Hello transit supporters –

Thanks to Hoosiers who have signed the online petition supporting dedicated local funding for mass transit, we’ve made a lot of progress over the past year. If you have not yet signed it, please visit www.indianacat.org or www.cirta.us to access and share the online petition.

But there’s much more work to do if we’re going to bring a 21st century transit system to Central Indiana and other communities around the state.

The next major step forward for mass transit requires that State Representatives and Senators pass a law giving Indiana communities the ability to fund transit locally. That local funding would most likely then be determined through a referendum process.

A few weeks ago, Indianapolis Star columnist Matthew Tully wrote a column that does a good job of outlining the challenges we face in this effort (see my blog from yesterday).  Mr. Tully makes a number of good observations in his column, but the main point is what he says we must do to succeed. As he said, “If backers of the transit plan want to meet that challenge, they need to quickly step up their efforts to rally the public…”

So transit advocates are calling on you for your help and support and to share some of the plans leading up to the 2013 General Assembly. Here are a few specific steps that will help do just that:

1. Please contact your state legislators and/or candidates in the next two weeks and let them know you support transit and that you want them to give communities the ability to fund transit with a local dedicated option. You can find your legislators at:

http://www.in.gov/sliverheader/Welcome.do?url=http://www.whoareyourelectedofficials.in.gov

and their contact info at: http://www.in.gov/legislative/2345.htm

When you email, write or phone them, be sure to share the reasons you believe improved transit is important for your community.

2. Ask your friends, neighbors and coworkers to get involved. Advocates have set a goal of securing 10,000 additional petition signatures by 12/31/12 (on top of the ~5000 we’ve got now). Can you please help us achieve that goal by encouraging everyone in your various personal and professional networks to sign? Visit www.indianacat.org or www.cirta.us to access and share the online petition.

3. Volunteer your time and energy to help out at events, speak to local groups, or assist our transit advocacy effort in other ways. For example, we still need to fill a few volunteer shifts at the state fair next week and at several other upcoming events. Can you help out? Do you know of a neighborhood association or civic group that needs to hear about our effort? Make an introduction or send us the contact info.

We’re counting on your input to help us determine where we need to be and what audiences we need to be contacting over the next few months. You’ve already told us you want to see improved transit service in Indiana. Now we hope you’ll put that desire into action and help us demonstrate that the public is indeed behind this effort.

Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you need more details or have questions about this effort by contacting www.indianacat.org. Thank you so much for your support!