’t tell what side of the street to wait for the bus, waited two hours (from 8:30 to 10:30) for bus, then the bus stopped for 15 min. at the following stop at the Stony Point. With no map and no schedule posted at the bus-stop,, the only way to get answers was to call the GRTC. One person was very helpful, but it took her 15 minutes to get the ETA for my bus using a computer. In all, it took 3 hours to go 10 miles, and the bus schedule as printed was not the same as the one the drivers drove. (I tried three days running, attempting to catch the 9:04 bus at Stratford and Chippenham, before giving up and driving).
RTD Article - GRTC's Mechanicsville Express Bus on May 27, 2010 at 9:56 am
I saw this news article and video about GRTC’s New Mechanicsville Express Service the other day on the Richmond Times Dispatch website.
This article was published by Michael Paul Williams on May 25, 2010.
If that doesn’t work, just look up “Yikes Bikes” on You Tube.
Jennifer Snider on May 13, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I saw your ad in Style Weekly and was excited to see people discussing transportation issues. My “thing” is bike transportation. I read blogs of bicycle advocates in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Berlin and have learned of the supportive infrastructure that is available to people in Europe. People of every age and income are able to ride their bikes to where they need to go because of bike lane in the cities and bike paths in the suburbs. This is what I would like to see more of in the Richmond area. Instead, we have bike lanes on the side of roads with 45mph speed limits (Huguenot, Robious, Courthouse, etc) and bike paths to someplace 50 miles away (Capital to Capital). These are well-intentioned developments, but what we really need is an infrastructure that allows people to easily get to where they are going…the path of least resistance. Right now it is easier for people to get in their car (if they have one) than to ride their bike (if they have one). So, I would like to see people work towards a better infrastructure for bicycle transportation in the Richmond area.
Paris In Richmond? on May 12, 2010 at 10:19 am
Take a look at what I saw in the RTD the other day.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Your 2 Cents
By Staff Reports
Published: May 9, 2010
…
We’ve got Paris, Richmond! “You should take the bus,” a friend says, “It’s easy to get downtown from here and you get Wi-Fi. There’s a bus to downtown stopping two streets up.” He’s right. With a CVS Go-card in hand, I enjoyed the ride downtown. And I learned something: The view from downtown’s “Left Bank” is worth $1.25. When schedules are finally posted at bus stops in more places, Richmond’s lights will truly shine through. —Ann Bayliss, Richmond
CINDY WHITTAKER on April 15, 2010 at 10:26 am
I will lose my job if no bus svc in Richmond. I must get to work on time, which is an issue for me. I do not want to be on the bus over 45 min before having to be at work when I actually live only 10 min from the job. I tried to be to work at 7:30 and catch the bus at 7:12am and that doesnt work then I tried to change my work hours to 8am which get me to work at 7:33a from using the 7:12 am bus. Need some answers from GRTC. They have cut out two buses in the mornings when we all need to go to work-wrong. One of GRTC missions is to provide us bus service to us and I want them to do that. My bus is crowded by the time it gets to Mechanicsville tpk from the beginiing to its rt. We need a larger bus.
raymond e maclin jr on April 15, 2010 at 2:18 am
I live in hopewell, va the richmond transit commuter to downtown richmond should be expanded in hopewell, va, why not make a complete look from petersburg to hopewell then to richmond, va. Commuter service would be great, I usually have to drive or catch a ride to petersburg to connect to the richmond, va commuter bus to downtown.
Concerned on April 13, 2010 at 8:23 am
YIKES! We don’t want this to happen in Richmond!
Clayton County loses vital bus service, link to Atlanta
Many workers fear they’ll lose their jobs without the transportation, cut off because of a county budget shortfall.
By Richard Fausset
April 1, 2010
Reporting from Jonesboro, Ga.
The Great Recession has yet to claim J.C. Butler’s warehouse job on the north side of metro Atlanta.
But now it has eradicated his means of getting there.
Butler, 57, lives in Clayton County, a majority-black, working-class suburb on Atlanta’s south flank that killed off its local bus system Wednesday over concerns about a $19-million countywide budget shortfall.
The demise of the buses, which provided 2.1 million rides last year, is among the most dramatic of the scores of public transit cutbacks enacted across the U.S. in recent months as agencies adjust to plummeting government revenue.
Wednesday morning, Butler rode for the last time on the 503 bus as it snaked through the pre-dawn darkness, past cul-de-sac streets named for English kings and tropical ports of call. At each stop it took on auto repair and airport workers, community college students and janitors.
Butler slumped by a window seat, scowling.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said, adding, “So many people here, they’re going to be sure enough messed up. We need this bus bad.”
They are not alone. For ecological, economic and practical reasons, commuters nationwide remain hungry for public transit.
Since 1995, public transportation use is up 31%, more than twice the U.S. population growth rate, according to the American Public Transportation Assn., the nonprofit that represents the nation’s commuter systems. Last year, Americans took 10.2 billion public transit trips.
In a survey of 151 member agencies released Thursday, the association found that about 9 in 10 of them reported flat or decreased local and state funding. Nearly 3 in 5 had already cut service or raised fares.
“This is the worst I’ve seen in my 31 years in public transit,” said Art Guzzetti, the transportation association’s vice president for policy.
In California, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will raise fares from $1.25 to $1.50 per ride in July—with more raises possible later. The MTA is considering other measures, such as reducing hours on bus lines with lower passenger counts.
In March, the Orange County Transportation Authority reduced bus service by about 8% due to state budget cuts, decreased sales tax revenue and declining ridership.
But perhaps nowhere in the country is the crisis more acute than in Clayton County. Officials with the transportation association say the system is the only one they are aware of that has completely shut down due to budget pressure.
It is also a place where a large number of suburban working poor may now be stranded: A survey of riders in April 2008 found that 65% of them do not have access to a car. In a survey last month, 3 out of 4 said they may lose their jobs when the buses stopped rolling.
Much of that worry trundled along with bus 503 as it made the last of its morning tours Wednesday. The 503 route is one of the system’s most popular, ending at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where many riders work, and where others catch the regional MARTA train to points north.
Some riders on the 503 said they had arranged carpools with friends and family; others said their homes were within acceptable distance of the stops for the handful of regional express buses that will still run north into Atlanta. But many others were without solutions.
Carpenter Anthony Slade, 26, decided he would be walking to and from the airport MARTA station from his home four miles away. He figured that would come to about three hours of walking daily.
“It looks like I’m going to have to keep that up until they get the bus service going on again,” he said.
Riding in the front of the bus was William Griffin Jr., 65—a minister, formerly drug-addicted and homeless, now clean and sporting a hat festooned with hand-scrawled tributes to Jesus.
He said he had called one of the private jitney services that have been circulating handbills promising rides for locals. But Griffin hasn’t found one that goes to his neighborhood.
At stake, Griffin said, was his job at a recycling plant in the far northern suburbs.
“In this recessionary time, they’re not going to hold this job for you until the buses are back,” he said.
Mark Watson, 35, was heading to his job at the county dump. His wife works a 4 a.m. shift at a hospital in midtown Atlanta. He said he’d probably start driving her there, then driving 40 minutes back to Clayton County in the 20-year-old car they share.
“It’s running bad right now, so that drive to midtown has got me scared,” he said.
It was October when the county commission voted, 4 to 1, to end bus service by the end of March.
The one vote to maintain the bus system came from Eldrin Bell, the commission chairman and former Atlanta police chief. In an interview Tuesday, Bell said he feared the loss of the bus system would result in more foreclosures and lower property values.
He feared for the college students, probationers and sick people without cars who would now be stranded. He said he feared rising crime as people turned from legitimate to illegitimate work.
“I’ve lived with racism,” said Bell, who is one of four black commissioners on the five-member board. “But this is a new one—it’s called classism. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bell contends that the commission could have found a way to fund the buses. But Commissioner Wole Ralph said it just wasn’t possible.
The bus system costs about $10 million per year to operate. The bus fares, he said, covered about $2 million of that.
The county had been covering much of the rest of the price tag with the fees from subdivision applications, Ralph said. But these days there aren’t many subdivisions going up in the Atlanta suburbs.
“The only responsible thing to do was to cut the service,” Ralph said. “This economy has forced individuals to tighten their belts, and governments have to do it too.”
The commissioners said the bus service could be restored by a bill now in the Legislature that would allow the county to levy an additional sales tax to extend MARTA—the big regional transit service that mostly operates in Fulton and Dekalb counties—into Clayton.
But that would also involve a countywide referendum. Bell said in the best-case scenario, buses would not return to the streets until August.
The 503 pulled into the airport lot just before 7 a.m. and Griffin, the minister, addressed them all.
“I would like to say good morning to everyone,” he boomed. “I would like you to all to know that Jesus loves you—and that it’s not over till it’s over.”
richard.fausset@ latimes.com
Staff writer Raja Abdulrahim in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Jon on April 09, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Richmond needs more Bike lanes! I cycle to work daily and it is a risk each day. Drivers are not very kind to cyclists around this area even though we are part of traffic.
BusRider on April 09, 2010 at 12:50 pm
How about service that does more than take me to and from work?
Concerned on April 09, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Let’s pull together to get comprehensive public transit that provides a real alternative to single occupancy vehicles clogging the roads.
Following is the text of a letter sent by John M. Lewis, Jr., CEO, GRTC Transit System, to all GRTC employees.
August 30, 2010
Dear Fellow Employee:
I am writing to encourage you, your family and friends and your customers to express support for public transportation here and throughout the nation by signing the petition urging Congress to act and to pass a long-term surface transportation bill that increases investment in public transportation.
It is a demonstrated fact that public transportation provides mobility for all, reduces congestion and cuts greenhouse gas emissions. It also stimulates jobs, strengthening the economy, and provides for an overall improved quality of life. The transportation funds in this bill will allow us to continue and expand our vital Capital Investment Program to upgrade or replace infrastructure, facilities and systems as well as to provide a better work place for you and your fellow workers and improvements in the riding environment for our customers.
Simply click http://www.publictransportation.org/petition/ to register your support for public transportation which will be shared with members of Congress at an event in Washington, D.C. on September 22. You can also add your personal comments on how and why public transportation matters to you, our city and our world-class region.
I thank you for taking the time to keep our elected officials informed about your support for swift action on the surface transportation bill that will direct your federal tax dollars to keeping our public transportation systems in a state of good repair and to expanding services to meet growing demand.
Sincerely,
John M. Lewis, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
Share the National Public Transit Petition, http://www.publictransportation.org/petition/
Electronic Buttons Available for Use on Websites and Social Media
APTA has created the National Public Transit Petition to urge Congress to pass surface transportation authorization. In addition to signing the petition to show your support for increased funding, we are asking you to share the petition with your riders, advocates, stakeholders and community members.
To help you do this we have created a variety of electronic buttons that can be used on your organization’s website, shared with supporters for use on their websites, or used in your social media outreach.
The buttons are available for download, in a variety of sizes on the Telling Our Story toolkit.
Each signature is important, be creative, and remember Congress needs to hear our story. Sign today!
http://www.publictransportation.org/petition/
Just found out about this national campaign hosted by APTA (American Public Transportation Association), where individuals can let their voices be heard. Through this site, your thoughts and opinions can be viewed by legislative leaders. Also, when you get the chance, make sure you sign the public transportation petition, to persuade Congress to invest more money into public transportation. See the links below:
http://tellingourstory.apta.com/
http://www.publictransportation.org/petition/
We just heard that GRTC’s Fare Increase that was set for August 1, has been postponed until September 19. Just wanted to let everyone know.
Look at this new company, B-cycle. It’s the new way of getting to where you have to without rising the rate of pollution, not having to deal with traffic & is a great way to avoid rising gas prices. Check out the link below for more information & make sure when you get the chance to join their group on FaceBook & follow them on Twitter!
http://bcycle.com/
For all those interested in discussing their thoughts on transit and have ideas that they want to share, try to make an appearance at the open house at Varina High School. The main topic of discussion will be Route 5. Hope to see you there! Check the “Route 5 Corridor Study” under the update section on the GRTC site posted below for more information.
http://www.ridegrtc.com/
I just saw the press release issued by GRTC regarding the fare increase, here it is:
GRTC Transit System Will Initiate the First Fare Increase in 17 Years, Effective Sunday, August 1, 2010
Richmond, VA (July 13, 2010) – GRTC Transit System announced initiation of its first fare increase in 17 years. The proposed effective date of August 1, 2010, is pending City Council approval.
On June 28, 2010, the Richmond City Council approved the GRTC Transit System’s plan to increase bus fares by 25 cents. Fares will go to $1.50 from $1.25 for local routes. Commuter express route fares will go to a range of $2.00 - $6.25, depending upon the route. Senior or disabled rider fares will go to 75 cents from 50 cents. Transfers will rise to 25 cents from 15 cents.
GRTC officials said the increase will be the first since 1993 and is needed to generate about $1.5 million in revenue to close a budget gap of $5.1 million. GRTC is a pay as you go system and cuts in funding from both federal and state levels and flat funding from city and county governments, as well as higher operations costs, result in a budget deficit. John M. Lewis, Jr., GRTC’s chief executive officer, said the transit company is continuing to improve efficiencies but cannot ignore immediate needs for revenue.
For more information, riders may call the GRTC Customer Service Center at 358-GRTC (4782), or visit http://www.ridegrtc.com website.
I have been riding the bus for ~ 3 to 4 months now & am still utterly dismayed and frustrated by the LACK of service. I have always considered Henrico Co. to be part of the ‘Greater Richmond’ area yet the closest stop to my home is over 2 miles away & would put me getting home 2.5 hours after I left work. My other GRTC option drops off 4 miles away from my home & puts me there 2.25 hours after I am out of work. “GRTC Me, It’s So Easy” is an incredible lie if you live outside of the city limits.
When I first started riding the bus I was working a second job at a local theatre several nights a week & needed to find the closest route there. I went to the website & used their Trip Planner function. It did not recognize the address. When I called & asked for assistance with this I was given a stop that was 2 miles away from the theatre (the one that is the furthest Northbound stop on Chamberlayne. Only after much looking and asking people who were riding the Chamberlayne bus was I able to figure out that if I caught the Azalea Connector it would place me only a mile away from my destination. Why was the Trip Planner & a GRTC representative unable to tell me this?
Also, when I first began to take the GRTC bus to get back to the West End I phoned & asked a GRTC representative on which side of the street a particular bus picked up. The choices are the Eastbound side of Broad @ 9th, the Westbound side of Broad @ 9th & 9th Street @ Broad. After having to describe that there were, in fact, 3 separate stops on 3 separate corners at Broad & Ninth I was told that it was the one by City Hall. There is a stop directly in front of City Hall at Broad Street & there is also a stop on 9th Street. She finally got someone else to tell her where the bus stopped but it took ~30 minutes to get this figured out. Then, I looked at the schedule vs. how the bus actually runs. There are buses scheduled at 3:38, 3:55 & 4:06 from the 9th @ Broad stop. The bus I (try to) take arrives at 3:47 every day & oftentimes the next bus is not there until 4:06. So is the 3:47 bus that I am taking the 3:38 bus or the 3:55 bus & why, if it is the 3:38 bus, is it arriving so late & if it is the 3:55 bus, why is it arriving and departing so early?
Add to all of this the fact that I have not been able to find anything on the GRTC website about the route cuts they will be implementing in August & it’s enough for me to go buy a car, stop riding the bus & tell everyone who will listen to also not ride any vehicle owned, or operated by or on behalf of the Greater Richmond Transit Company.
Today - The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and public transportation systems across the country will celebrate the 5th Annual National Dump the Pump Day.
In these tough economic times with high gas prices, everyone is looking for a way to save money. National Dump the Pump Day encourages people to ride public transportation (instead of driving) and save money.
Riding public transit is the quickest way to beat high gas prices. The latest APTA Transit Savings Report shows that a two car household that downsizes to one car can save – on the average – more than $9,000 a year.
The average household spends 18 cents of every dollar on transportation, and 94% of this goes to buying, maintaining, and operating cars, the largest expenditure after housing.
Thanks for all your help in spreading the word about the financial benefits of using public transit!
Transittalk.com received this email the other day and we wanted to share the story.
Does anyone else have a story to tell?
“I live in the Museum District and work in Downtown Richmond, and I ride to
work in a carpool with Ashton and Jane, who make the same daily commute. We
take turns driving and split the cost of parking. We keep a shared calendar
to coordinate our schedules, and we count on the GRTC bus as a backup in
case any of us need to leave early or late.
The benefits are way beyond economic. Not only is it much more affordable,
but we’ve become good friends. Most mornings, we make a pit-stop at our
local coffee shop (Lamplighter Roasting Company), and by the time we get to
work, we are all three in the best of moods, even on Mondays! We’ve even
started to call ourselves The Bossy Posse, after the way we jokingly holler
to other cars on the road. My work day starts and ends with laughter, and I
can’t imagine life without my Posse!”
Although I have consulted GRTC’s website to find bus times, I still found it confusing to try to ride the 70N from Stratford Rd. to downtown. Couldn’t tell what side of the street to wait for the bus, waited two hours (from 8:30 to 10:30) for bus, then the bus stopped for 15 min. at the following stop at the Stony Point. With no map and no schedule posted at the bus-stop,, the only way to get answers was to call the GRTC. One person was very helpful, but it took her 15 minutes to get the ETA for my bus using a computer. In all, it took 3 hours to go 10 miles, and the bus schedule as printed was not the same as the one the drivers drove. (I tried three days running, attempting to catch the 9:04 bus at Stratford and Chippenham, before giving up and driving).
I saw this news article and video about GRTC’s New Mechanicsville Express Service the other day on the Richmond Times Dispatch website.
This article was published by Michael Paul Williams on May 25, 2010.
Here is a link:
http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/columnists_news/article/MIKE25_20100524-222607/346698/
The Today Show talked about National Bike To Work Day (May 21). Al, Meredith and Matt did a race involving a bike, a car and public transportation.
Here’s the link:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891#37148528
How great would it be for Richmond to have just a taste of something like this YouTube video of rush hour in Copenhagen?
<object width=“640” height=“385”><param name=“movie” value=“http://www.youtube.com/v/OYajXN4pPHI&hl=en_US&fs=1&”></param></param></param><embed src=“http://www.youtube.com/v/OYajXN4pPHI&hl=en_US&fs=1&” type=“application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=“always” allowfullscreen=“true” width=“640” height=“385”></embed></object>
If that doesn’t work, just look up “Yikes Bikes” on You Tube.
I saw your ad in Style Weekly and was excited to see people discussing transportation issues. My “thing” is bike transportation. I read blogs of bicycle advocates in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Berlin and have learned of the supportive infrastructure that is available to people in Europe. People of every age and income are able to ride their bikes to where they need to go because of bike lane in the cities and bike paths in the suburbs. This is what I would like to see more of in the Richmond area. Instead, we have bike lanes on the side of roads with 45mph speed limits (Huguenot, Robious, Courthouse, etc) and bike paths to someplace 50 miles away (Capital to Capital). These are well-intentioned developments, but what we really need is an infrastructure that allows people to easily get to where they are going…the path of least resistance. Right now it is easier for people to get in their car (if they have one) than to ride their bike (if they have one). So, I would like to see people work towards a better infrastructure for bicycle transportation in the Richmond area.
Take a look at what I saw in the RTD the other day.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Your 2 Cents
By Staff Reports
Published: May 9, 2010
…
We’ve got Paris, Richmond! “You should take the bus,” a friend says, “It’s easy to get downtown from here and you get Wi-Fi. There’s a bus to downtown stopping two streets up.” He’s right. With a CVS Go-card in hand, I enjoyed the ride downtown. And I learned something: The view from downtown’s “Left Bank” is worth $1.25. When schedules are finally posted at bus stops in more places, Richmond’s lights will truly shine through.
—Ann Bayliss, Richmond
I will lose my job if no bus svc in Richmond. I must get to work on time, which is an issue for me. I do not want to be on the bus over 45 min before having to be at work when I actually live only 10 min from the job. I tried to be to work at 7:30 and catch the bus at 7:12am and that doesnt work then I tried to change my work hours to 8am which get me to work at 7:33a from using the 7:12 am bus. Need some answers from GRTC. They have cut out two buses in the mornings when we all need to go to work-wrong. One of GRTC missions is to provide us bus service to us and I want them to do that. My bus is crowded by the time it gets to Mechanicsville tpk from the beginiing to its rt. We need a larger bus.
I live in hopewell, va the richmond transit commuter to downtown richmond should be expanded in hopewell, va, why not make a complete look from petersburg to hopewell then to richmond, va. Commuter service would be great, I usually have to drive or catch a ride to petersburg to connect to the richmond, va commuter bus to downtown.
YIKES! We don’t want this to happen in Richmond!
Clayton County loses vital bus service, link to Atlanta
Many workers fear they’ll lose their jobs without the transportation, cut off because of a county budget shortfall.
By Richard Fausset
April 1, 2010
Reporting from Jonesboro, Ga.
The Great Recession has yet to claim J.C. Butler’s warehouse job on the north side of metro Atlanta.
But now it has eradicated his means of getting there.
Butler, 57, lives in Clayton County, a majority-black, working-class suburb on Atlanta’s south flank that killed off its local bus system Wednesday over concerns about a $19-million countywide budget shortfall.
The demise of the buses, which provided 2.1 million rides last year, is among the most dramatic of the scores of public transit cutbacks enacted across the U.S. in recent months as agencies adjust to plummeting government revenue.
Wednesday morning, Butler rode for the last time on the 503 bus as it snaked through the pre-dawn darkness, past cul-de-sac streets named for English kings and tropical ports of call. At each stop it took on auto repair and airport workers, community college students and janitors.
Butler slumped by a window seat, scowling.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said, adding, “So many people here, they’re going to be sure enough messed up. We need this bus bad.”
They are not alone. For ecological, economic and practical reasons, commuters nationwide remain hungry for public transit.
Since 1995, public transportation use is up 31%, more than twice the U.S. population growth rate, according to the American Public Transportation Assn., the nonprofit that represents the nation’s commuter systems. Last year, Americans took 10.2 billion public transit trips.
In a survey of 151 member agencies released Thursday, the association found that about 9 in 10 of them reported flat or decreased local and state funding. Nearly 3 in 5 had already cut service or raised fares.
“This is the worst I’ve seen in my 31 years in public transit,” said Art Guzzetti, the transportation association’s vice president for policy.
In California, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will raise fares from $1.25 to $1.50 per ride in July—with more raises possible later. The MTA is considering other measures, such as reducing hours on bus lines with lower passenger counts.
In March, the Orange County Transportation Authority reduced bus service by about 8% due to state budget cuts, decreased sales tax revenue and declining ridership.
But perhaps nowhere in the country is the crisis more acute than in Clayton County. Officials with the transportation association say the system is the only one they are aware of that has completely shut down due to budget pressure.
It is also a place where a large number of suburban working poor may now be stranded: A survey of riders in April 2008 found that 65% of them do not have access to a car. In a survey last month, 3 out of 4 said they may lose their jobs when the buses stopped rolling.
Much of that worry trundled along with bus 503 as it made the last of its morning tours Wednesday. The 503 route is one of the system’s most popular, ending at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where many riders work, and where others catch the regional MARTA train to points north.
Some riders on the 503 said they had arranged carpools with friends and family; others said their homes were within acceptable distance of the stops for the handful of regional express buses that will still run north into Atlanta. But many others were without solutions.
Carpenter Anthony Slade, 26, decided he would be walking to and from the airport MARTA station from his home four miles away. He figured that would come to about three hours of walking daily.
“It looks like I’m going to have to keep that up until they get the bus service going on again,” he said.
Riding in the front of the bus was William Griffin Jr., 65—a minister, formerly drug-addicted and homeless, now clean and sporting a hat festooned with hand-scrawled tributes to Jesus.
He said he had called one of the private jitney services that have been circulating handbills promising rides for locals. But Griffin hasn’t found one that goes to his neighborhood.
At stake, Griffin said, was his job at a recycling plant in the far northern suburbs.
“In this recessionary time, they’re not going to hold this job for you until the buses are back,” he said.
Mark Watson, 35, was heading to his job at the county dump. His wife works a 4 a.m. shift at a hospital in midtown Atlanta. He said he’d probably start driving her there, then driving 40 minutes back to Clayton County in the 20-year-old car they share.
“It’s running bad right now, so that drive to midtown has got me scared,” he said.
It was October when the county commission voted, 4 to 1, to end bus service by the end of March.
The one vote to maintain the bus system came from Eldrin Bell, the commission chairman and former Atlanta police chief. In an interview Tuesday, Bell said he feared the loss of the bus system would result in more foreclosures and lower property values.
He feared for the college students, probationers and sick people without cars who would now be stranded. He said he feared rising crime as people turned from legitimate to illegitimate work.
“I’ve lived with racism,” said Bell, who is one of four black commissioners on the five-member board. “But this is a new one—it’s called classism. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Bell contends that the commission could have found a way to fund the buses. But Commissioner Wole Ralph said it just wasn’t possible.
The bus system costs about $10 million per year to operate. The bus fares, he said, covered about $2 million of that.
The county had been covering much of the rest of the price tag with the fees from subdivision applications, Ralph said. But these days there aren’t many subdivisions going up in the Atlanta suburbs.
“The only responsible thing to do was to cut the service,” Ralph said. “This economy has forced individuals to tighten their belts, and governments have to do it too.”
The commissioners said the bus service could be restored by a bill now in the Legislature that would allow the county to levy an additional sales tax to extend MARTA—the big regional transit service that mostly operates in Fulton and Dekalb counties—into Clayton.
But that would also involve a countywide referendum. Bell said in the best-case scenario, buses would not return to the streets until August.
The 503 pulled into the airport lot just before 7 a.m. and Griffin, the minister, addressed them all.
“I would like to say good morning to everyone,” he boomed. “I would like you to all to know that Jesus loves you—and that it’s not over till it’s over.”
richard.fausset@ latimes.com
Staff writer Raja Abdulrahim in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Richmond needs more Bike lanes! I cycle to work daily and it is a risk each day. Drivers are not very kind to cyclists around this area even though we are part of traffic.
How about service that does more than take me to and from work?
Let’s pull together to get comprehensive public transit that provides a real alternative to single occupancy vehicles clogging the roads.