Regional Public Transportation Subcommittee

Mission

The mission of the Regional Public Transportation Subcommittee (RPTS) is to provide a permanent process for the coordination of public transportation planning throughout the Washington region, and for incorporating regional public transportation plans into the long range plan (Visualize 2045) and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). High quality public transportation service in the region depends upon successfully linking vehicles, services, stops and stations, running ways, operating facilities, maintenance shops, storage yards, and passenger and operating support systems to produce a service that is easy to use, provides rider information where and when needed, and facilitates intra- and inter-agency service transfers. Increased customer satisfaction can broaden the appeal of transit in the transportation market place and generate increased ridership. Considerable cooperation among the agencies responsible for public transportation in the region is required to implement these high quality public transportation services, owing to the complex nature of public transportation service provision and transportation facility ownership in our multi-state region.

Goals

Coordination and evaluation of long range plan and TIP proposals and amendments with regard to transit service plan implementation.
Coordination and input definition for the TPB regional travel forecasting model.
Technical advice and input regarding regional transportation and land use coordination, including the development of transit assumptions for TPB planning studies.
Facilitation of technology transfer and information sharing, as it relates to regional, state and local transit services.
Coordination with other regional committees regarding transit participation in planning and training activities, including the Regional Emergency Support Function (RESF) #1 at COG, and the associated regional transit operators group.
Coordination with the TPB Systems Performance, Operations and Technology Subcommittee (SPOTS) regarding integrated planning for bus services and street operations.
Coordination with Commuter Connections regarding ridesharing facilities and joint promotional messages.
Coordination with the TPB Private Operators Group to strengthen the alliance between public and private interests.
Coordination with the TPB Access for All Committee to enhance regional mobility for all populations.

Participation

Participation is encouraged by all members of TPB to support the described planning processes and activities for public transportation activities in the National Capital Region. Participating subcommittee members will ideally be principal transit planners for local, state, and regional agencies.

The RPTS coordinates with and engages the following transit services in its activities:

Metrobus
Montgomery County Ride On
Prince George 's County The Bus
DC Circulator
Alexandria DASH
Arlington Transit (ART)
Frederick County TransIt
City of Fairfax CUE
Charles County VanGO

Fairfax Connector
Loudoun Commuter Transit
PRTC Omni Ride
MTA Commuter Bus
Metrorail
Virginia Railway Express
Maryland Area Commuter Rail
DC Streetcar

The subcommittee may recommend the establishment under its jurisdiction of special task forces to address particular topics in greater depth, such as transit marketing or bus priority lanes.

Governance

Governance of this committee follows standard TPB protocols. The subcommittee was established by the TPB as a subcommittee of the TPB Technical Committee, with a regular meeting schedule and members appointed by the TPB membership. A chair is selected by the subcommittee members, and a member of the TPB staff is designated as the lead staff person for the subcommittee. A work activity and budget is developed annually for inclusion by the TPB in the Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP).

Please Note: In the interest of reducing costs and waste, and "greening" our meetings, its is requested that all meeting attendees RSVP using the COG online meeting management system. This will provide TPB staff with the ability to accurately anticipate how many meals to order and how many copies of handouts to make.

Meetings

The RPTS meets monthly most of the year (except May, August, and December). Meetings are typically the fourth Tuesday of the month, from noon to two p.m. Topics include presentations on member accomplishments and studies, sometimes all on a common topic, as well as TPB presentations in support of MPO required planning activities or studies.

Publications

The RPTS oversees or advises on the development of transit-related reports and publications by the TPB. These include the annual State of Public Transportation reports, the federally-required Performance Based Planning and Programming (PBPP) reports for Transit Asset Management and Transit Safety target-setting, and other studies undertaken by the TPB, typically through the UPWP Technical Assistance program. Recent publications include:

Regional Public Transportation Subcommittee

Committee Members

Staff