In a community where developers have responded to calls for urban density along transit corridors by building units and planning to build more, a more efficient public transportation system is often cited as a primary way to mitigate road congestion by providing a reliable alternative to driving.
How will public transportation be governed in the future in this community? There’s both a Regional Transit Vision Plan and a Regional Transit Governance Study to inform some of that discussion.
But judging by activity levels at public comment periods and letters to newspapers, the largest transit issue in this community appears to be the future fuel sources for vehicles with a large push from several advocacy groups who insist the City of Charlottesville invest in converting the fleet to non-diesel vehicles as soon as possible, or at least to make a commitment to no longer purchase any vehicles that run on fossil fuels.
For a full recap, here are several stories:
- City Council gets update on study on future fuels for CAT, August 2, 2023
- Sanders addresses community feedback on fuel for public transportation, September 11, 2023
- Charlottesville Area Transit fuel study recommendations delayed until January, November 10, 2023
- CAT fuel study recommends purchase of two battery-electric vehicles in 2024 for pilot , January 16, 2024
- Council briefed on request to pilot two alternative fuel sources for CAT, January 27, 2024
Now, a quicker recap. A study conducted by the firm Kimley Horn has recommended purchasing two battery-electric vehicles in the near future and pursuing the purchase of a hydrogen vehicle in 2027. That would provide additional time to evaluate emerging technologies while also replacing some vehicles with diesel buses as needed.
At this meeting, Council will also hear from the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Neighborhood Development Services. The report from the latter will address the campaigns led by the Community Climate Collaborative and Cville 100.
No one appears to have advocated for Charlottesville Area Transit to implement a System Optimization Plan preliminary endorsed by City Council in 2021 two and a half years ago. Here’s a story I wrote a year later in June 2022 when the Regional Transit Partnership got an update.
Every time I ask why these route changes and service expansions have not been made, I get a variation of what is stated in this presentation.
“The [System Optimization Plan] has not been implemented, due to driver, vehicle, and parts shortages,” reads page 21 of the presentation.
An update on the system optimization plan begins on page 24 in the form an update on the Transit Strategic Plan which the slide states will lay “a path away from existing Extended Lifeline service and toward the expanded services in the regional vision.”
Council will get an update on that plan at a work session on April 16.
CAT Director Garland Williams has consistently explained that he does not feel existing battery-electric vehicles are up to the task of delivering service reliably.
It is perhaps worth mentioning here that there used to be an advisory board for Charlottesville Area Transit, but it was dissolved sometime during the pandemic.
Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the February 26, 2024 Week Ahead. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.
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