The Georgia Department of Transportation (Georgia DOT) will recognize Georgia’s rural transit providers on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in honor of National Rural Transit Day. Thanks to Georgia’s rural transit providers, transit services are available to Georgians in 130 of the state’s 159 counties, with more counties adding service regularly. 

“Georgia DOT operates one of the largest rural transit (5311) subrecipient programs in the nation,” said Troy Green, Georgia DOT’s transit program manager. “Georgia DOT's goal is to ensure all Georgians have access to healthcare, education, shopping and more by ultimately having a transit option in all 159 of Georgia's counties. While there is still work to do, we are pleased with the progress so far.” 

Currently, Georgia DOT is creating Transit Development Plans (TDP) for each of the state’s 12 regions. Two TDPs are complete for the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission and the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission. TDPs for the Middle Georgia Regional Commission, Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission, Three Rivers Regional Commission, Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, Coastal Regional Commission, Northeast Georgia Regional Commission, River Valley Regional Commission, Central Savannah River Area Regional Commission and Southern Georgia Regional Commission are pending.

The TDPs initiate with a snapshot of Existing Conditions, which provide the foundation for the region’s needs Assessment and development of Alternatives and Recommendations. The entire process is supported by a robust Public Involvement process, that includes meetings and interviews with key stakeholders, and public consultation and surveys. The goal of the TDPs is to identify a path to improve public transportation services in all regions, that in return will enhance the quality of life for all Georgians.

In Fiscal Year 2023, the Georgia DOT distributed $46.8 million to small urban and rural subrecipient transit providers. Of this amount $22.2 million was allocated to rural transit subrecipients for operating and capital funding. This funding provided for 1.1 million rural trips and a total of 11.4 million trip miles recorded according to the National Transit Database.

National Rural Transit Day is an annual holiday established by the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (RTAP) in 2019 and has been celebrated every July 16 since. It is dedicated to recognizing rural transit providers and highlights the initiatives agencies take to honor passengers and staff both on Rural Transit Day and throughout the year. RTAP offers a variety of training programs and workshops designed to improve the skills and knowledge of transit operators, drivers and administrators. To celebrate National Rural Transit Day, Georgia DOT encourages going to the Rural Transit Day Tool Kit, which shows participation ideas such as taking the Rural Transit Day Pledge, joining the #RuralTransitDay Twitter/X chat on July 16 and honoring staff with Rural Transit Hero cards. 

The Georgia Department of Transportation thanks all participating rural transit providers, staff and riders. For more information on Rural Transit Day and to take the pledge, please visit https://www.nationalrtap.org/News/Rural-Transit-Day. For additional information on Georgia DOT's Rural Transit Program, please visit https://www.dot.ga.gov/GDOT/pages/TransitPrograms.aspx.