Rail and bus systems need organized support fighting for them!

“Friends of ______” Groups help your local library win funding, the same principles apply to high speed rail and bus lane proposals

Building/upgrading a rail or bus line brings tons of benefits to regions– it increases mobility, grows the economy, and fights climate change. However it also costs money, takes time and consistent effort. That means there will always be opposition and that if political will (e.g. funding) gets redirected away from the project, then the project won’t happen. Transit agencies typically try to overcome this by pushing for dedicated funding mechanisms which help protect proposed projects from political changes— and that’s a good strategy! But that is only half of the equation. By not having a dedicated outside group also pushing for the project, then the transit agency will face its political fights for survival alone.

Or to put it bluntly–there will almost always be a “STOP THE _____” group that forms in opposition to what you want that’s dedicated to making your project fail; if you ensure that there is an equal (and more powerful!) group on your side, your odds of success go way up. With a loud, organized, powerful outside ally by your side pushing for your project you might even be able to win additional funding to speed up or improve your project. 

Also– an outside group can do things to help the project that you can’t do as the official transit authority. As an official transit authority, your hands are tied and there is only so much politicking you can do before you cross the line or lose supporters. Any staffer of a transit authority who has had to smile on the outside (while fuming on the inside) in response to something an elected official said knows what I’m talking about.

But an outside group, a “Friends of _____” doesn’t have those same restrictions. They can be a powerful and loud voice of support that drowns out the naysayers and wins you the resources you need to do what you need to do. Encouraging one of those outside groups to form, forming one, and learning how to effectively work together as the outside group & official agency is possible and can help you win big– whether that’s your bus-only lane or your regional high speed rail line. 

Curious about how that could happen and what that might look like? Let’s talk. Email me at Carter@carterlavin.com and let’s schedule a time.

How I’m walking the talk these days:

Now that the petition for more funds to improve street safety in Oakland has surpassed 600 signers, it is time to go public. Why wait til 600? Well, when you get in the news you almost always get some detractors, so it’s good to bulk up first before going out into the world. Also, since we’re in a “Base ten” society, reporters (and most people) tend to only care about numbers 1-10 and then after that numbers that end in 0 (or maybe 5) so if you want the media’s attention you need to have some nice round number. The size of the number depends on your context. In Oakland, the mayor recently won with a margin of victory of 677 votes and the most recent city council elections were decided by about 5,000 to 10,000 votes, so while 600 petition signers isn’t all of Oakland, it does represent a notable amount of support. You can sign the petition here. (And for full transparency, my plan was to get the press release out at 500 signers, but things took a little while longer to draft and by the time we were finished, we had gotten to 600 signers!)

(Want to get more comfortable working with the media and getting helpful public attention on your issue? Book a training session!)

Upcoming Free Training-- “How to Overcome the Opposition and Win a Bike Lane.” Tuesday February 28th @ 5:30pm PT on Zoom. Register here.

Action/activist of note: Speaking of petitions, Professor Sky Croeser, has a really really good piece about online petitions that I recommend checking out. You can read it here.

Meet your fellow transportation advocates at the February Open Discussion Zoom Happy Hour! Next Thursday February 23rd @ 5:30pm PT on Zoom.

This month’s topic: Organizing riders while on transit -- is it effective, weird, rude, smart, fun? Come share your thoughts, hear from allies, and make some friends. RSVP here to join the conversation on February 23rd. 

Correction/lesson learned: As I mentioned above, I was planning on getting the press release out at 500 signers, but delays meant we sent it out to announce 600 signers. A good reminder for everyone (but especially me) that sometimes going slowly is better!

Thanks for reading, thanks for forwarding this along, and most importantly– thanks for working to make the world better!

Sincerely, 

Carter Lavin

www.carterlavin.com