Bill Carpenter, Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Transit Service in Rochester, New York, and President of the New York Public Transit Association, described in a podcast he recorded for the Board Savvy Transit CEO blog how RTS is translating two values – diversity and inclusion – into practice on his watch. With the strong support of the RTS Board, Bill has not only spearheaded efforts to diversify the RTS workforce at all levels, but has also made significant progress in building a culture of inclusion at RTS. As Bill explains, diversity is about the mix of people in the room, while inclusion is about their being respected, listened to, and understood.

Recent polls and media stories show a strong demand for communities where people of all ages and abilities can safely and comfortably walk and bike. Walkable and bikeable communities have many benefits: Opportunities for people to be healthy and active, reduced pedestrian injuries, less traffic congestion and air pollution, reduced crime due to more “eyes on the street,” and economically viable downtowns where people can walk, bike and shop. Creating walkable and bikeable environments requires the active collaboration of people with interests in safety, land use, economic development, transportation, education, law enforcement and health promotion.
This symposium will bring together people from these various disciplines and provide participants with the tools to work together to create walkable and bikeable communities in New York State.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s management of the troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has gotten a huge thumbs down from voters, a new Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday reveals.
"The consensus is someone has to pay the fare for bad mass transit, and at the moment, it's Gov. Andrew Cuomo who's getting his political ticket punched," said Tim Malloy, the poll’s assistant director.


President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal 2019 would leave cities and states on the hook for billions of dollars in spending on public transportation projects that are already underway.
The $4.4 trillion budget proposal rolled out this week would cut several grant programs funded by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), an office within the Department of Transportation that issues grants to localities in need of funding for massive transit projects they might not otherwise be able to afford.

Governor Phil Murphy on Thursday announced a plan to put 40 more cars back on NJ Transit rails to answer complaints about squeezing on overcrowded trains.
The Democratic governor said during a news conference at the Trenton train station that the transportation agency will put 20 rail cars back in service that had been waiting to have Positive Train Control equipment installed. NJ Transit also plans to lease 20 other rail cars from a Maryland commuter agency, Murphy said.

This summer, the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) and the City of Providence will break ground on the Downtown Transit Connector.
By extending routes through downtown and consolidating a large portion of RIPTA’s transit service on one path, buses will run every five minutes between the Providence Station, through the downtown core, and to the Ocean State’s largest hospital. The upgrade to transit frequency will be accompanied by bus lanes, shelters with real time information, wider sidewalks, and priority for buses at intersections. 9,000 riders are projected to use the service, for the cost of 17 million.


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