GRTC's BRT system lauded for accessibility, connectivity

The Greater Washington Partnership released a new case study, “Richmond’s Transit Revolution: GRTC Ridership and Accessibility Analysis,” which analyzes the historic investments made in 2018 in the Richmond metro area that has transformed the area’s transit system into a national leader.

In 2018, the City of Richmond, Henrico County, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) revolutionized its transit system with the launch of the Pulse Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, a bus redesign in Richmond and historic expansion of service in Henrico County. These changes increased access to transit and jobs, and resulted in a 17% ridership increase from July 2018 to April 2019 compared to the previous year.

According to the report, today, 12% of all households in the metro area and nearly 50% of households in poverty in Richmond have access to frequent, reliable transit options. The average Richmond resident can now access nearly 2,000 more jobs by transit within an hour. In Henrico County, 40% of its households in poverty can now access public transportation, and for the first time, much of that service is now accessible during weekday evenings and weekends.

The Pulse BRT, the backbone of the new transit system and the premier BRT in the Capital Region of Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond, connects Downtown Richmond to Henrico County with fast, frequent, and reliable service. The Pulse was awarded the Bronze Standard by the Institute for Development & Transportation Policy (ITDP), becoming the seventh world-class BRT corridor in the U.S.

The case study was released at an event co-hosted by ChamberRVA and RVA Rapid Transit that brought together regional leaders to highlight Richmond's transportation progress in the past year.

In November, the Greater Washington Partnership released the Blueprint for Regional Mobility, the first-ever CEO-driven strategic mobility plan for the entire Capital Region. Through Richmond’s bold action on transit in 2018, it has a head start on its mobility goals as stated in the Blueprint: faster commutes, better options, and more access.

You may access the full case study on the Partnership's website here.

Originally posted on Metro Magazine