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

  • Ex-Conduent CEO: ‘I am not a career transportation person’
    June 11, 2019
    Just prior to resigning as Conduent Transportation CEO, Mick Slattery talked to Adam Hill about the importance of digital and how tech can transform ITS. "I am not a career public sector person,” declares Mick Slattery, chief executive officer of Conduent Transportation, at the beginning of his interview with ITS International. “I am not a career transportation person. I am new to this industry, effective August last year. At my core I’ve spent my career creating and launching new opportunities for clie
  • Road user charging potential solution to transportation problems
    December 14, 2012
    A number of new and highly significant open road tolling schemes have just been launched or are soon to ‘go live’. Systems of road user charging are flexing their muscles as the means to solve politically sensitive transportation problems, reports Jon Masters. Gothenburg, January 2013, will be the time and place for the launch of the next city congestion charging scheme in Europe. In a separate development, Los Angeles County’s tolled Metro ExpressLanes began operating in November 2012 – the latest in a ser
  • New York to pilot cordon-based congestion charging
    March 16, 2012
    From 2009, if all goes to plan, New York will run a three-year cordon-based congestion charging pilot - the first in the US. Upon accession, US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters signalled her intention to continue her predecessor Norman Mineta's initiative to specifically target road congestion. And, with initiatives such as the US Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Urban Partnership Program actively promoting tolling as a part of a compound solution to the problem, the way was opened for the co
  • New York to pilot cordon-based congestion charging
    March 16, 2012
    From 2009, if all goes to plan, New York will run a three-year cordon-based congestion charging pilot - the first in the US. Upon accession, US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters signalled her intention to continue her predecessor Norman Mineta's initiative to specifically target road congestion. And, with initiatives such as the US Department of Transportation's (USDOT's) Urban Partnership Program actively promoting tolling as a part of a compound solution to the problem, the way was opened for the co