Why Bus Rapid Transit in Metropolitan Richmond? In a 2011 Brookings Institute study, "Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America," Richmond ranked 92 out of 100 major U.S. cities with regards to job access by public transportation. Currently in our metropolitan area, having the capacity to own and drive a car is requisite for access to the full range of job training, employment, higher education, healthy food, medical care, and cultural gifts that our region has to offer. Numerous analyses have highlighted repeatedly our need for metropolitan-wide transportation, in the name of justice, economic development, and mutual prosperity. Rapid Transit lanes with feeder buses connecting the city and counties down Routes 250, 360, 60, and 1, would vault Metro to the top 10% of accessible cities in the nation. This kind of collaborative integration and connectivity would provide an array of benefits:
Articles and studies regarding Rapid Transit are available here. The four proposed routes, with feeder buses covering the shaded areas: Background Resources ![]() As the first city in United States to develop a successful streetcar system, Richmond has a rich history with mass transit. The links below have information about Richmond's transportation past, about the vision for mass transit across the metropolitan area today, about Bus Rapid Transportation generally, and about "GRTC Pulse." |