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

  • Xerox’s mobility app offers Mobility as a Service
    June 1, 2016
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at a new mobility app in Los Angeles and Denver that brings Mobility as a Service one step closer. Commuting today doesn’t have to require a single modal route. You can take Uber to the nearest light-rail station or a bus to the commuter line. Then on the other end of your trip, you can book a bikeshare the rest of the way to your office. For many who live in major metropolitan areas around the US this is a distinct reality as new ways to move from Point A to Point B continue to
  • No city is a traffic island
    April 2, 2024
    Beate Kubitz reflects on the rising tide of suburban drivers - and how cities across Europe are dealing with them as worries over air quality multiply
  • Autumn budget: EV charging infrastructure fund and higher tax rates for diesel vehicles
    November 23, 2017
    Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has announced a £400m ($532m) charging infrastructure fund for electric vehicles (EVs), an extra £100m ($133m) investment in Plug-In-Car Grant, and a £40m ($53m) in charging R&D in the UK’s Autumn Budget 2017. He added that laws need to be clarified so that motorists who charge their EVs at work will not face a benefit-in-kind charge from next year.
  • UK government publishes long-term plan to increase cycling and walking
    April 24, 2017
    The UK government has published its US$1.5 billion (£1.2 billion) long-term plan to make cycling and walking the natural choice for shorter journeys. The government wants cycling and walking to become the norm by 2040 and will target funding at innovative ways to encourage people onto a bike or to use their own two feet for shorter journeys. Plans include specific objectives to double cycling, reduce cycling accidents and increase the proportion of five to 10 year-olds walking to school to 55 per cent by 20