MetroNow Dispatch 1.2022
This month we launch the Bus Transformation Project Progress Report and announce the 2022 Bus Champions Roundtable. We hope you will join us and become a Bus Champion today.
Bus Transformation Project Progress Report
In 2019, the Washington area regional Bus Transformation Project (BTP) Strategy and Action Plan were released, with 26 recommendations to create a more cohesive, frequent and reliable system that works for riders. While COVID-19 forced public transit agencies to pivot their focus to near-term priorities of safety and service provision, the pandemic also showed that bus service is essential for community resilience. Bus operators kept our region open by providing transportation access for residents - which was especially critical for low income and essential workers.
The MetroNow Coalition produced the Bus Transformation Project Progress Report to measure progress against the BTP strategy's recommendations, and more importantly, to call the region to action. By prioritizing better bus service we can improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who use the bus today – increasing access to opportunity, strengthening the regional economy, and creating a regionally coordinated bus network that will grow ridership and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.
Enough Plans; Let’s Do!
Throughout the pandemic, the bus has been the proverbial workhorse of our public transportation system. In light of the ongoing 7000-series railcar debacle, the bus has had to pick up even more slack while confronting a COVID-induced operator shortage. It is high-time this region dedicates the adequate resources, attention, and political will to our bus network, the same way it has Metrorail.
Thankfully, we already have a plan to do so. Since 2019, transit agencies across the region have been advancing the four pillars and twenty-six initiatives of the BTP strategy, whether or not they actually use the BTP as their guiding star. The four-pillared strategy is:
Provide Frequent and Convenient Bus Service
Give Buses Priority on Roadways
Create an Excellent Customer Experience
Empower a Task Force to Transform the Bus
Actually implementing the BTP and transforming bus service will require sustained political will as well as adequate operational and capital funding. Prioritizing buses on roadways and enforcing those dedicated bus lanes makes buses faster and more reliable but can face opposition from those who are comfortable with the status quo. Converting to electric bus fleets and building accessible bus stops will cost money today but can save money down the line.
Our region’s leaders need to hear from their constituents that they should stand up for buses and bus riders, granting the bus the same political importance as Metrorail, or even more. Bus service is essential to hundreds of thousands of residents around the region and relied on most heavily by low-income residents. It is time we recognize the essential role that bus plays in our transportation system.
Six Key Initiatives to Advance Bus Transformation
Twenty-six initiatives is a lot to focus on, so, based on our analysis producing this report and conversations with transit agency staff and stakeholders around the region, we identified six near-term priorities the region should come together to work towards to accelerate bus transformation in 2022:
Support WMATA’s Regional Bus Network Redesign Process
Build Ten Miles of New Bus Lanes & Implement Bus Enforcement Strategy
Create a Regional Strategy to Recruit & Retain Bus Operators
Create a Strategy for Zero Emissions Infrastructure & Workforce
Consolidate Regional Data on Bus Operations & Best Practices
Create a Regional Strategy to Address the Transit Funding Cliff
Two of the initiatives, the need to recruit & retain more bus operators and the need to address the coming transit funding cliff in FY2024, were not part of the original BTP strategy, but the Coalition believes both will be critical to address in the near-term in order for the region to build a fast, frequent, and reliable regional bus network.
2022 Bus Champions Roundtable
Reports are fun and all, but we want to see action. To build upon our report, the MetroNow Coalition is hosting the 2022 Bus Champions Roundtable — a series of moderated discussions with the region’s key business, transportation, and elected leaders with an overarching goal of cultivating a generation of “bus champions” working to accelerate regional bus transformation. Each Bus Champions Roundtable conversation will focus on one or more of the six key initiatives that we identified in the Progress Report.
We know our region needs more Bus Champions who will stand up for buses and the needs of bus riders. The MetroNow Coalition asks you to add your voice to the growing chorus of residents and stakeholders saying, “Now is the time for better transit!” by becoming a Bus Champion today.
In 2022, Washington Area Bus Champions agree to:
support MetroNow’s Six Key Bus Initiatives for 2022;
participate in WMATA’s Regional Bus Network Redesign (kicking off in 2022);
stand up for adequate bus funding (both operational & capital funding); and
support prioritizing buses on roadways with dedicated bus lanes.
Sign up to register as a champion for buses in your community and receive updates about webinars, events, and other opportunities to take action to support the bus.
Bus Champions Roundtable Kickoff: February 2 at 10am
Register now for the first Bus Champions briefing on Wednesday, February 2 at 10am to learn more about the Bus Transformation Project Progress Report and kick off the 2022 Bus Champions Roundtable series.
Bus Champions for Bus Network Redesigns: February 15 at Noon
Save the Date for Tuesday, February 15 at noon to learn more about Bus Network Redesigns, different approaches, and the regional context including WMATA’s upcoming redesign and DASH’s recently completed redesign.
Transit Champion of the Month: Paul Wiedefeld
On Tuesday, after more than six years leading WMATA — two during the COVID pandemic — Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Paul Wiedefeld announced he is retiring and will leave his position in six months. MetroNow Released the following statement thanking Paul Wiedefeld for his service to the region:
“The MetroNow Coalition commends and thanks WMATA GM & CEO Paul Wiedefeld for his service to the region. Paul has been a pivotal leader in helping the region move the WMATA system forward over the past six years. He prioritized the safety of the region’s transit system and worked with the Coalition and the region’s leaders to deliver the historic dedicated funding deal in 2018 – a 40+ year priority for the region. Paul provides the region with a strong foundation for his successor, and we look forward to working with the next dynamic leader to address critical near-term challenges like fixing WAMTA’s railcar operations, partnering with jurisdictional stakeholders to transform the region’s bus operations, and providing a clear path to returning riders to the system – all these to drive and support the strongest and healthiest recovery possible.”
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The MetroNow Coalition is made up of regional leaders from the business, non-profit, and advocacy communities who believe that transit is designed to bring us together —at work, school, and play. Today, we believe our collective advocacy for better transit for the Washington DC region is more important than ever.
We launched the MetroNow Dispatch to bring residents, leaders, and transit agencies together to think about how we can make better transit today, during the pandemic, and “tomorrow,” as we look beyond recovery to how we can build a more equitable, sustainable, and accessible transportation system for our region.