Title
To express the Council's support for the Greater Richmond Transit Company's application for the Transit Ridership Incentive Program through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation for the purpose of maintaining the Greater Richmond Transit Company's current zero fare policy.
Body
WHEREAS, pursuant to Chapter 1230 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, the General Assembly enacted the Transit Ridership Incentive Program (the "TRIP Program"); and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, the TRIP Program is currently being developed by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation will be seeking approval from the Commonwealth Transportation Board for the TRIP Program, the application process for which is expected to begin in July, 2021; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of the Council, the TRIP Program is a statewide grant program whose purpose is to improve regional transit connectivity in urban areas and reduce barriers to public transit through low income and zero fare programming; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of Council, the TRIP Program focuses on urban metropolitan areas with populations of 100,000 or more, which includes the city of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of Council, other Virginia localities are implementing or pursuing "fare free" or "zero fare" policies including the cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Roanoke; and
WHEREAS, upon information and belief of Council, a plan for exploring additional sources of funding for the future sustainability of zero fare policies should be developed; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the City of Richmond that the Council support the Greater Richmond Transit Company's application for the TRIP Program through the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transpo...
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