The Riders' Council

Overview

The Riders’ Council is a standing advisory body of regular RTC riders. It meets quarterly, reviews LVBT positions, helps shape public asks, and testifies when members are willing.

The council is meant to include riders from across the Valley, across occupations, and across different kinds of trips.

Motivation

Strong transit advocacy gives riders real authority in the work. LVBT will build that authority into the organization through a standing council of people who use the system.

The council gives riders a regular way to push back, add route-level knowledge, and put names and lived experience behind public positions.

Approach

LVBT will recruit through bus-stop conversations, street-interview projects, video projects, and allied organizations. Members will receive compensation for meeting attendance and explicit time-on-task, with transit fare covered.

The council will be the first audience for major LVBT positions before they go public. Membership can be listed at each member’s chosen level of identification.

Activities

The Riders Council will seat a small group of regular transit riders with quarterly meetings, public minutes, and a clear way to shape LVBT positions before they are published. Rider input will be attributed when members want credit and protected when they do not.

The council will review major publications, identify rider priorities, prepare testimony for the 2027 session, and help LVBT avoid speaking about riders without riders in the room.