Skip to main content

Rockefeller Foundation grant to support BRT in four US cities

The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a US$1.2 million, four-city project to support local efforts to build bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in Boston, Chicago, Nashville and Pittsburgh. In each city, the grant will support research, communications and community outreach efforts to engage and educate local stakeholders on the benefits of BRT. As part of its effort to transform cities, the Rockefeller Foundation's transportation work aims to encourage economic growth and improve quality of life by helping
April 11, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a US$1.2 million, four-city project to support local efforts to build bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in Boston, Chicago, Nashville and Pittsburgh. In each city, the grant will support research, communications and community outreach efforts to engage and educate local stakeholders on the benefits of BRT.

As part of its effort to transform cities, the Rockefeller Foundation's transportation work aims to encourage economic growth and improve quality of life by helping communities to make better investments in modern, efficient and effective mass transit solutions – specifically, BRT.  The Rockefeller Foundation has provided over $6 million to support efforts to expand BRT for the past three years.

"The Rockefeller Foundation is pleased to be working with Boston, Chicago, Nashville and Pittsburgh in their efforts to enhance public transportation options," says Nick Turner, managing director of the Rockefeller Foundation. "As America's cities continue to grow, leaders understand that public transportation is critical to encouraging economic development and to making their communities more liveable and attractive. It is what their citizens want, and high-quality BRT delivers.  We are thrilled to see it gaining momentum in cities across the US."

"The transportation choices made by American cities over the next few years will shape the way our urban communities, economies and environments develop for decades to come," says Benjamin de la Pena, Associate Director of the Rockefeller Foundation. "Bus Rapid Transit systems that are built to a high standard can make a real difference by providing better access to jobs and services, decreasing the amount of time and money people spend on getting around, reducing congestion and air pollution and increasing quality of life for local residents."

Related Content

  • Why integrated traffic management needs a cohesive approach
    April 10, 2012
    Traffic control is increasingly being viewed as one essential element of a wider ‘system of systems’ – the smart city. Jason Barnes, Jon Masters and David Crawford report on latest ideas and efforts for making cities ‘smarter’ Virtually every element of the fabric and utilitarian operations that make urban areas tick can now be found somewhere in the mix that is the ‘smart city’ agenda. Ideas have expanded and projects pursued in different directions as the rhetoric on making cities ‘smarter’ has grown. App
  • ITS America focuses on the environment
    March 13, 2012
    ITS America's appointment of a Director of Environmental Affairs signals a major new focus
  • The scourge of poor air quality and rising pollution levels and how they can be tackled
    December 20, 2021
    Arguably, air pollution is one of the greatest challenges facing our world today. It impacts people, economies and the environment. It is clear that policymakers must act swiftly to improve air quality. ITS has a huge role to play in providing solutions. Here, Swarco, as a solution provider, shares inside tips on how to use modern ITS to save lives, economies and the environment.
  • Better websites build smarter transport participation
    March 17, 2017
    Transport initiatives are gaining traction through well-designed websites. Four European smart transport-oriented websites have gained honours in the 2016 .eu Web Awards, an online competition inaugurated in 2014 to recognise the most impressive sites within the .eu internet domain in terms of their design and content. The four were among 15 finalists across all five categories of the scheme, giving the transport sector a high profile for its proactive use of sites as communications tools for driving major