10 Keys to Building Effective Signature Gathering
Start Early (6 to 12 months): An early start enables you to recruit volunteer signature gatherers, train staff and volunteers, identify hot spots for signature gathering, have packet parties, and set up systems. PRIOR to the signature gathering drive beginning, identify as many volunteers as possible to gather at public locations. Eighty percent of your […]
A Comprehensive Approach to Transit Safety
Public transit is already one of the safest ways to get around, with transit riders less likely to experience crime and get into traffic accidents compared to drivers. Still, there is room for improvement. Surveys of both riders and non-riders continue to show concern about safety while using transit. For example, a 2016 survey of […]
Toolkit: Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Request for Information (RFI)
While framed around “family-friendly” transit, this Request for Information (RFI) actually focuses on reforming how transit performance is measured. Current Metrics: Success is based primarily on trip counts and miles traveled. Proposed Shift: The FTA also wants to collect data that reflects the customer experience while using transit. Definition of “Family-Friendly”: High-quality, welcoming service for […]
Fare Free Transit: An Overview
Public transit increases economic activity, makes life more affordable for millions of people across the U.S., and helps reduce congestion and pollution. But despite these public benefits, public transit is not often treated as a universal public good, with most transit agencies in the United States charging a fare in order to ride. In order […]
Case Study: Why We Must Build Rural-Urban Unity to Win Transit for All (Transit for All PA)
Transit for All PA! has built a grassroots movement to win the policy solutions that fund critical transportation in rural and urban communities. It draws on the individual expertise of local activists and brings them together for statewide campaigns to win statewide solutions to local transit issues. Nearly 100 community organizations and businesses, 17 labor […]
Resource: CASTA Zero Fare Marketing Toolkit
In 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025, The Colorado Association of Transit Agencies (CASTA) was implemented and administered the Zero Fare Transit Grant Program for eligible agencies in Colorado other than RTD as a grantee of the Colorado Energy Office. As a result, the average per-month ridership increased 30.28% for agencies during their Ozone Season Zero Fare programs. You […]
Public Transit Briefing for State and Local Candidates
Every year since 2018, over three-quarters of ballot measures to fund public transportation have passed. And state and local elected officials have a wide range of opportunities to harness this popularity. Governors make appointments to state departments of transportation (DOTs), and those appointees can significantly affect state DOT priorities: Do they prioritize fixing existing roads, […]
Public Transit Briefing for Federal Candidates
Transportation funding levels and policies directly impact the issues that voters care about most. A good-paying job, affordable groceries, and quality health care are a lot less meaningful if you’re in traffic for hours each day, spend over a thousand dollars every month on car expenses, and risk financial ruin from a pothole each time […]
Toolkit: Raising transit issues with decision makers and in elections.
Introduction Transit issues are very popular with the voters: In 2024, APTA reported 51 wins out of 61 measures for public transit 2024, an 86.7% win rate. Link to summary “The public’s enthusiasm for investing in transit reflects a clear desire for cleaner, more accessible transportation options in their neighborhoods. The 2024 election has marked […]
Toolkit: Transit Equity Day 2026
2026 Transit Equity Day: Transit Moves Democracy On Rosa Parks’s Birthday, A Bench to Sit On Goals Mobilize volunteers to highlight the lack of seating/facilities for transit users Connect bench building volunteers to your organization’s campaigns, priorities, and larger movement work Leverage this opportunity to build business relationships (sponsor a bench) Background Public transit is […]
