A November to Remember is coming for regional transit
Fall may be here in North Carolina, but there is a spring in our regional transit step. New routes are being added, service improvements are being activated, and an updated, excellent Wake Transit plan is nearing approval. There are many changes that will commence as soon as November 1st. We don’t cover all of them, but we give some highlights in this week’s blog. The regional business community applauds our area transit agencies and elected and transportation officials for delivering on these needed mobility enhancements across our market.
A brief but helpful visit to Washington
On Wednesday I had the opportunity to travel with members and partners of RTA Leadership Team member Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce for their visit to Washington, D.C. We met with several legislators and/or staffers including the offices of Senators Tillis and Budd, Representatives Knott and Rouzer, as well as members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee staff. It was a brief but productive, relationship-building visit, where we got an opportunity to speak on priorities ranging from accelerating the US 1/Capital Freeway to regional BRT, intercity passenger rail, and modernizing transportation funding. Thank you to the Wake Forest Chamber for coordinating the trip and setting up the various visits for our travel group, and thank you also to our various federal representatives and staffers for meeting with us and for serving the nation every day.
Southern California, here we come — again
With more than 80 nonstop destinations, including more than 65 in the United States, RDU’s route map continues to expand. Starting next year, the region will have a new way to get to southern California, with Alaska Airlines launching daily flights to San Diego. Breeze Airways also serves San Diego, so this is yet another opportunity for a convenient and attractive air service connection for business and/or leisure travel for our market. Kudos to RDU for their ongoing efforts to expand air service, and the airside and landside airport infrastructure needed to serve it well. Be sure to register for the RTA annual meeting in January, where our focus will be the future of RDU.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Let’s get moving,
Joe
