The hardest project to deliver is the first. Whether a red bus lane or a transit boarding island, undertaking new projects requires changing business as usual. Cities have to define new goals and activate new partnerships. NACTO’s City Accelerator program was developed to help cities develop these new neural pathways, to call upon NACTO’s rich national network and help cities go from idea to implementation to durable programmatic change. In turn, staff in these cities expand their knowledge and become the next generation of experts, sharing their experiences back with the rest of the NACTO network.

The Transit Program Accelerator convenes cities and their transit agency partners to put a stake in the ground and commit to accelerating transit. While bus riderships falters in many North American cities, the places with growing ridership are those cultivating better transit service by improving streets and building strong inter-agency relationships. NACTO’s Transit Program Accelerator convenes those conversations and brings cities the technical tools to transform their streets for transit.

In 2019 – 2020, NACTO is partnering with NRDC and Delivery Associates through the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge to accelerate transit programs in cities across the U.S., taking action on climate change by unlocking transit for more riders and more trips in more cities.

City Accelerators

Cambridge | Mass Ave

Oakland | MacArthur-Grand Corridor

Denver | Broadway/Lincoln Corridor

Indianapolis | One-Way to Two-Way Conversions

Climate Challenge Accelerators

Minneapolis | Transit-Priority Treatments

Philadelphia | Center City Transit Operations

San Antonio | Zarzamora Street

Designs for high-quality transit facilities and suggestions for operations that NACTO advises on during Transit Accelerators are based on NACTO’s publications library. These resources, when used in concert, provide the tools cities need to operate fast and reliable transit systems.

Transit Street Design Guide

The Transit Street Design Guide provides design guidance for the development of transit facilities on city streets, and for the design and engineering of city streets to prioritize transit, improve transit service quality, and support other goals related to transit.

Better Boarding, Better Buses: Streamlining Boarding & Fares

Transit agencies are moving more people in less time, by implementing all-door bus boarding and off-board bus fare payment, on busy lines and system-wide. This paper reviews the experience of seven cities in North America that demonstrate how innovative bus boarding and fare payment practices can scale to any city’s transit needs, and can grow ridership while streamlining operations.

Transit Leadership Papers

Curb Appeal

Cities are clearing the way for transit by taking control of their curbs. Curb Appeal—the first NACTO Transit Leadership Paper—provides examples of how cities have successfully changed curb use to support transit along busy, store-lined streets where high-ridership transit lines often struggle with reliability.

Making Transit Count

New performance metrics put reliable, efficient transit—the efficient movement of people—at the center of urban streets. Making Transit Count—the second NACTO Transit Leadership Paper—is a set of guidelines that will help cities and transit operators tell a more complete and compelling story about transit, and about streets.

The Structure of Success

City transportation departments have a critical role in building successful bus systems. The Structure of Success—the third NACTO Transit Leadership Paper—details how city transportation departments and their transit agency partners can overcome structural hurdles and commit to supporting effective transit.