Public Relations RFP Issued By Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC)

Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) in Virginia has issued a Public Relations RFP, and for state and local legislative services.

The objective of this RFP is to present GRTC services as key to improving quality of life and supporting economic development, to broaden community awareness of GRTC, to facilitate expansion of transit on a more regional level and to convey messages that GRTC is an integral, multifaceted part of life in the central Virginia region through the use of lobbying and public relations activities.

GRTC is the primary public transportation provider for the Richmond region. The company is a not-for- profit public service corporation jointly owned by the City of Richmond and Chesterfield County. Currently, GRTC operates 37 local routes and 10 express routes (including extended express routes) that provide transit service within the City of Richmond, Henrico County, and a small portion of Chesterfield County – a service area that accounts for more than 8 million passenger rides yearly.

In addition to traditional fixed-route service, GRTC provides complementary ADA paratransit service, welfare-to-work transportation, and vanpool and carpool development services. In the provision of these services, GRTC employs an active fleet of approximately 145 fixed-route transit vehicles and 80 specialized transportation vehicles. RideFinders, the rideshare component of the transit system, provides assistance to car pools and van pools.

Scope of Services:

• Work with the key members and staffs of the Virginia General Assembly and the Governor’s Administration in support of legislative and public policy priorities of GRTC.
• Collaborate with GRTC principals for strategic planning and execution of legislative agendas and regularly inform GRTC principal liaisons of meetings and actions relevant to GRTC.
• Attend local and state legislative meetings where discussion may impact GRTC; comment as needed and provide written updates of content of meetings along with any distributed materials.
• Liaison between GRTC and public and private leaders and officials when necessary, including arranging meetings, scheduling appointments, sending invitations, and writing correspondence.
• Assist in the development of positive relationships between GRTC, state/local elected and appointed officials, their staff, business/community leaders, and others who impact public policy, opinion, and support for GRTC to achieve priority public policy objectives.
• Provide direct support for coalition building, education, and advocacy while working with GRTC staff and external stakeholders to generate and mobilize broad support to influence strategic public policy and public relations objectives which are specifically related to improving regional mobility through better multimodal transportation assets and services across the Central Virginia region – supported by reliable funding.

These activities may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Developing communications and supporting materials for raising awareness of policy issues among target audiences;
• Coordinating and executing action events that bring stakeholders together; and
• Creating and executing sub-campaigns that directly support overall public policy objectives and demonstrate to stakeholders the value of public transportation supported by strategic public policy frameworks.

Proposals are due by August 30th, 2016:

GRTC Transit System
Attn: Tonya Thompson Director of Procurement
301 E. Belt Boulevard
Richmond, Virginia 23224

PR firms in Virginia include Merritt Group & PadillaCRT.