Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), Green Mountain Transit (GMT) and United Way of Northwest Vermont (United Way) worked with the Chittenden County Elders and Persons with Disabilities Transit Program partners (E&D) in order to answer the following challenges: How can we support Chittenden County’s E&D partners in their role as program administrators to help create a rider-informed and equitable paratransit service for all Chittenden County residents? How can Chittenden County’s E&D providers modify services to increase rider satisfaction and optimize limited program funds? The project evaluated Chittenden County’s E&D program from the partner perspective and generated opportunities for shared learning and collaboration between all Chittenden County’s E&D stakeholders.

Increasing public transit use can reduce demand for single occupancy vehicles, lower emissions, improve transportation cost equity, and reduce congestion. Due to the real and perceived costs of using transit, demand for fixed route transit often increases when coupled with workplace parking restrictions (e.g. limits on permits, higher costs, remote parking requiring longer walks or other transfers). In this project, a targeted pilot intervention was conducted to test connecting potential transit users with incentives to increase bus ridership on the Route 116 corridor between Hinesburg and Burlington.

Concerned about the cost of operating two separate call centers for demand response services in the GMT service area, particularly in light of changes in ridership brought about by the COVID-19 public health emergency, GMT and its Chittenden County service contractor, Special Services Transportation Agency (SSTA), partnered with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) to undertake this study of consolidated call center options for the two organizations. The objective of the project was to update information presented in the 2018 report about the operations of GMT and SSTA, with a focus on the demand response service reservations and scheduling/dispatch functions, and to identify and evaluate options for a consolidated call center.

2022 marks the first year of Park Your CARbon, an updated and re-imagined version of the previous Way to Go! Challenge. Park Your CARbon is an awareness campaign encouraging Vermonters to park their vehicle for one trip, one day, or one week in an effort to curb carbon emissions and promote the use of other transportation modes.

With the passage of the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, there is expected to be a 35% increase in transit funding above the FAST Act investment levels; additional resources at the local level to serve as matching funds will likely be needed. Rather than just continuing to lean on existing sources of revenue, this renewed need for local funding offers the opportunity to overhaul how transit is funded both in the Chittenden County metropolitan area and in the rural parts of Vermont.

Final report available here: https://www.oldspokeshome.com/one-mobility-audit The Old North End (ONE) is Burlington’s most economically, ethnically, and socially diverse community. The historically working-class neighborhood is a vibrant collective of arts, food, small business, and community-centered services, and is home to much of Burlington’s lower-income and migrant populations. This neighborhood mobility audit by the Old Spokes Home (bike shop and non-profit) sought to identify transportation investments that will improve pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access for traditionally underserved residents within the ONE to area jobs and essential services. A survey of those residents helped the project team to understand residents’ specific experiences, needs and barriers. Recommendations are made to enhance walking, biking, and transit connections to area jobs and essential services (e.g., shopping, educational centers, medical care facilities, etc.) at a neighborhood level, as well as suggestions on how to involve and engage traditionally underserved populations in planning projects.

The three contiguous communities of Cambridge, Underhill, and Jericho are seeking to develop a comprehensive “alternative” transportation system (i.e. one that does not rely heavily on single-occupancy auto) to serve their residents. This area has come to be called the “Tri-Town” area. The purpose of this study is to examine the range of possibilities for accomplishing this including various modes and services, organizational and administrative structures, and funding. It is intended that the results be relevant not only to the Tri-Town area but also for other rural portions of the GMT region.

Building off of the GMT Route 116 Bus Ridership Pilot Project in 2018-2019 , the Chittenden County Bus Commuter Ridership Pilot Project aimed to increase ridership in the County, specifically targeting commuters living and working in towns served by the county’s bus provider, Green Mountain Transit.