Calling all Transit Supporters!

There are 3 important ways to help save our transit system, help grow jobs and economic development, AND have a great time on Thursday, March 11, the day of the all-important Assembly hearing on transit legislation in Madison. This hearing is to get the public’s input on this issue. It is imperative that you make your support known!

First things first…NEW RTA LEGISLATION HEARING LOCATION: 412 EAST, STATE CAPITOL building.   

1. Also, join us at a PRESS CONFERENCE/RALLY in Milwaukee at 9:00AM on Thursday
2. Attend the HEARING IN MADISON on regional transit issues at 11:00AM for the SE WI bills
3. IF YOU CAN’T GO, please make calls or send emails by Wednesday, March 10!  We have heard that Legislators really want to hear from regular people, i.e. their constituents, as well as groups and businesses.

Details on how you can do 1, 2, and 3 are below!

Rally support for RTA legislation on Thursday at 9:00AM in Milwaukee
Join transit advocates, and labor, business, and elected leaders at a press conference to send off advocates on buses to Madison to fight for RTA and better transit.  Help stir up some big energy and positive press to set up a great hearing day!  Meet at 3850 N 35th St., the former Tower Automotive site, DPW Field Headquarters, bus route 35.

Most important of all…attend the hearing at the State Capital on Thursday, March 11!  Please voice your support of legislation to save local transit.  You can give testimony and/or register in favor of RTA legislation.  Be sure to bring copies of your comments for the committee, and drop off a copy at your legislators’ office.  

• Not sure how this works? Visit http://tiny.cc/eim9W 
  for a Guide to the Assembly Hearing.
• The hearing will start at 10:00AM on Thursday and will be held in 412 East in the State Capitol building (Note – new location!!) The SE WI bills are later on the agenda – arrive by 11:00AM and you should be there in time to register.

If you are UNABLE TO ATTEND the hearing be sure to call, write, or email the Assembly Transportation Committee before Thursday, March 11   

• Don’t know what to say?  Visit http://tiny.cc/eim9W 
  and scroll down for talking points or visit www.coalitionforadvancingtransit.com and click on Facts.   
• Who to call?  First, your own Assembly Representative (Who Is My Legislator: http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/  or call 1-800-362-9472).
• Then, call or write:  Assembly Speaker Michael Sheridan at (888) 947-0044 or Rep.Sheridan@legis.wisconsin.gov
  -and-
  Assembly Transportation Chair John Steinbrink at (608) 266-0455 or Rep.Steinbrink@legis.wisconsin.gov
• You can also send an email in your own words to committee members and legislative leaders at this link: www.wispirg.org/action/support-rta

Tell them to act now to save our local transit systems, with dedicated funding and a regional approach for transit we can create jobs and spur economic growth.

We will continue to keep you updated as things move along. In the meantime, help us spread the word!  Forward this information to your friends, neighbors and colleagues – ask them to join us in making sure SE WI moves forward with a strong economic future.

Public Hearing for AB-723 announced

The Assembly’s Transportation Committee will hold a hearing for AB-723 on THURSDAY, MARCH 11 at 10:00AM ~ 417 North (GAR Hall), State Capitol Building, Madison. 

As we’ve been saying, this is truly a critical time for transit in SE WI.  We need ALL supporters to step up their activity on the day of the hearing and let legislators know we want to see a solution in this session.  Here’s how:

1. Attend the hearing and provide your testimony.  Wear green, the unofficial “transit support color.”  You can submit it in written form, as well as sign up to speak.  If you go with a group, you can have one person read it out loud with members standing behind.  All of these are very effective ways to show you support legislative efforts to fix transit.
2. If you can’t get to Madison, call your legislators and then contact members of the Transportation Committee or leaders that day and tell them you support this effort to fix transit.  See below for specific contact links OR go to www.wispirg.org/action/support-rta or call 1-800-362-9472 to be connected to Committee members. 
3. Follow the Hearing Day action on Twitter and the CAT website.  We’ll send out more information on this next week.

If you’d like to attend the hearing with a group, buses will be provided by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998.  The hearing is scheduled to start at 10:00AM and AB-723 is near the end of the agenda so plan on being there all-day if you go with them.  If people want to sign up to take the bus to Madison, please RSVP to Kristi at the Coalition for Advancing Transti: kristi@uedawi.org or 414-562-9904 by 5PM Tuesday, March 9.  ATU 998 will contact them for details on where to meet, etc.

Transit in the News…
Given the importance of the issue, there has been a lot of coverage on transit issues in our local media.   We have seen Letters to the Editor, business and labor leaders speaking out, and yesterday an announcement by state legislators that they are continuing to tweak the bills before them related to regional transit authorities (RTAs) and dedicated funding options.  (http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/86248672.html)

As outlined in this article, legislators are considering the many options they have before them.  It is SO important that transit supporters continue to state that we support a truly regional approach (with an RTA) and dedicated funding (sales tax = property tax relief) to save and invest in our local transit systems. 

Want more information and talking points? 

• Visit www.coalitionforadvancingtransit.com for Transit Facts and links to both bills. 
• Visit www.southeasternrta.wordpress.com to view past “Advocate Alerts” and learn the facts.

CONTACT LINKS:  Call your legislators and these leaders - show your support!

• Who Is My Legislator: http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/  or call 1-800-362-9472
• Assembly Transportation Committee Links: http://ow.ly/1dKgC  
• Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan: 888-947-0044 or Rep.Sheridan@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Senate Majority Leader: Russ Decker: 877-496-0472 or Sen.Decker@legis.wisconsin.gov
• Visit www.coalitionforadvancingtransit.com for more links.  Click on the Kenosha, Racine, or Milwaukee tabs you will find contacts for specific legislators.

Upcoming event, Transit on Twitter and more

Members of the Coalition for Advancing Transit have been working hard over the past month to get the word out on AB-723 and SB-511, which will allow communities in Wisconsin to form RTAs and ensure dedicated funding for local transit.   Both bills are in the Committee process, but we are waiting for an announcement on hearing. 

Keep the pressure on!  Call your legislators and leadership and tell them you support legislation that will fix our ailing transit systems and help Wisconsin grow.  Scroll down for contact links or click on the Kenosha, Racine, or Milwaukee tabs for contact information for specific legislators in those areas.

Tweet Tweet!   Do you have a Twitter account?  Interested in staying in the loop on transit as the news happens?  Follow these Transit Allies that our friends at Launch Milwaukee have put together:  http://twitter.com/launchmilwaukee/transit-allies  Choose to follow the list or specific people.

Event Alert – The State of Southeastern Wisconsin Public Transit Panel

A meetup organized by Spreenkler will be held THIS Wednesday, March 3 at Hanson Dodge, located on the corner of Water & Buffalo in Milwaukee’s Third Ward.  Whether you are in support or against or just have questions about the Public Transit situation, we want you to join in the discussion.  The meetup starts at 5:30PM with networking and Milwaukee Idea Share; the panel will start at 6:30PM.  For more information visit: http://www.meetup.com/LaunchMilwaukee/calendar/12609728/

From our friends at Launch Milwaukee:  A One-Stop, Comprehensive Wisconsin Transit Site

BizTimes Milwaukee has created a devoted web page to the ongoing happenings of the Wisconsin Transit world.   This page is the result of the Obama administration’s proposed high-speed rail connection between Milwaukee and Madison, the KRM (Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee) line, the proposed regional transit authority (RTA) for Southeastern Wisconsin and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s streetcar proposal all waiting in the wings.   Make sure to bookmark this site for all things WI Transit: news, commentary and resources including blogs!  https://www.biztimes.com/site/transit

What else can you do? Send a letter to the editor!  One of C.A.T.’s members submitted this Letter to the Editor, “Congestion” which was published on Friday, February 26:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/85422557.html

How to send your own?  They especially look for timely, (transit is timely!!) well-written, provocative opinions on topics of interest in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.  All letters are subject to editing.

Guidelines: Generally limit is 200 words, Name, street address and daytime phone are required, they cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions, they don’t publish poetry, anonymous or open letters and each writer is limited to one published letter every two months.

Send to: Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, P.O. Box 371, Milwaukee, WI 53201-0371
Fax: (414)-223-5444 or E-mail: jsedit@journalsentinel.com

Legislation here…let’s keep rolling!

Thanks to transit champions in the legislature, bills to allow communities to form Regional Transit Authorities (RTAs) and ensure dedicated funding for transit were introduced into the Assembly and Senate over the past two weeks. 

The Assembly Bill, AB-723, has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Transportation.  The next step is for the Committee to schedule a hearing – this is critically important to advancing these bills.

Now is the time to urge legislators to keep these bills moving through this process.  They need to hear from constituents that NOW IS THE TIME, so we are asking you to help:

• Call YOUR legislator – tell them they need to schedule a hearing for AB-723 now.  Ask them to talk to their colleagues about the importance of resolving the crisis facing our local transit systems in SE WI.
• Contact Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan and Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker.  Tell them you support AB-723 and SB-511 and want to see them move forward in the legislative process now.

Contact links are below – the Assembly Committee’s outcome is very important to keep the process moving.  All hands on deck!  Stay tuned…as soon as we hear of a hearing date and time we will let you know.  We need as many people as possible to show up in Madison that day.

• Contacts:
  Who Is My Legislator: http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/  or call 1-800-362-9472
  Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan: 888-947-0044 or Rep.Sheridan@legis.wisconsin.gov
  Senate Majority Leader: Russ Decker: 877-496-0472 or Sen.Decker@legis.wisconsin.gov  

Want to know more?  Visit www.southeasternrta.wordpress.com to view past “Advocate Alerts” and learn the facts.  To access a copy of the bills, click here:

• AB-723: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/AB-723.pdf
• SB-511: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB-511.pdf 

Moving Forward Together
Coalition for Advancing Transit (C.A.T.)
Find us on Facebook – Join the Cause!

Update: Legislative bill introduced

Did you know public transit in SE WI is in a state of financial crisis? Transit is currently paid for by property taxes, and without additional funding, even more drastic reductions will take place.  There is a solution – dedicated funding and a regional approach.  It is critical that supporters of transit solutions for SE WI take action NOW. 

Transit cuts affect our economy, and add to our region’s high unemployment.  An adequately funded, regional transit infrastructure leads to job creation, attraction and retention of talent, and the connection of workers to jobs.

Did you know that*:

• Milwaukee County Transit System’s (MCTS) service reductions reduced total bus route miles by nearly 20 percent between 2001 and 2007?
• 1,713 fewer employers were located within walking distance of a bus stop in 2007 than in 2001?
• At a minimum 40,507 jobs became inaccessible by transit between 2001 and 2007 due to MCTS service cuts?
• Without dedicated funding for transit the next round of bus cuts could render more than 100,000 jobs in the region inaccessible.

*Source: Center for Economic Development, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee “Out of Service: The Impact of Transit Cuts on Access to Jobs in Metropolitan Milwaukee,” 2008.

Last week the efforts to save transit and invest in growing southeastern Wisconsin reached a huge milestone.  The draft Regional Transit Authority (RTA) bill has now been introduced into the WI State Legislature.

SB-511 was introduced on February 2, 2010 and has been referred to the referred to the Senate Committee on Transportation, Tourism, Forestry, and Natural Resources.  SB-511 was introduced by Senators Taylor, Lehman, Plale and Coggs and is cosponsored by Representatives Barca, Grigsby, Turner, Sinicki, Zepnick, Kessler, Toles, Young, Pasch and Fields.

Businesses have spoken up but we need citizens to speak up too!  (that’s you)  Transit connects our community – people to jobs, people to schools, people to opportunity.  YOU CAN HELP stop the downward spiral of our local transit systems by calling your State Legislators and telling them to you support dedicated funding and regional solutions for transit.   

Make 2 phone calls: 1) Your Senator and 2) Your Assembly Representative.  Ask them if they support SB-511.  If you’re shy, consider calling in the evening and leaving a message, writing a letter or sending an email.  The important thing is that they hear from their constituents on this issue!  To find out who your representatives are visit: http://waml.legis.state.wi.us/ 

Stay tuned throughout February and March – we will be sending out updates as the bill makes its way through the legislative process.

Moving Forward Together,
Coalition for Advancing Transit (C.A.T.)
Find us on Facebook – Join the Cause!

A Monumental Week for Transit in Wisconsin

After years of hard work and coalition building, we saw an unprecedented group of leaders and supporters come together Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at a press conference hosted by Tim Sullivan, CEO of Bucyrus International and Governor Jim Doyle.

Their message was simple: our state legislators need to move forward now with legislation that would allow Wisconsin communities to form regional transit authorities and ensure that local bus systems get the investment and infrastructure support through dedicated funding they need. 

This is an important step that will ensure Wisconsin is a part of future transit developments such as high speed rail, urban streetcar systems and commuter rail.  For a summary and links to video coverage of the press conference and media and press articles, visit http://tiny.cc/TNOWupdate at C.A.T. group site, which features the most recent update from our partner, Transit Now.  

The Southeastern Regional Transit Authority’s (SERTA), which was formed during the 2009 state budget process to support the KRM Commuter Rail initiative, has started a new blog.  The site will provides a continuously updated source of information regarding transit-related media coverage, events, rallies and meetings in which you can become involved.  It will also feature a citizen forum and testimonials in support of transit.  Currently highlighted on this site is an Editorial by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editorial Board (“Milwaukee needs a transit authority now” Sunday, January 23, 2010), and links to videos posted by TDA of Wisconsin of business leaders and citizens supporting this effort.  To access all this great information, visit the SERTA blog at: http://tiny.cc/SERTAblog 

WHAT’S NEXT?  Things will move very quickly over the next few weeks – it’s all hands on deck!

• URGENCY: The legislative session is now underway, with just 2 months left to advance the bill through the Assembly and the Senate, and just a few days per month for voting. A challenging, but do-able, task. It will take the voices of all advocates.
• Co-sponsors of the Regional Transit and Jobs Investment Act are: Senator John Lehman, Senator Lena Taylor, Rep. Tamara Grigsby, Rep. Peter Barca, and Rep. Bob Turner. The bill provides the funding and regional framework to integrate buses and KRM Commuter Rail, preserve and enhance bus systems, and keep the KRM project moving ahead. It also calls for local decision-making and property tax relief.
• The first step is that the RTA bill will get referred to a committee. From there, expect a hearing to be announced in the in coming days. When the hearing is announced, put it on your calendar! Strong support at the hearing in Madison is absolutely vital.

Now it’s important for EVERY person to show their support. Please take a moment to contact your legislators and thank them if they are a co-sponsor. They worked extremely hard to find consensus on this bill. If they are not, ask what they are doing to advance the Regional Transit Bill. Even if you have contacted them in the past, now is the time to remind them to about the urgent need for the RTA. Find your legislator here.

Also, note that the Coalition for Advancing Transit (C.A.T.) has updated its logo, thanks to the generous support of one of our members.  Look for this logo and icon to be distributed and used by our members and partners – there are many organizations and individuals working together on this issue across the state!  If you’d like to know more, please feel free to contact us.

We thank you for your continued support and active involvement in helping move transit forward in southeastern Wisconsin.  The time truly is now – as things happen we continue to send out updates and keep you in the loop. 

Find us on Facebook – Join the Cause!

Journal Sentinel supports sales tax

Happy Weekend Transiteers!

Below are links and/or to two recent articles supporting transit, and specifically local dedicated funding for buses.  One blogger argues the case for transit investments as a way to address the issue of drunk driving in this state and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel indicated their support for a 1/2 cent sales tax as a source of dedicated funding for our transit system which will remove transit from the property tax (below). 

The Journal Sentinel is asking for your opinion.  As one of our members stated when forwarding this out, please take a moment and thank them for their stand and a reiteration of some of the excellent points they raise and/or important statistics or arguments they they did not raise. e.g. transit keeps our roads safer by giving drivers who lack skills and/or have unsafe vehicles an alternative to driving.  There is a link to the editorial department at the bottom of this article.

Also, if you have not yet had a chance to share your Transit Story with us, please do so!  Visit http://tiny.cc/transitstory – it won’t take but a few minutes.

Let’s Get Moving!
Kristi Luzar, Program Manager
Urban Economic Development Association of WI (UEDA)

BLOG ARTICLE – Drunk Driving & Transit: http://tiny.cc/WYncW

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel EDITORIAL – Posted: Jan. 7, 2010

Approve the sales tax
The state Legislature should act in this session to take Milwaukee County buses off the property tax and provide the dedicated funding source the system needs.  http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/80950322.html

Thank you for your support for transit!

The Coalition for Advancing Transit would like to THANK all our members and partners for their active support and commitment throughout 2009.  We have made so much progress and could not have done it without the every day, individual actions of citizens who care about transit and the economic growth of southeastern Wisconsin.

A special thanks to all those who joined us at the TRANSIT RALLY on December 5, 2009 with labor, business and community leaders and nearly 300 citizens at Veterans Memorial Park in West Allis to urge legislators to quickly advance Regional Transit Authority Legislation and dedicated funding for buses.  The focus of the rally was on the major job creation and economic growth that would come from improved regional transit and an RTA, and the crucial need to address the approaching financial meltdown of our local transit systems.  For highlights, pictures and links to media coverage of the rally, click here.

WHAT NEXT?

As we head into 2010, we will keep you updated on the latest events, information sessions and legislative action.  We know so many of you have worked really hard to stay in touch with your legislators and keep this issue on their radar over the past few months.  Please continue the good work!  

In the meantime, we are collecting transit stories from real people who depend on and use our bus systems in order to better show how the transit crisis has a real face. 

Has the transit fare increase of 50% over the last 7 years made it harder for you to get to and from work?  How will the lack of live operators starting next week impact your ability to move around town?  When is the last time you rode the bus and how did it work out?  Visit this survey link to share YOUR transit story:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RGZSNQZ

Share your story and ask a friend to share theirs - in this way more and more people in the public will see the impact the transit crisis (and the lack of dedicated funding) has on our community.  

Thank you for taking the time to do this.  Feel free to pass on to fellow transit advocates and be sure to check out the links above and below for more ways you can get connected to saving regional transit for SE WI. 

Best wishes for a Happy New Year from your friends at the Coalition for Advancing Transit!
Let’s Get Moving!
Kristi Luzar, Program Manager, UEDA
Coalition for Advancing Transit (C.A.T.)
(414) 562-9904  *  kristi@uedawi.org  

Curious to know how we got here?  Click here to access a “Transit Milestones” document – it will give you a good sense of what’s happened and where we need to go from here. 

If you are a constituent in the districts of Senator Tim Carpenter, Representative Peggy Krusik, Senator Bob Wirch or Representative David Cullen, they would like to hear from you on this issue!  Let them know that this issue is important and we need them to move forward with RTA legislation quickly in 2010. 

Senator Carpenter:        (608) 266-8535 or sen.carpenter@legis.wisconsin.gov

Representative Krusik:    (608) 266-1733 or rep.krusick@legis.wisconsin.gov 

Senator Wirch:              (608) 267-8979 or sen.wirch@legis.wisconsin.gov

Representative Cullen:    (608) 267-9836 pr rep.cullen@legis.wisconsin.gov

Looking for more information on transit, RTAs, dedicated funding and economic growth?  Click here to access a wealth of fact sheets, presentations and other resources by the Coalition for Advancing Transit.

Rally for Transit – TOMORROW Dec. 5th

Join us and Rally for Transit, Jobs and Economic Growth
Saturday, December 5
1:00 PM
Veterans Memorial Park – National Avenue at 70th St. West Allis, WI
http://bit.ly/VMParkMap
On bus routes: 54, 76, and 18
Park on west side of Market Square parking lot (near Pick N Save), enter off National Avenue just west of 70th Street

Rally to urge Legislators to Get RTA Moving Now!

Job connections and job creation must be a top priority and they rely on a vibrant regional transit network and an RTA.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving we…

• Are thankful for our local bus systems who often get blamed when government fails us
• Are thankful for workers who make our city strong, even as they tolerate service cuts and fare increases
• Are thankful for students who ride our buses, and believe they will take them to school every day
• Are thankful for employers who are not afraid to hire people from all over even if they do not drive
• Are thankful for elected officials who understand we need buses and they are integral to our economic health

And NEXT YEAR:  We want to be thankful for the State legislators who “got it” in time to save our County buses.  JOIN US – this Saturday, December 5^th at 1:00PM and rally for transit.

We must create the environment where the economy and jobs can grow: transit is a necessity and an RTA is needed to support a good transit network.

Transit cuts are imminent and will hurt businesses, workers, and tax payers when people can’t get to work, school, shopping, healthcare. Unemployment hurts everyone. We must have adequate, dedicated transit funding now.

Transit dependent people rely on transit services as their lifeline.

Urgency – dedicated funding for buses is needed now. We must be ready by January to advance RTA legislation. We cannot afford to wait and watch our bus system crumble and important infrastructure investments pass us by.

SE WI is together on the need for an RTA. Property tax relief is crucial for Milwaukee.

Coalition for Advancing Transit (C.A.T.) Update…

At the quarterly meeting on November 18^th C.A.T. updated members on the draft RTA legislation that is currently being worked on by state legislators.  Kevin Benish from Assembly Representative Tamara Grigsby’s office presented on the various components of this legislation.  To access a copy of the powerpoint that gives an overview of the draft RTA legislation, please click here (file name: 2009 Nov Draft RTA…).  It is still in draft form and has NOT been introduced yet. 

On November 29 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had an article on the challenges facing regional transit in SE WI, discussing the critical need for RTA legislation:  Regional Transit Authority stuck in transit funding tangle.  Our window of opportunity is short:            

• Nov-Dec 2009:  Draft RTA legislative bill is fine-tuned, and legislative sponsors gained.  Public support MUST be visible and strong!
• January 2010:  Legislative floor session begins.  RTA bill introduced; we need an all-out effort in terms of advocacy and public visibility.
• January 2010:  Milwaukee and Kenosha begin instituting more fare increases and service cuts.  Racine to follow in 2011.  They need our support.
• April 2010:  Legislative session ends, along with the last realistic chance to pass an RTA bill for years and ensure the economic health of SE WI for years.  We cannot miss this opportunity for transit.

What Can We Do? Contact Your Elected Officials

• Call them!  Let them know this is an important issue for you, as a constituent.  That is the way to have the most impact.  Follow-up with a letter or email.
• Tell them Southeast Wisconsin wants RTA legislation to move forward this January and that it MUST include dedicated funding for local transit.
• Ask them what they are doing to ensure our local bus systems remain viable and people have access to jobs.

WHO TO CALL?  Your Assembly Representative and State Senator

• Click here to access links to also contact State Legislative leaders and talking points. 
• Don’t know which district you’re in?  Call Toll-free: 1-800-362-9472 or visit www.legis.wisconsin.gov and click on the “Who Represents Me?” link in the middle of the page for an address search. 

Lastly, we invite you to attend a TRANSIT RALLY!

We are at a pivotal point when action is urgently needed to get the RTA and dedicated funding for transit moving forward.  Our window of opportunity is VERY short.  Let’s make our voices heard loud and clear!  And, show our commitment to gaining dedicated funding and regional coordination for local transit systems that is so important to our economic growth, jobs and quality of life.

Saturday, December 5 at 1:00 PM
Veterans Memorial Park, National Avenue at 70th St. in West Allis, WI
On bus routes: 54, 76, and 18
Park on west side of Market Square parking lot (near Pick N Save), enter off National Avenue just west of 70th St.)

Please forward this information to your friends, neighbors and colleagues!  Invite them to attend the TRANSIT RALLY and show our support for the economic health of SE WI…