American Public Transportation Association (APTA)
APTA reports rising savings for using public transit (and walking or biking) instead of owning a car. Currently, the national average stands at "$9,904 annually and $825 per month based on the March 4, 2011 average national gas price ($3.47 per gallon-reported by AAA) and the national unreserved monthly parking rate." The savings are more impressive in the nation's largest - and most transit-rich cities - with savings of over $14,000 in New York and over $10,000 in Denver. Prices in metropolitan areas and other regions are not assessed; suburban and rural equivalents of the savings rates are not available.

In this same vein, the APTA savings report is featured in a CBS News story about the financial rationale for using transit, on the one hand, and, on the other, the revenue squeeze on transit that has prompted systems to reduce service and/or increase fares.

Public Participation: Not Necessarily Boring

If you are looking to promote public participation in transit promotion, planning and advocacy, view this creative video from Detroit, which uses legos and music to discuss the street configuration for the planned Woodward Ave. line.

Thanks to Chris Zeilinger, Director of the National Resource Center for Human Service Transportation Coordination (NRC) for finding the video material.

The Utah Transit Authority is promoting and using twitter to hear from its customer base about their preferences for service hours and routes. Although the transit system is also employing traditional public hearings and now old-fashioned email as well, management has respect for the thoughtful, quality 140-character (and fewer) tweets they have received.

Livability Goes Local

National Association of Counties (NACo)
From NACo's newsletter:

NACo will seek input from members about implementing federal livability goals through a new project led by the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), with support from U.S. Department of Transportation. The two-year project is intended to assist localities in building the governance, strategies and tools needed to create and implement regional transportation plans that support sustainable development. NARC and NACo will partner to offer listening sessions at upcoming NACo conferences.
Contact: James Davenport • 202.661.8807