Federal stimulus spending will enable the Charlottesville Area Transit to operate without fares for three years. The agency is also considering a plan to make the fare-free service permanent.
"Charlottesville Area Transit is planning not to charge for rides during the next three years," reports Katherine Knott.
Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT) Director Garland Williams last week informed the Regional Transit Partnership of the fare-free program, crediting funding from the CARES Act, approved in March 2020, and the more recent American Rescue Plan, approved in March 2021.
CAT has operating fare-free throughout the pandemic, according to Knott as a way to limit physical contact between drivers and riders. In addition to the three-year fare-free program, Williams also announced that CAT is studying making the transit system fare free permanently.
An article from earlier in March by Allison Wrabel also reports that CAT is working on a plan to restore service to pre-pandemic levels while restructuring bus service on a high frequency grid. That proposal includes an could potentially yield an increase in service hours, new weekend service, and improved frequencies and heavily used routes.
FULL STORY: CAT planning to stay fare-free for three years
Denver's Regional Transit District to Overhaul Bus System
The Regional Transportation District will focus on providing improved service on its most popular lines while eliminating underused routes and replacing them with on-demand microtransit.
Driver Shortages and Service Reductions: The Crisis in Public Transit Continues
While transit systems around the country had reason to celebrate the new funding made available in the federal infrastructure bill, long-term concerns about operational capacity have not been resolved.
New High-Frequency Bus Service Dubbed 'Go Lines' in Duluth
The city of Duluth's reimagined bus transit system will go into effect in Summer 2022 along green and blue "Go Lines."
Planning for Congestion Relief
The third and final installment of Planetizen's examination of the role of the planning profession in both perpetuating and solving traffic congestion.
Minneapolis Housing Plan a Success—Not for the Reason You Think
Housing advocates praise the city’s move to eliminate single-family zoning by legalizing triplexes on single-family lots, but that isn’t why housing construction is growing.
New White House Housing Initiative Includes Zoning Reform Incentives
The Biden administration this morning released a new program of actions intended to spur housing construction around the United States.
Study: Most of Vancouver Is a ‘15-Minute City’
A large majority of Vancouver residents can access a grocery store in 15 minutes or less by bicycle or on foot.
Urban Design, Transport, and Health
The Lancet medical journal published a series of articles that explore how to evaluate and guide urban planning decisions to create healthy and sustainable cities. Live long and prosper!
Detroit Bike Share Celebrates Five Years
In its five years of operation, Detroit’s MoGo bikeshare has added electric and adaptive bikes to its fleet of more than 600 bikes.
Urban Planning Partners
Sandy City
Ada County Highway District
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Redwood City
City of Rohnert Park
City of Hot Springs
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
