MetroNow Dispatch 2.2022
It's February, Wednesday, and cold in the DC metro. In this month's Dispatch: Time to be Bold on Better Bus, Transit Equity Day is this FRIDAY, and FY23 Budgets. You rock. We can do this.
Together, Towards Better Bus
1. Today (soon): BTP Progress Report Launch Event
Join MetroNow Now tthis morning for our virtual BTP Progress Report launch event today (Weds. 2/2) at 10am EST. Tell your friends, move your other zoom call, bring coffee. Kate Mattice, Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission is our special guest!
2. Bus service is back + Bonuses for new bus operators
WMATA announced it will restore regular weekday bus service starting Monday, February 7th, as our region’s bus operators recover from the omicron wave and our transit agencies are able to fully staff for regular service. Wishing everyone continued health and safety.
Yesterday, Metro launched a campaign to hire 70 bus drivers, which includes a signing bonus of up to $2,500. *did someone say 70 good, green jobs?* This is great, and a good start — but we have to do more. MetroNow calls for the Creation of a Regional Strategy to Recruit & Retain Bus Operators as one of our six key initiatives for 2022 in the Bus Transformation Project (BTP) Progress Report.
3. Time to Learn about Bus Network Redesigns, baby
WMATA will soon launch a regional bus network redesign project. On Tuesday, 2/15 @12pm EST, the Coalition for Smarter Growth will host a presentation and discussion on how redesigning bus networks for increased frequency and reliability will improve access to jobs, increase ridership, and improve efficiency. Join Lora Byala, Foursquare ITP, and Scudder Wagg, Jarrett Walker Associates and MetroNow to hear lessons learned from bus network redesign projects in Alexandria, Baltimore, Richmond and Hampton Roads. The roundtable is being hosted by the MetroNow Coalition, the Coalition for Smarter Growth and Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Dispatch Scoop: We have another special guest lined up for 2/15!
Read More:
Report from transit advocates calls for improved, coordinated bus service for D.C. region (Washington Post, 1.29.22) “D.C. spent about $40 million of its annual bus subsidy on buses sitting in traffic, according to one model. So making the bus better on our roadways, prioritizing it on our roadways will free up more funding for prioritizing our bus drivers.”
The Pandemic Slowed The Region’s Bus Transformation Plan. Advocates Say It’s Time To Refocus On Better Service (DCist,1.26.22) “In a statement responding to the report, Metro said ‘We appreciate the hard work of MetroNow and its organizations to put this report together and for their strong support of the Bus Transformation Project. …We understand the vital role buses play in providing essential, accessible transportation and will continue to work with our jurisdictional and funding partners to address the operational and budgetary challenges moving forward.’”
How do you build a better regional bus network? This coalition has some ideas (GGWash, 1.24.22) “The pandemic, ongoing Metrorail saga and a looming FY24 operating budget fiscal cliff facing our transit agencies shows that it is more important than ever that we double down on the transformation of the bus, and build a more efficient, effective, and resilient transit system,” said JB Holston, CEO of the Greater Washington Partnership.
Report says Montgomery County has good bus service, but region needs more investment (Bethesda Beat, 1.20.22) “Transit is a big part of our future and a big part of achieving our climate action goals,” Chris Conklin, director of the county’s Department of Transportation, said. “And making it more accessible and reliable, and to meet more of the trip purposes that our people have, is an important part of this.”
Become a Bus Champion to stay tuned for more announcements of our Bus Champions Roundtables series.
Transit Equity Day, this FRIDAY, February 4th
This Friday’s Transit Equity Day Celebrates Rosa Parks’ 109th Birthday, and honors her legacy by continuing the call for deeper investments in public transit to provide mobility and freedom for all.
Friday, today, and every day is a good day to donate to organizations, and pay people who are doing racial, climate, and transportation justice work. Here are some other ways you can celebrate Transit Equity Day:
Ride the bus. Take Metrorail. Wear a mask (N-95s are free now!). Say thank you to each human who makes your trip possible (safely, at a distance). Have fun.
Take a look at WMATA’s Transit Equity Framework. This was a major effort led by former DC WMATA Board member Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins, and is a foundational first step to reexamine how we prioritize service and transit investment.
Make it known that we want Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to be the next the House T&I committee chair when DeFazio leaves (if one of you could text Speaker Pelosi that would be great).
Join the Coalition for Smarter Growth on February 4th at 12 pm for a panel discussion on how to provide transit equity without displacing the communities who rely on transit the most. Hear leaders talk about the challenges and potential solutions for improving transit and related redevelopment without displacing existing low-income communities and small businesses.
Explore TransitCenter’s Transit Equity Dashboard for Washington, D.C.
Listen to IndyGo’s Music in Transit Series, with some of Indianapolis’s prized musicians like Durand Jones and TribeSoul.
Budgets
MetroNow continues to be focused on how to address the looming FY24 fiscal cliff and support WMATA’s long-range strategic planning efforts. Look out for an email from MetroNow soon about our FY23 WMATA budget comments.
*****And see you soon → Join MetroNow at 10am (Weds., 2/2) for a conversation about the Bus Transformation Project Progress Report.
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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 theMetroNow 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.