Nebraska DOT Joins Rural Transit Support Campaign

April 14, 2023

The University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Public Affairs Research or CPAR has joined with the Nebraska Department of Transportation, White Shutter Media, and numerous rural transit agencies to produce a new video series called Faces of Transit in Nebraska as part of larger effort to grow rural transit options across the state.

[Above image via the University of Nebraska]

CPAR is part of a larger Nebraska Public Transit team combining experts in the fields of business, safety, technology, research, and public policy to work toward a safer, more efficient, and more reliable public transportation system for everyone.

Other ongoing projects from CPAR include policy analyses for the Planning Committee of the Nebraska State Legislature, designation by the U.S. Census Bureau as a statewide liaison for disseminating a range of data products and a range of community engaged research projects.

Image by AASHTO

[Editor’s note: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials issues an annual “Survey of State Funding for Public Transportation Report.” Its Fiscal Year 2022 report – based on FY 2020 data due to the COVID-19 pandemic – provides a snapshot of state-by-state investment in public transportation from federal, state, and local funding sources.]

According to a statement, CPAR noted that – for many Nebraska rural communities – transit serves as “a lifeline” connecting residents to healthcare, work, education, and civic life.

As a result, many transit agencies in Nebraska are doing new things or expanding use of funding to go to new places, said CPAR, so this video series will explore who the agency serves and where they take their passengers, so others understand how the service works.

Watch the first two completed videos featuring central and southeastern Nebraska agencies:

In 2022, CPAR said the total number of miles traveled by rural and urban transit agencies in Nebraska exceeded 9.8 million, up 80 percent from 2021. Of those total miles traveled, 43 percent of them are rural miles. The total number of “passenger boardings” – defined as anytime a passenger steps onto a transit vehicle in both rural and urban areas statewide – reached over 4.7 million, up 140 percent from 2021.

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