A. The Department of Rail and Public Transportation shall develop guidelines, subject to the approval of the Board, for the development of strategic plans for transit agencies that (i) serve an urbanized area with a population of 50,000 or more and (ii) have a bus fleet consisting of at least 20 buses.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 33.2-286

  • Board: means the Commonwealth Transportation Board. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Department: means the Department of Transportation. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Maintenance: means (i) ordinary maintenance; (ii) maintenance replacement; (iii) operations that include traffic signal synchronization, incident management, and other intelligent transportation system functions; and (iv) any other categories of maintenance that may be designated by the Commissioner of Highways. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • mass transit: means passenger transportation by rubber-tired, rail, or other surface conveyance that provides shared ride services open to the general public on a regular and continuing basis. See Virginia Code 33.2-100
  • Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
  • State: includes District of Columbia;

    (f) "Transit facilities" means all real and personal property located in the Zone, necessary or useful in rendering transit service between points within the Zone, by means of rail, bus, water or air and any other mode of travel, including, without limitation, tracks, rights-of-way, bridges, tunnels, subways, rolling stock for rail, motor vehicle, marine and air transportation, stations, terminals and ports, areas for parking and all equipment, fixtures, buildings and structures and services incidental to or required in connection with the performance of transit service;

    (g) "Transit services" means the transportation of persons and their packages and baggage by means of transit facilities between points within the Zone including the transportation of newspapers, express and mail between such points, and charter service which originates within the Zone but does not include taxicab service or individual-ticket-sales sightseeing operations;

    (h) "Transit Zone" or "Zone" means the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Zone created and described in Section 3 as well as any additional area that may be added pursuant to Section 83(a) of this Compact; and

    (i) "WMATC" means Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Commission. See Virginia Code 33.2-3100

B. As a condition of receiving funds from the Commonwealth Mass Transit Fund, any transit agency that meets the criteria of subsection A shall develop, and update at least once every five years, a strategic plan using the guidelines approved by the Board.

C. The guidelines shall require the following:

1. An assessment of state of good repair needs;

2. A review of the performance of fixed-route bus service, including schedules, route design, connectivity, and vehicle sizes;

3. An evaluation of opportunities to improve operating efficiency of the transit network, including reliability of trips and travel speed;

4. An examination and identification of opportunities to share services where multiple transit providers’ services overlap; and

5. An examination of opportunities to improve service in underserved areas.

D. In addition to developing and updating a strategic plan pursuant to this section, in all planning districts with transit systems collectively serving population areas of not less than 1.5 million nor more than 2 million, such transit systems shall develop a regional transit planning process coordinated by the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization. Such planning process shall include the identification and prioritization of projects, the establishment of performance benchmarks that incorporate state and federal requirements, the development and implementation of a regional subsidy allocation model, and the distribution of funds solely designated for transit and rail and that are administered by a regional body authorized by this Code to enter into agreements for the operation and maintenance of transit and rail facilities.

2018, cc. 854, 856.

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