The Riders' Council

Why this project

Transit advocacy has a recurring failure mode: speaking for the people who use the system, without ever asking them. LVBT will not have that problem.

The Riders’ Council is a standing body of about 20 regular RTC riders, drawn deliberately from across the Valley, across occupations, and across the kinds of trips people make. It meets quarterly with public minutes. Its members co-author LVBT’s published positions on RTC service decisions, fare changes, and the 2027 session ask. When they’re willing, they testify. The council’s job is not to rubber-stamp LVBT — it’s to push back, and to put a name and a route number on the work.

Approach

• Recruit through bus-stop conversations, our street-interview and video projects, and allied organizations as the coalition grows
• Pay a small honorarium for meeting attendance and explicit time-on-task; cover transit fare for everyone
• Publish council membership openly, at each member’s chosen level of identification (full name, first name only, route only)
• Treat the council as the first audience for any LVBT position before it goes public