HRPTA Blog
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The Tide Light Rail Still Successful, 6 Months Later
Source: PilotOnline.com By Debbie Messina The Virginian-Pilot February 18, 2012 NORFOLK Measuring The Tide’s impact in its first six months goes beyond noting that there’s standing room only on many trains heading out of downtown at 5 p.m., and that many more people are riding than were expected. Consider that roommates Stephanie Garcia and Jubilee Whaley rented an apartment within walking distance of a station so they could ride to college and work. Or that Kevin Henderson realized he and his wife need only one car between them because he commutes to work every day on The Tide. Or how [...]
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Bipartisan Surface Transportation Authorization Bill Needs Your Support
Source: APTA U.S. Senate Ready to Debate Bipartisan Surface Transportation Authorization Bill Late last week the U.S. Senate, by a vote of 85 to 11, agreed to a motion to begin consideration of S.1813, ”Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act” (MAP-21) – the Senate’s surface transportation authorization bill. As the Senate moves one step closer to passing this long-awaited legislation, APTA applauds the bipartisan consensus, especially with regard to the Senate Banking Committee’s public transportation title. The Senate’s legislation maintains dedicated financing for public transportation initiatives at Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 levels for the length of the [...]
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Hampton Roads Transit will extend bus service to Norfolk International Airport through March 31
Source: HRT By Cindy Clayton The Virginian-Pilot February 14, 2012 NORFOLK Hampton Roads Transit officials will extend bus service to Norfolk International Airport through March 31. They want more time to gather information to determine whether the new route should be permanent, according to an HRT news release. The service had been scheduled to run through March 10. If 10 riders per hour use the service, HRT could continue the new route 7. The hourly service runs from 5 a.m. until 11:47 p.m., seven days a week and costs $1.50 per trip. Route 7 serves the arrivals and departures terminals [...]
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House Ways and Means Committee Would Eliminate Historical Funding Source
Source: APTA The House Ways and Means Committee has released the tax title of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012 – the House of Representatives surface transportation authorization bill. The Ways and Means Committee title makes drastic changes by eliminating the use of motor fuel tax revenues for public transportation, revenues that have been dedicated to public transportation for nearly 30 years. These revenues, which currently go to public transportation, will generate $25 billion in funding over the 5 year life of the bill, and would support nearly half of the authorized funding for public transportation. This [...]
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APTA Legislative Press Release on T&I Funding
Source: AFTA HOUSE TRANSPORTATION & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE AND SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE MOVE FORWARD ON AUTHORIZATION PROPOSALS; FUNDING PROPOSALS TO COME Major action on surface transportation authorization bills will occur this week in the House and Senate, as the House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee are each scheduled to mark-up their respective authorization proposals on Thursday, February 2. While the T&I Committee will lead efforts on the House proposal, other committees will have important roles in crafting financing portions of the bill. The House Ways and Means Committee, as well as the [...]
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William E. Harrell hired as Hampton Roads Transit’s new President & CEO
Source: HRT NORFOLK, VA – The Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads on Thursday selected William E. Harrell as the new president and CEO of Hampton Roads Transit. The vote was unanimous. Harrell, the city manager of Cheapeake, will replace Philip A. Shucet who was hired in February 2010 to help complete construction of The Tide light rail. After rail service began in August 2011, Shucet initiated a series of internal reforms to improve HRT’s overall management practices and make HRT a more publicly accountable organization. Shucet is returning to his private transportation consulting business. Harrell has served as Chesapeake’s [...]
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Cheat The Tide and It Costs You $250. Not Worth It
Source: HRT Light rail freeloaders face fines NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – People who ride the Tide without a ticket are getting caught. Hampton Roads Transit told WAVY.com that so far this year 38 people have been caught. In 2011, 383 riders were caught without a ticket. The Tide started service in Aug. 2011. So far, it has exceeded original projections of 2,900 passengers a day. Riders who get caught without a ticket can be fined $250.
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HRPTA Board of Directors Meeting Set for February 14, 2012
Below is the official press release announcing February 14th as HRPTA’s first Board meeting of 2012 on the Peninsula. You are cordially invited and we would love to see you there to talk public transportation in Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads Public Transportation Alliance HRPTA.COM @HRPTA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sylvia Hill, Program Committee Chair Phone: (757) 962-0134 Email: info@hrpta.com Date and Location for HRPTA’s February Board of Directors Meeting set for February 14th at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center Newport News, January 23, 2011 – The Hampton Roads Public Transportation Alliance (HRPTA) has set a date for the February Board [...]
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Road upgrades would float Navy’s boat, admiral says
Source: PilotOnline.com By Debbie Messina The Virginian-Pilot January 20, 2012 With more than 81,000 active-duty Navy sailors in Hampton Roads who rely on the transportation network to get to work, the commander of the Navy’s mid-Atlantic region told regional leaders Thursday that improvements must be made to reduce congestion and increase mobility. “In order to do what we need to do in this area, we need to have a reliable, efficient transportation system,” Rear Adm. T.G. Alexander told the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization. “We want to grow our presence here if the opportunity presents itself; we don’t want to [...]
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Commonwealth Transportation Board withdraws $5 million in unused funds
Source: Daily Press CHESAPEAKE — The Commonwealth Transportation Board has withdrawn $5 million in funding for Hampton Roads transportation projects that wasn’t being used. Aubrey Layne, the Hampton Roads CTB representative, made the announcement Thursday at the monthly meeting of the Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization. He said a total of $17 million was “de-allocated” statewide “for projects that are not moving forward.” “If the money is assigned, we have to use it,” Layne told the panel of local, state and federal officials who have purview over regional transportation planning. According to the CTB website, $4.9 million in matching funds [...]
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An Act to amend and reenact § 15.2-4507 of the Code of Virginia, relating to membership of the Transportation District Commission of Hampton Roads
Approved March 24, 2011 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That § 15.2-4507 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows: § 15.2-4507. Members of transportation district commissions. A. Any transportation district commission created shall consist of the number of members the component governments shall from time to time agree upon, or as may otherwise be provided by law. The governing body of each participating county and city shall appoint from among its members the number of commissioners to which the county or city is entitled; however, for those commissions with powers as [...]
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Requesting the Department of Rail and Public Transportation to study transit-related issues in the Commonwealth
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 297 Agreed to by the Senate, February 2, 2011 Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 22, 2011 WHEREAS, the mission of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) is to improve the mobility of goods and people while expanding transportation choices in the Commonwealth; and WHEREAS, in the last six years alone, DRPT has started six new transit systems in 16 communities; and WHEREAS, DRPT has also been instrumental in implementing some of the largest transit projects in decades including the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project and the Norfolk Light Rail Project (the Tide), [...]
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Public Transit Riders to See Taxes Increase More Than $550 in 2012
Source: American Public Transportation Association American Public Transportation Association Calls on Congress to Correct Bias That Favors Driving over Taking Public Transit Due to Congressional inaction during last month’s tax deliberations, the new year ushered in a tax increase to public transit riders. Currently, commuters who use public transit, commuter buses and van pools may see their annual commuting costs increase by more than $550 based on a bias in the tax code that benefits driving over taking public transit. In addition, the failure to extend the benefit has resulted in a tax liability increase for companies offering the benefit. [...]
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U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Awards $186 Million to Illinois to Expand High-Speed Rail in the Midwest
Source: Federal Railroad Administration U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today awarded more than $186 million to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for a high-speed rail project that will reduce travel times and put Americans back to work this spring. “The Great Lakes-Midwest economic region is the world’s fifth largest economy by Gross Domestic Product, and nearly 100 million people live within 500 miles of each other,” said Secretary LaHood. “The Department of Transportation’s investment of more than $1 billion in the region’s high-speed rail service will reduce trip times and save travelers money, resulting in reduced congestion for the [...]
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HRPTA Board of Directors Meeting Set for January 10, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sylvia Hill, Program Committee Chair Phone: (757) 962-0134 Email: info@hrpta.com Date and Location for HRPTA’s January Board of Directors Meeting set for January 10th at MacArthur Memorial Research Center Norfolk, January 2, 2011 – The Hampton Roads Public Transportation Alliance (HRPTA) has set a date for the January Board of Directors meeting for January 10th. The meeting will be held January 10, 2012 from 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM at the MacArthur Memorial Research Center, 198 Bank Street, Norfolk, VA 23510. HRPTA Board of Directors meetings are public events and the citizens of Hampton Roads are [...]
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HRT Plans To Boost Bus, Ferry Service as Toll Alternative #HRVA
Source: HRT By Debbie Messina The Virginian-Pilot December 14, 2011 Don’t want to pay tolls at the Downtown and Midtown tunnels starting next year? Mass transit may be an alternative. As part of the public-private deal to build a second Midtown tube, the private consortium will provide about $2.5 million each year to Hampton Roads Transit to improve bus and ferry service across the Elizabeth River. Service frequencies will be bolstered on two bus routes, from the Victory Crossing Transfer Center and from Tidewater Community College in Portsmouth, so that buses run every 15 minutes during peak hours. Those buses [...]
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Fairfax gives final approval needed for Dulles rail agreement
Source: Railway Track & Structures Fairfax gives final approval needed for Dulles rail agreement Thursday, December 08, 2011 The Virginia Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved changes to the funding agreement for the second phase of the Dulles Rail project, saving as much as an estimated $757 million in fees for Dulles Toll Road users. The board’s authorization was the final step needed to adopt the changes. The project’s other partners, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Loudoun County, Commonwealth of Virginia and U.S. Department of Transportation, agreed to the deal last month. “This strategy brings the cost of Phase 2 [...]
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Denver’s Eagle P3 commuter line receives $280 million federal loan
Source: Railway Track & Structures A federal loan of up to $280 million was awarded to advance construction on the 30-mile Eagle P3 commuter rail project, which will significantly expand transportation choices in the greater Denver area. “This loan brings Denver a step closer to completing this ambitious and far-reaching project that offers better transportation choices in one of the most densely populated regions of the country,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said. “We’re proud to promote a solid foundation for the region’s economic growth, while creating thousands of good jobs in Colorado.” The project is a two-pronged effort. The [...]
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Virginia (and Norfolk to Petersburg) Amtrak Service Funding Restored
Source: HamptonRoads.com By Debbie Messina The Virginian-Pilot December 2, 2011 Virginia will not lose the bulk of its Amtrak trains because of federal budget cuts as was feared. The new federal appropriations act restores the money the House originally eliminated for regional train service. Under the proposal, Virginia would have immediately lost 64 percent of its Amtrak trains, including Newport News service and the anticipated Norfolk service that’s to start in less than two years. State rail advocates, including Virginians for High Speed Rail and the Piedmont Rail Coalition, mounted letter-writing campaigns to congressional members to save the services. The [...]
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HRPTA The Tide Launch Day Festivities p.IV [video]
HRPTA was present for the launch day festivities of The Tide light rail system in Norfolk, VA on August 19, 2011. This is the fourth in a series of videos that will chronicle the exciting day for Hampton Roads.
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HRPTA The Tide Launch Day Festivities p.III [video]
HRPTA was present for the launch day festivities of The Tide light rail system in Norfolk, VA on August 19, 2011. This is the third in a series of videos that will chronicle the exciting day for Hampton Roads.
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HRPTA The Tide Launch Day Festivities p.II [video]
HRPTA was present for the launch day festivities of The Tide light rail system in Norfolk, VA on August 19, 2011. This is the second in a series of videos that will chronicle the exciting day for Hampton Roads.
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HRPTA The Tide Launch Day Festivities p.I [video]
HRPTA was present for the launch day festivities of The Tide light rail system in Norfolk, VA on August 19, 2011. This is the first in a series of videos that will chronicle the exciting day for Hampton Roads.
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Transit-Oriented Development Luncheon Program
Transit-Oriented Development Opportunities through Light Rail and Passenger Rail Connections Tom Clark, Executive Vice President, Metro Denver, CO (Economic Development arm of Denver’s Regional Chamber), will discuss the promotion of rail and light rail as the stimulus to development in Denver and the importance of being ready to take advantage of the opportunities to increase commercial property value. Where: The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center (4535 Commerce Street) When: Friday, October 21, 2011 Time: Registration/Networking: 11:30 AM Lunch: 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM Program: 12:45 PM – 1:15 PM Cost: $30 Reservations required by Monday, October 17, 2011. Sign up [...]
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The Tide Is Just One Point of Pride for Norfolk These Days
Source: Virginia Business With a 300-year history that includes two devastating fires and a yellow fever epidemic that wiped out a third of its population, Norfolk knows a thing or two about resilience and revival. Now, with the launch of its light-rail system, Virginia’s second-largest city continues to renew itself, while cementing its status as Hampton Roads’ financial and cultural hub. In August, Norfolk rolled out The Tide, Virginia’s first light-rail system, to fanfare and more than 75,000 riders during a three-day period. Expected to ease traffic congestion and provide an economic boost to the region, the 7.4 mile rail [...]