The RTA has seen some recent expansions of its bus and streetcar services, but based on findings from a local transit advocacy group, New Orleans’ public transit system can stand to grow further. According to a report released this week from the group RIDE New Orleans, most New Orleanians who rely on public transit can reach just 11 percent of the region’s jobs within a half-hour.
The group recommends that the RTA must make public transit as accessible as it was prior to Hurricane Katrina before 2020, especially since New Orleans is on track to reach its pre-storm population levels in the next four years.
The report also is critical of RTA prioritizing its streetcar services, which seems to mostly benefit tourists, but praised its recent approval of the N. Rampart streetcar line that won’t come at the cost of bus routes.