WHEREAS, across the Commonwealth, residents and visitors travel on a range of public transportation systems, including bus, paratransit, light rail, heavy and commuter rail, and ferry, totaling more than 203 million trips annually; and

WHEREAS, the Transit Cooperative Research Program, through the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council, sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration, demonstrates that public education programs are important to promoting awareness and safe behavior when on or around public transportation systems; and

WHEREAS, VTrans2040 and VTrans2035, the Commonwealth's statewide long-range multimodal policy plans, highlight safe multimodal transportation operations and services as a priority, with efforts to reduce crashes, fatalities, and property damage through a variety of means, including educational programs; and

WHEREAS, encouraging citizens throughout Hampton Roads and the rest of the Commonwealth to engage in safe behavior when interacting with the Tide light rail system, the Virginia General Assembly designated April 29, in 2011 and in each succeeding year, as Light Rail Safety Day in Virginia; and

WHEREAS, Light Rail Safety Day effectively facilitated clear, deliberate, and simple delivery of important transportation safety messages, consistent with best practices identified by the Transportation Research Board of the National Research Council, and thereby the promotion of safe public transportation operations and services; and

WHEREAS, public outreach and education efforts that are supportive of raising awareness of transportation safety information and encouraging safe behaviors are desirable for all modes of public transportation across Virginia; and

WHEREAS, citizens of the Commonwealth are encouraged to engage in safe behaviors, obey important safety rules, and avoid risky and illegal behaviors when interacting with the public transportation systems; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly designate April 29, in 2016 and in each succeeding year, as Public Transportation Safety Day in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit a copy of this resolution to the Virginia Department of Transportation so that members of the organization may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the Senate post the designation of this day on the General Assembly's website, replacing the previous designation of Light Rail Safety Day.