Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission
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What's New
Summary of Engagement Activities
Representatives from the TJPDC collecting in-person surveys at the Soul of Cville Festival in August 2022.
The engagement level for this type of study has been phenomenal. Originally, the scope of work funded two surveys and two public meetings. A diverse set of stakeholders requested additional engagement opportunities for the populations that they represent. The project team designed survey tools and engagement opportunities to reach these key populations. In addition to expanding the rural component of the project, the project team reached people who are transit dependent and underrepresented, older adults, people with disabilities, and businesses and employers. The project used five different types of surveys to collect over 1,000 surveys, hosted 5 stakeholder workshops and three public forum events, and conducted numerous focus groups. Project materials are available in Spanish, and the project team worked with Sin Barreras to host a Spanish language focus group. Focus groups and in-person events were also conducted for people with disabilities and older adults, with the Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion Youth Ambassadors, and at the Downtown Transit Center for bus riders. Click here to view the Summary of Engagement Activities for more details on the engagement process up to August 2022. When the engagement process is complete, a comprehensive report will be available that documents engagement results.
Report on Draft Vision Concepts
Click here to view the Report on Draft Vision Concepts . This report provides background and additional information on the proposed constrained and unconstrained visions.
About the Plan
The Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area is a collaborative effort to evaluate transit service in Charlottesville and the surrounding region and to establish a clear long-term vision for efficient, equitable and effective transit service in the region.
This project is being led by the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission. It is funded in part by the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transit, with matching funds provided by the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. It supports the work of the Regional Transit Partnership (RTP), which strives to improve communication and collaboration between the three transit providers that operate in the Charlottesville Metro Area.
The goal of the Regional Transit Vision Project is to establish a single unified, long-term vision for transit service in the Charlottesville area that can be shared and supported by all the members of the RTP and its constituents. The planning effort will include a study of the region’s existing conditions, including transit services, transportation patterns, and land development practices. It will also include asking the community about its values and priorities for the future of the region’s public transit. The project will result in the development of strategies and integrated transit network concepts to reach the community’s goals.
This effort is being assisted by some of the leading public transit experts in the country, but the ultimate success of the plan depends on robust and meaningful public engagement. All community members are encouraged to regularly visit the project website to find information about upcoming events and to learn about all the ways that you can share your thoughts and ideas
Main Themes
- Equity: Expand opportunities for all residents and represents the needs of both the urban and rural communities
- Multi-modality: Reduce reliance on automobiles
- Climate Change: Help protect the environment
Proposed Vision Statement
"Develop, design, and provide transit in the Charlottesville area in a manner that reflects a collaborative, inclusive and equitable process, representing needs in both urban and rural areas. This transit system expands opportunities for all residents (Equity), reduces reliance on automobiles (Multi-modality), and helps protect the environment (Climate Change Mitigation)."
Study Area
The project study area is composed of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission area (including the City of Charlottesville and the Counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, and Nelson) as well as Buckingham County which is served by Jaunt.
Use the buttons in the lower right corner of the map to zoom in and navigate around the map.
Study Area Map
Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area Study Area
Visionary Concepts
Existing Transit Network in the Urban Area
The map below shows the transit network in the urban areas of Charlottesville and Albemarle as it would run in the Fall of 2022. As the colors indicate, there is relatively little frequent transit service, with most routes across the urban area running every 30 minutes or every 60 minutes. University circulators and the Trolley Route are the only services that run every 15 minutes or better.
Existing Regional Transit Services
The map below shows the existing transit network in the rural areas of region, including Greene, Louisa, Buckingham, Nelson, and Albemarle Counties. Most transit service in the rural areas today consists of limited peak-only services to and from Charlottesville and demand responsive services that require day-ahead reservations and limited hours of service.
Unconstrained Vision Concept in the Urbanized Area
The map below shows the Unconstrained Vision Concept in the urbanized areas. There are now five frequent routes touching the most dense parts of the urbanized area. Most other routes operate at least every 30 minutes.
Compared to today's network, the Unconstrained Vision Concept in the urbanized area would provide the following benefits:
- 36% of residents in the urban area would be near frequent service (a bus every 15 minutes) compared to only 14% today. An additional 7% of the urbanized area's residents would have access to regular transit service.
- 59% of jobs would be near frequent service compared to only 28% today and 4% more jobs would have access to regular transit service.
- 52% of low income residents would be near frequent service, compared to only 23% today and 5% more low income residents would have access to regular transit service.
- 50% of people of color would be near frequent service, compared to only 20% today and 5% more people of color would have access to regular transit service.
- The average resident of the urbanized area could reach 15,000 jobs and opportunities in 60 minutes of travel time compared to the existing network. That's 57% more than today.
Unconstrained Vision in the Rural Areas
The map below shows the Unconstrained Vision Concept in the rural areas of the region, including Greene, Louisa, Buckingham, Nelson, and Albemarle Counties. There are now five all-day routes connecting many of the outlying towns to Charlottesville, including Ruckersville, Louisa, Palmyra, Scottsville, Lovingston, and Crozet. There are also supplementary on-demand zones that would allow for same-day on-demand service within those zones. A resident could call or use a smartphone app to request a trip and travel within that zone and connect to the fixed routes to other destinations. These zones would serve Louisa, Zions Crossroad, Lake Monticello, Esmont-Scottsville area, and Crozet. In addition, day-ahead reservation services would continue to operate in each county with service 7-days a week and longer hours of service.
Constrained Vision Concept in the Urbanized Area
The map below shows the Constrained Vision Concept in the urbanized areas. Route 10 is improved by making it an extension of the Trolley, with high frequency service on High Street and a new 30-minute branch serving northern portions of Pantops. Route 2 is improved to every 15 minutes and its branches improved to every 30 minutes, providing better service to 5th Street Station and PVCC. Route 7 is improved to every 20 minutes and an every hour extension is provided to the Airport and North Fork Research Center. Routes 4 and 6 are improved to every 30 minutes. On-demand service would be provided in Pantops and areas along US 29 north of Rio Road. All fixed routes would operate 7 days a week.
Compared to today's network, the Constrained Vision Concept in the urbanized area would provide the following benefits:
- 20% of residents in the urban area would be near frequent service (a bus every 15 minutes) compared to only 14% today.
- 31% of jobs would be near frequent service compared to only 28% today.
- 28% of low income residents would be near frequent service, compared to only 23% today.
- 24% of people of color would be near frequent service, compared to only 20% today.
- The average resident of the urbanized area could reach 11,000 jobs and opportunities in 60 minutes of travel time compared to the existing network. That's 12% more than today.
- All fixed routes in the urbanized area would operate 7 days per week, significantly improving access to opportunity on weekends.
Constrained Vision in the Rural Areas
In the Constrained Vision Concept, the hours of service for Circulator demand response services are improved in Greene, Louisa, Buckingham, Nelson, and rural portions of Albemarle Counties. In addition, there would be more trips per day on the CONNECT services (like the Buckingham and Crozet CONNECT routes).
Project Resources
Vision Statement, Goals and Objectives
This memo describes the process and rationale for the development of a vision statement and a set of meaningful, measurable, and appropriate goals, objectives and measures of effectiveness (MOEs) for the plan.
Summary of Engagement Activities
Click here to view the Summary of Engagement Activities for more details on the engagement process up to August 2022. When the engagement process is complete, a comprehensive report will be available that documents engagement results.
Report on Draft Vision Concepts
Click here to view the Report on Draft Vision Concepts . This report provides background and additional information on the proposed constrained and unconstrained visions.
Phase 1 Public Engagement Summary
This memo summarizes the pubic and stakeholder engagement process as of April 2022. The memo summarizes engagement related to the project website, Project Steering Committee and stakeholder meetings, the public workshop, and surveys.
Public Meeting #1
On November 18, 2021, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and Regional Transit Partnership hosted the first virtual public meeting for the Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area.
A video recording of this meeting can be found on YouTube: Public Meeting #1
Public Meeting #2
On June 23, 2022, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and Regional Transit Partnership hosted the second virtual public meeting for the Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area.
A video recording of this meeting can be found on YouTube: Public Meeting #2
Public Meeting #3
The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission hosted an open house at the Downtown Transit Center (615 East Water Street) in Charlottesville on July 12th, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The goal of this event was to collect public input on the draft Regional Transit Vision for the greater Charlottesville area, including the counties surrounding the city.
Stakeholder Meeting #1
On October 7, 2021, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission and Regional Transit Partnership hosted the first virtual stakeholder meeting for the Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area.
A video recording of this meeting can be found on YouTube: Stakeholder Meeting #1
Technical Reports
As part of the process of understanding the issues that affect transit in this region, the project team has conducted a Land Use Assessment and a Transit Propensity Assessment. Links to these reports can be found below and several of the maps from these reports are reproduced below. Use the buttons in the lower right corner of the map to zoom in and navigate around the maps.
The following series of interactive maps was created for the Regional Transit Vision’s Land Use Assessment and Transit Propensity assessments. These maps provide a general overview of land use conditions and development patterns in the study area. You can click on the items on the map to find out what each element is. More detailed land use conditions will also be studied as part of the development of the Vision Plan. Transit service is not expected to be provided to all the destinations and communities identified on these maps. Instead, this information is intended to help reveal patterns and trends that can be considered in the project’s visioning exercises.
Key Destinations
One of the primary purposes of transit is to provide access to businesses, institutions, and amenities. This map identifies some of these key destinations in the study area, including schools, medical clinics, shopping centers, parks, community centers, senior centers, park-and-ride lots, and historic or cultural resources.
Existing Land Use
The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) uses satellite imagery to document land development conditions in the United States. These maps do not provide information about the type or function of land use but display the location and intensity of development. This information helps us understand where concentrations of more highly developed land use are that can provide a good market for transit.
Frequency of Existing Transit
Frequency is how often a bus will arrive at the stops on its route. This map shows the frequency of Charlottesville Area Transit (CAT), University Transit System (UTS), and Jaunt routes as of July 2021. For example, a rider at a bus stop on the routes shown in blue lines can expect a bus to arrive at least every 30 minutes.
Indicators of Demand: Activity Density
This map shows many different types of activity: homes, workplaces, shopping, industry, entertainment and more. The darker the color, the greater the number of jobs and/or residents in the area. This map allows us to see not only high density, but also the mix of activities in an area, which contributes to ridership potential. Transit routes serving purely residential neighborhoods tend to be used mostly in only one direction each morning and evening rush hour. In contrast, where residential, commercial, and other uses are mixed, people are traveling in both directions so buses can be full in both directions. Corridors which run between purely residential and purely employment areas see some of the benefits of mixed land-uses. In the study area, the highest activity density is in the City of Charlottesville and immediately outside the city. Research suggests that a combined density level of 5,000 people or jobs in an area is reasonably supportive of fixed route transit. Therefore, any area with color on this Activity Density map is a moderately good candidate for at least 30 or 60 minute bus service. Other areas in the region might be more effectively served with on-demand, flexible routes, or peak-only commuter services depending on the nature of the demand or need.
Indicators of Demand: Walkability
This map shows an estimate of how walkable different parts of the study area are, based on the percentage of the land area within a half-mile of any given point that can actually be reached by walking a half-mile, using available streets and pedestrian paths. This map clearly shows the more walkable urbanized areas, which feature a denser grid of streets with many intersections makes it easier to walk to bus stops. However, most of the study area is rural and appears in light shades because it has few streets and no sidewalks. Newer suburban developments can have high street connectivity, even without a traditional grid of streets but many newer developments are designed to minimize car traffic with intentionally poor street connectivity. This means that in most cul-de-sac developments, walking routes are long and circuitous, making it hard for people to reach transit since bus routes need to remain on major roads to be direct, efficient, and useful to many people.
Indicators of Demand and Need: Low Income Households
A frequently-cited goal for transit service is to provide affordable transportation for lower-income people, who are less likely to own cars or have difficulty with the cost of owning and maintain a car. Understanding where low-income populations are located is also a key civil rights requirement. Transit can be an attractive option for low-income people due to its low price. In medium to high density areas with walkable street networks, this can produce high ridership. However, if transit doesn’t actually allow people to make the trips they need in a reasonable amount of time, even lower-income people will not use it. They will seek other options, such as buying a used car or getting a ride from a friend, even if it causes financial or social stress. In the study area, the absolute highest density of households in poverty is found downtown, around the UVA campus, north of the City in Knollwood, Oak Terrace, Glenwood Station and Raintree as well as in Sherwood Manor south of the City.
In Downtown and the UVA campus, the high-density of households in poverty corresponds largely to the student population. Outside of downtown, the density of households in poverty correlates with areas of higher concentrations of residents of color.
Civil Rights: Race and Ethnicity
This map shows where people of different races and ethnicities live in the study area. Each dot represents 150 residents. Where many dots are very close together, the overall density of residents is higher. Where dots of a single color predominate, people of a particular race or ethnicity make up most of that area’s residents. While information about people’s income tells us something about their potential interest in or need for transit, information about ethnicity or race do not. However, avoiding placing disproportionate burdens on people of color, through transportation decisions, is essential to an equitable transit-planning process.
Transit Potential: Composite
Areas with good levels of density, walkability, and proximity are the best places to run frequent transit if the goal is high ridership. After quantifying each of these factors to the degree possible, we can estimate the ridership potential of each Census Block Group in the region and the result is shown in this map. Areas shaded with dark blues illustrate areas that score higher on the four ingredients of the “ridership recipe”. Areas with lighter shades have those characteristics to a much lesser extent. For more information, click on the Transit Propensity Assessment link above.
Project Timeline
The project framework is organized into three major phases: (1) Listen, (2) Envision, and (3) Affirm. This framework is designed so that each phase will build off the progress made in the previous phase.
Phase 1. Listen
The Listen phase focuses on educating the public and stakeholders on the existing conditions and influences that will likely have an impact on transit in the region. The consultant team will also listen to and strive to understand local aspirations and ideas for future transit service.
Phase 2. Envision
The Envision phase will build off the Listen phase by confirming the draft vision and goals and exploring long-term transit alternatives for the region. The alternatives will provide an opportunity to explore and test different approaches to serving the region’s long-term needs and learning about the tradeoffs and choices associated with future alternatives and related transportation infrastructure.
Phase 3. Affirm
The Affirm phase will build off the Envision phase by confirming the reactions to alternatives and related policy direction. It will focus on developing the draft Regional Transit Vision Plan based on the prior input and based on prior input and additional public and stakeholder input on the proposed alternatives. The final plan documents will be posted on the website and shared with the community.
Share Your Input
Representatives from the TJPDC providing information and collecting in-person surveys at the Downtown Transit Center in July 2022.
The Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area needs your feedback!
In addition to periodic surveys, there is an opportunity to share your comments at any time below. You can also submit your email address using this form to receive emailed updates and information about the study effort.
Regional Transit Vision for the Charlottesville Area
