Thank you to Mayor LaToya Cantrell, Councilmember Kristin Palmer, RTA Chair Flozell Daniels, Jr., RTA CEO Alex Wiggins, JEDCO President and CEO Jerry Bologna, and the hundred-plus transit supporters and riders from around the region who joined us on Wednesday, August 7 for the release of our 6th annual State of Transit in New Orleans report!
In the last year, the New Orleans region has made great progress in regional transit coordination and planning. We’ve seen the implementation of a true cross-parish regional route for the first time in many years and the start of a new regional transit pass that allows riders unlimited travel on either the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) or Jefferson Transit (JeT) systems.
Strong new leadership at the RTA has also made the bold and necessary decision to return the agency to full public control after a decade of de facto privatized control via the delegated management model. This is a big win for transparency, accountability, and continuity.
Our 2019 report details this forward progress but also notes that there are still a lot of deficiencies that we need to overcome. Riders need faster access to important destinations, more on-time buses, and better daily amenities to make taking transit more pleasant.
The New Links network redesign process – scheduled to be completed in 2020 – can help with comprehensive improvements. But regional leaders will need to push hard to make sure there are more regional routes proposed and that transit riders in areas with the greatest need get their fair share of resources.
You can read the full report here.