Citizens for Modern Transit

Citizens for Modern Transit (CMT) is the region's transit advocacy organization.

Help CMT celebrate 40 years of turning transit advocacy to action on Give STL Day 2024, making the region a more prosperous and accessible place to live, work and play. 

As a CMT supporter, we hope you will consider joining us in support of this goal and encourage you to consider contributing $40 for 40 years of transit advocacy. Your $40 builds on 40 years of achievements, including:

• Bringing light rail to the St. Louis region
• Passage of Prop A and Prop M to help fund transit in the region
• Securing increased funding for transit at the state level
• Introducing thousands of new riders to transit through innovative programing
• Transformation of transit stops on both sides of the river, connecting transit to local communities and spurring transit-oriented development to the tune of $33 million
• Commissioning and developing studies and plans – including Feasibility study for development of Cortex MetroLink Station, Economic Impact of Public Transit in Missouri, Statewide Missouri Transit Needs assessment, St. Louis Transit Oriented Development Framework Plan, and more
• Bringing stakeholder groups together to support safe, convenient and affordable access to the region’s integrated public transportation system

Our advocacy work is seen in various ways through the community.

• Through CMT's Transit Stop Transformation Program, CMT and project partners are transforming transit stops in the region into fun, artistic spaces that increase transit use, encourage play, cultivate community, and facilitate transit-oriented development
• CMT's legislative advocacy has delivered on increased state and local funding as well as regional support for the expansion of transit
• CMT represents more than 22,000 constituents in the St. Louis region including corporations, academic institutions, labor, riders and individuals. CMT also represents all 32 transit providers in the state of Missouri through the management of the Missouri Public Transit Association
• CMT's Metro Monitor Volunteer Program provides valuable insight on safety and security on the regional public transit system.
• CMT produces and commissions policy briefs, studies and reports to help elected officials, community activists, interested residents and more to leverage the benefits of transit in their communities.
• CMT runs multiple rider-incentive programs that teach people how to use public transit and how transit can benefit their health, their pocketbook, and their community:
  • CMT's Try & Ride program encourages people to try transit for at least two months for their work commute; we "hold their hand" along the way and help participants figure out how to get from their front door to work via bus or MetroLink.
  • CMT's Guaranteed Ride Home program is an incentive for commuters to commute to work by transit or bicycling rather than driving alone. It allows employees to take transit/bicycle while providing them a "safety net", an assurance that they can get home and not be left at work if a situation arises.
  • The CMT Ten Toe Express program encourages seniors to use transit to improve their health, decrease social isolation, and increase their independence through transit-centered walking groups. Ten Toe Express participants use transit to become tourists in their own city, seeing their hometown from a different perspective.
  • In addition CMT creates community engagement events and campaigns to educate the general public on the benefits of transit.