Early Registration Deadline Extension!

The deadline for receiving the early registration rate of $375 for the 2011 Transit Initiatives and Communities Conference has been extended by one week! It will now end this Friday, May 29 along with the discounted hotel rate. Get your registrations in now!

View the Agenda.

Register for TIC.

Reserve a Room at Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark Hotel.

May 3 Election Results!

The May 3 special election was a great day for transit! Five communities in Michigan and one county in Ohio went to the ballot to ask voters to either renew or increase taxes to support local transit systems. All of the measures in Michigan dealt with property taxes and the one in Stark County, Ohio was to renew a quarter-cent sales tax.

The results were extremely close in Grand Rapids, MI, but the levy increase for The Rapid was approved. The rest of the measures passed with impressively high margins!



Benzie County, MI—WIN, 75%-25%
Renewal and Restoration of a 0.5 mill levy to support Benzie Bus

Holland, MI—WIN, 76%-24%
Renewal of a 0.4 mill levy to support to operations of the Macatawa Area Express bus system

Grand Rapids, MI— WIN, 50.2%-49.8%
A 0.35 mill levy increase to expand bus service across The Rapid system

Grand Haven Township, MI— WIN, 59%-41%
A 0.95 mill levy increase for Harbor Transit and road/bridge investment

Kalkaska County, MI—WIN, 72%-28%
Renewal of a five-year, 0.25-mill levy for the county's public transit authority.

Stark County, OH—WIN, 66%-34%
Renewal of a 0.25 percent sales tax for Stark Area Regional Transit Authority bus service

Transit Campaign Websites

As many communities are planning for a ballot measure in November or looking ahead to 2012 elections, it is important to start thinking about the "face" of the campaign. Will the campaign have a dedicated website? Social media presence? It is never too soon to start a general educational campaign to establish a base of Twitter followers or Facebook fans and it can be helpful to raise awareness prior to the announcement of a ballot measure.

Here are some great examples from campaigns scheduled on May 3:

SARTA- Stark County, OH
Website: http://www.voteforsarta.com/qa
Tagline: SARTA, There When We Need It. Vote for 13.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SupportSARTA


The Rapid-Grand Rapids, MI
Website: http://rapidyes.org/
Tagline: Move Our Community Forward; Move Forward
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rapidyes


Benzie Bus- Benzie County, MI
Website: http://benziebusyes.org/
Tagline: Keep it Rolling!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Benzie-Bus-Yes

May 3rd Primary Ballot Filling Up with Transportation Measures!

CFTE is monitoring five transportation ballot measures for the May 3, 2011 ballot:

Stark County, OH-- Renewal of a 0.25 percent sales tax for Stark Area Regional Transit Authority bus service

Holland, MI-- Renewal of a 0.4 mill property tax to support to operations of the Macatawa Area Express bus system

Grand Rapids, MI-- A 0.35 mill property tax increase to expand bus service across The Rapid system

Grand Haven Township, MI-- A 0.95 mill property tax increase for Harbor Transit and road/bridge investment

Benzie County, MI--Renewal and Restoration of a 0.5 mill property to support Benzie Bus

Do you know of any others coming up?

New Report on Successful St. Louis Measure in 2010

If you are thinking of attending the 2011 TIC Conference then you should first go to http://cfte.org/TIC/TIC2011.asp to register, but after registering check out this new report by The Public Policy Research Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis on the successful transit sales tax measure in St. Louis in 2010!

From Checkbook Campaigns to Civic Coalitions: Lessons from the Passage of Prop A

103 Days Until TIC 2011!

Have you seen the preliminary schedule for the 2011 Transit Initiatives and Communities Conference? This year's program includes updates to some of your favorite sessions from year's past, topics that you have been begging us to add, as well as new and timely sessions covering issues like:

• Messaging transit in an anti-tax, anti-government environment;
• Improving the economy and creating jobs through transportation investment;
• Innovating financing measures at the ballot box;
• Activating new allies to increase your community of support for transit.

Registration is open and available online. For more information on this year's conference, please visit cfte.org/TIC/TIC2011.asp

Split Results in Washington State Elections

The results from Tuesday's elections in Washington state are a mixed bag. Voters in Jefferson County approved Proposition 1 by 56% to 44%. The measure asked voters to increase the local sales tax by 0.3 percent to avoid cuts to Sunday bus and dial-a-ride service. The sales tax increase is expected to generate $1.1 million annually for Jefferson Transit.

Voters in Pierce County did not approve their own Proposition 1 for a 0.3 percent sales tax increase in a 46% to 54% vote. The sales tax increase was needed just to maintain existing service by Pierce Transit. Between 2007 and 2010, the agency went through two rounds of layoffs, delay or elimination of several capital projects, fare increases and a nearly 8 percent decrease in service.  A phased-in reduction of service hours is expected to begin next fall with a 35% reduction by 2012. If service were to be maintained the agency would face a $51 million shortfall by the end of next year. The measure would have generated approximately $30 million annually for the agency.