Advertisement

Header Utility Menu

  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Events

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Virginia Business

Mobile Menu

  • Issues
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Fantastic 50
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Advertisement

Header Primary Menu

  • Issues
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • Issues Archive
  • Industries
    • Banking/Finances
    • Business Law
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Economic Development
    • Education
    • Energy/Green
    • Government
    • Healthcare
    • Hotels/Tourism
    • Insurance
    • Ports/Trade
    • Small Business
    • Technology
  • Regions
    • Central Virginia
    • Eastern Virginia
    • Northern Virginia
    • Roanoke/New River Valley
    • Shenandoah Valley
    • Southern Virginia
    • Southwest Virginia
  • Reports
    • Best Places to Work
    • Business Person of the Year
    • CEO Pay
    • Coronavirus 2020
    • Fantastic 50
    • Generous Virginians Project
    • Legal Elite
    • Maritime Guide
    • Site Locator
    • The Big Book
    • Virginia CFO Awards
  • Company News
    • For the Record
    • People
  • Opinion
  • Lists
  • Awards
    • Virginia 500
    • Legal Elite
    • CFO Awards
    • Big Book of Lists
    • 100 People To Meet
    • Best Places To Work
  • Virginia 500
    • Read the issue
    • Order a copy
    • Buy an award plaque
    • Nominate execs for 2021

Home News Regions Central Virginia New GRTC chief sets Richmond transit priorities

New GRTC chief sets Richmond transit priorities

Published January 31, 2020 by Don Harrison

Julie Timm, Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) CEO
Julie Timm, Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) CEO

After 25 years in the transportation industry, Julie Timm went back to school to get her MBA. “I wanted to understand the business world,” explains the new CEO of the Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC), the region’s municipal bus system. “Sometimes when transit people talk to our business partners, it’s like we’re talking a different language.”

Formerly the Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority’s chief development officer, Timm has already identified her priorities, including revising the operating budget of GRTC, which is jointly owned by the city and Chesterfield County.

She’s also looking to open a dialogue with area business leaders about providing annual bus passes to employees, and not just to and from work. It’s a perk that helps with employee retention, she says, and cuts down on parking concerns.

GRTC is dealing with a revenue shortage problem. The Pulse, a 7.6-mile rapid transit line initiated in June 2018, employs a Metro-type system where on-bus enforcers spot check fares. GRTC boasted a 15% increase in ridership in the Pulse’s first year, but revenue was down by $1 million, leading many to question the open fare method.

“We could close the system,” the Virginia Beach native says. “We could make it so people can’t get on stations without paying, with turnstiles, or they pay as they get on … unfortunately, that would also decrease the efficiency and time of the service.” It’s a long-running dilemma for the industry, she adds.

Public safety concerns were raised when, in October, a woman was hit and killed by a bus on the Pulse line. “It was a tragedy,”  Timm says. “but the bus system has been involved in only two fatal accidents in the past 10 years. You can’t say that with the roads, or with the train network, or the air. The only way to have an accident-free system is to keep your buses in a maintenance facility, just as the only way to prevent having a car crash is never driving a car.”

Transit is on everyone’s mind, she says, referencing Virginia’s $3.7 billion agreement with CSX to increase commuter rail service throughout the state, but she advises business owners, “When you locate your business in a region, locate it near a transit line. Don’t expect transit to come to you. Transit isn’t well-funded. Putting it in areas where there isn’t current transit is hard for agencies to do.”

Related Stories

Virginia Business logo

Attorney joins Gentry Locke as partner

Ann Taylor

Focused Ultrasound Foundation names chief relationship officer

Ann Taylor has more than 27 years of nonprofit leadership experience

Virginia Business logo

Colonial Downs announces leadership changes

Lisa Speller, Chy Stewart to join organization, overseeing Rosie's Gaming Emporium

Trending

Norfolk’s MacArthur Center may meet the wrecking ball

Heavy hitters

Virginia State Capitol. Photo by Conor Lobb, VCU Capital News Service

UPDATED: Va. becomes 2nd state with consumer data protection law

The Virginia Executive Mansion will be occupied by a new (or possibly returning) governor in January 2022. Photo by Kira Jenkins

Election 2021: Who’s running for governor?

University of Richmond names new president

Sponsored Stories

Supply Chains After a Year of Disruptions

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

The Hottest Topic in 2021: Keeping People Connected

Advertisement

Advertisement

Trending

Norfolk’s MacArthur Center may meet the wrecking ball

Heavy hitters

Virginia State Capitol. Photo by Conor Lobb, VCU Capital News Service

UPDATED: Va. becomes 2nd state with consumer data protection law

The Virginia Executive Mansion will be occupied by a new (or possibly returning) governor in January 2022. Photo by Kira Jenkins

Election 2021: Who’s running for governor?

University of Richmond names new president

Sponsored Stories

Supply Chains After a Year of Disruptions

The Jackson Ward Collective is equipping Black-owned small businesses with the tools for success

The Hottest Topic in 2021: Keeping People Connected

Get Virginia Business directly on your tablet or in your mailbox!

Subscribe to Virginia Business

Advertisement

Advertisement

Footer Primary Menu

  • virginiabusiness.com
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

Footer Secondary Menu

  • Industries
  • Regions
  • Reports
  • Company News
  • Events

Sign Up For Our Newsletter

Sign Up

LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Instagram Get Our App

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy

Footer Utility Menu

Copyright © 2021 Virginia Business. All rights reserved.

Site Maintained by TechArk