On the bus, though, I am able to sit back and relax.  I am able to catch up on my reading, do a little Facebooking, prepare for a meeting at work, or just chat with the other regulars.  With my schedule, I can’t take the number 20 bus in to downtown every day, but I cherish those days when I can.  My peaceful days.  That is one of the reasons I’m active with Transit Now Nashville; I want public transit to be so convenient that I, and others, can have more of those peaceful days.

We’d love for you to ride the bus (Route # 3 runs on West End). If you don’t ride but would like to know more, our booth will be next to MTA’s booth and they’ll have a full size bus there for you to walk in and check out. We’ll help give a tour and you can participate in a quick Transit Now Nashville Transit Camp that will help you with everything you need to know about riding. Also at our booth, we’ll likely have some transit swag for you just for stopping by to say hi!

For more information on Earth Day, see www.NashvilleEarthDay.org.

And, here’s a few important reasons why taking transit is good for the environment from www.publictransportation.org.

 Public Transportation Reduces Carbon Footprint

•  Communities that invest in public transit reduce the nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons annually: equivalent to New York City; Washington, DC; Atlanta; Denver; and Los Angeles combined stopping using electricity.
• One person switching to public transit can reduce daily carbon emissions by 20 pounds or more than 4,800 pounds in a year.
• A single commuter switching his or her commute to public transportation can reduce a household’s carbon emissions by 10% and up to 30% if he or she eliminates a second car. When compared to other household actions that limit CO2, taking public transportation can be 10 times greater in reducing this harmful greenhouse gas.

Public Transportation Saves Fuel, Reduces Congestion

• Access to bus and rail lines reduces driving by 4,400 miles per household annually.
• Americans living in areas served by public transportation save 646 million hours in travel time and 398 million gallons of fuel annually in congestion reduction alone.
• Without public transportation, congestion costs would have been an additional $13.7 billion.

Join us at Earth Day!

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/03/economic-case-rail-subsidies/5007/

In addition, Nashville MTA has been going through some changes that will impact the Transit App.  Earlier this month, the MTA released a request for proposals for the development of a new Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) and allowed us to give input on the specifics needed to make this app a reality.  We need an ITS system in order for the app to work, specifically, an ITS system that will relay the real-time information through an Automatic Programming Interface (API) to mobile apps.  The ITS system that MTA currently has, doesn’t have the necessary API components for a mobile app to work.  So this is great news.  Unfortunately, the project will be delayed until next winter, but we can guarantee that we’ll have an ITS system that will allow us to develop the best Transit App you can imagine.

Thank you for coming out, and we hope to see you at ALIAS this week!

Now you’re tempted.  Free food and drink… and you get to support non-profits, but how do you do that if you don’t have to pay?  Well, you do have the option to pay and that money will be pooled and given to one lucky non-profit at the end of the night who gets the most votes (last I heard, they have pooled $2,000).  Hang on a second, we’re voting?  That’s not till November 6th, right?  In this case, each person gets one voting ticket at the door that they can cast at a non-profit’s booth.  They can also get ten additional voting tickets if they win Minute-to-Win-It challenges.  So this is going to be an action packed evening and if you show up and win some challenges and give us our votes, we’ll win the entire pot of money and we’ll put it towards the Transit App project.

So good food…good drinks…balancing acts…and more funds for the Transit App, but only if you show up.  So please RSVP now because tickets are limited.  This is a 21 and up event and the doors open at 6PM.  See you there.

This is an important project because wouldn’t it be nice if the bus was never late or early ever again?  With real-time data in the palm of your hand, you’ll know exactly where the bus is…just five blocks away, stuck in traffic, or right around the corner.   You’ll be able to plan your movements around town on public transportation more efficiently and reliably.

Transit Now is proud to announce our partnership with the Nashville MTA on this project.  The MTA recently received a grant from the Nashville MPO to make this mobile app possible by building the needed internal programming (API) so we can develop the apps.  We have to raise the funds to develop the app once the API is complete.  So far, we have received endorsements from:

• Nashville MTA
• Mayor Karl Dean
• Nashville Civic Design Center
• Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee

So in order to make these apps happen, we need your support. Please check out our CrowdRise page and donate today.

The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee will kick off a series of ongoing public information sessions on the East-West Connector bus rapid transit (BRT) project with four sessions scheduled next month.  The East-West Connector Community Forums will be held at locations along the East-West Connector corridor from the White Bridge Road area in West Nashville to Five Points in East Nashville.

The Community Forums will provide information on the proposed route and transit station locations, as well as how BRT differs from traditional bus service.

Listed below are the locations and times for the initial series of community forums as well as the Nashville MTA bus routes that serve each location:

Community Forums

Vine Street Christian Church | Monday |  5:30 p.m. | July 9 | 4101 Harding Road | (Routes 3 & 5)

East Nashville Community Center | Wednesday | 5:30 p.m. | July 11 | 601 Russell St. | (Routes 4 & 20)

Downtown Library | Tuesday | 11 a.m. | July 17 | 615 Church St. | (Routes 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 17 & 38X)

West End United Methodist Church | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | July 18 | 2200 West End Ave. | (Routes 3, 5 &11)

“After several weeks of studies and preliminary design work by our engineering consultants, we now have a route and preliminary transit station locations to share with residents, business and property owners, and employees who work along the corridor,” said Nashville MTA Board Chair Freddie O’Connell.  “These forums are an important opportunity for us to listen to individual comments, concerns, and suggestions that will help us plan a successful BRT project.”

The East-West Connector will run along an eight-mile corridor that stretches from Five Points in East Nashville to the White Bridge Road area in West Nashville. It will allow residents and visitors to travel through the heart of the city faster than they can in a car stuck in traffic. The BRT service is expected to serve more than one million passengers in its first year.

“Public input is critical to the success of the East-West Connector,” Mayor Karl Dean said. “I urge Nashvillians to make an effort to attend one of these area forums to learn more about this transformative project and provide feedback that will be invaluable as planning for the BRT line moves forward in the next year.”

Additional community forums and information sessions to share specific recommendations and implementation options will be held at later dates. For more information on the project, log on to www.eastwestconnector.org or like the project on Facebook. More information about the Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee is at www.thetransitalliance.org

“The Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee is committed to working with MTA and Mayor Dean in making the East-West Connector a cornerstone of our regional transportation network,” said Charles Bone, chairman of the Transit Alliance.

The East-West Connector Engineering and Environmental Analysis is being led by URS Corporation, a leading provider of engineering, construction and technical services for public agencies and private sector companies around the world.

Please note that attendance at these meetings is not required for comment.  Individuals also may mail comments to MTA Planning Department, attn:  Public Meeting Comments, 430 Myatt Drive, Nashville, Tenn.  37115, fax comments to (615) 862-6208, call Customer Care at (615) 862-5950or email them to mta.publicmeetings@nashville.gov. Comments also may be left on the East-West Connector hotline at (615) 425-5313.

With Beacon’s proposed operating budget, MTA would need to significantly reduce its service. MTA needs an operating budget to pay drivers and buy gas. Without this funding, 524 MTA jobs will be lost and lives throughout the Nashville region will be disrupted. The buses, that are already paid for, will not be able to take the 12,000 registered users of AccessRide to work or healthcare. This service primarily serves the disabled and older citizens of Davidson County who cannot or should not drive. This population represents 400,000 rides projected in fiscal year 2013. Further, there are 3,000 Metro school students who use MTA’s service every school day. We can only speculate the adjustments these households will need to make if this public service is compromised.

In addition to these populations, many citizens in our working class depend on MTA to get to work. In fact, MTA projects that half of the 11 million trips will be purchased by these commuters in fiscal year 2013. Without the service MTA provides, these citizens will find another way, most likely in a car, to travel to jobs throughout the region. Inevitably, Beacon’s proposed budget means more congestion on our roadways and consequently more air pollution in our region.

There are over 40 businesses that participate in MTA’s EasyRide program, a program that allows employers to provide direct incentives and subsidies to encourage their employees to use transit. These businesses include Baptist Hospital, Belmont University, First Tennessee Bank, LP Business Products, Lipscomb University, St. Thomas Hospital, SunTrust Bank, United Methodist Publishing House, and Vanderbilt University. Clearly many private businesses recognize the value of transit. In addition to the many external benefits businesses receive from transit such as a healthier and happier workforce, there are also direct business advantages gained. For example, for every employee that chooses to ride transit there will be one less parking space that an employer will not be burdened with providing.

Metro’s budget isn’t simply math, its about setting priorities without losing quality of life for our citizens.

One more factoid… without getting into too much detail about government logistics, we want everyone to understand that some of MTA’s budget is reserved for matches to state and federal grants. If MTA’s budget is cut as Beacon proposes, Metro and MTA are on the hook for an estimated $100,000,000 that would have to be returned to the federal government.

So please, do what we did! Contact your representative on the Metro Council and let your voice be heard!

Transit NOW Nashville

In an effort to further the discussion, the following infographic seeks to illustrate the capital cost of parking infrastructure on a per mile basis. The cost shown are exclusively related to the parking space and the vehicle and do not include the costs of the roadway and maintenance.

If these costs were reduced through less demand for the spaces by making transit, bicycling, walking, or car sharing easier alternatives, where would these extra dollars be spent or saved? What impacts would there be on the local economy?

Cost of Parking Per Mile