National Get on Board Day Scheduled April 25
The Chatham Area Transit Authority announced today that it will join with other public transportation systems nationwide to participate in National Get On Board Day on Thursday, April 25 by urging non-riders to give the transit system a try. Ride the bus to work or lunch on Thursday.
Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the 2019 National Get On Board Day is a day that encourages people to support public transportation and showcases the benefits it brings to communities. Millions of people use public transit every day and locally CAT provides approximately 4 million trips each year for people riding all modes of service — buses, CAT mobility vans, and water ferrys.
Additionally, public transportation is a cornerstone of local economies in urban, suburban, and rural communities. In fact, public transportation helps to make a community economically prosperous and competitive. Every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns, powering community growth and revitalization.
“Public transportation is an essential service for so many people in our community where driving or carpooling is not a viable option. It also benefits communities and the environment,” CAT CEO and Executive Director Curtis Koleber said. “These are some of the key reasons we are working on our system redesign initiative. We want a network that can be more relevant to more people in our community.”
Chatham Area Transit has recently entered the second phase of – Let’s Go! Designing Better Transit Together, the first system-wide comprehensive redesign of its transit system. As CAT looks to restructure and redesign its transit system, the organization is seeking input from customers, business partners, and community stakeholders.
In this public-gathering phase, two Network Concepts have been unveiled, which illustrates the trade-off between providing high frequency and wide coverage. Besides the scheduled Let’s Go “Pop-Up events, the entire community has a variety of other ways to add their suggestions about the two concepts. Between now and May 15, an online survey is available at letsgo.catchacat.org. CAT is encouraging the public to complete the Phase 2 survey, schedule a Transit Talk or attend one of the “Pop-Up” events to share their thoughts on how CAT can best meet the community’s needs in the future. The Let’s Go project is anticipated to be in the final stages at the end of 2019. More information is available at letsgo.catchacat.org.