Executive Summary
Valley Metro is the regional public transportation authority for the Phoenix Metropolitan
area. Their services have positive impacts on air quality, provide an affordable way to
connect cities, and are foundational to sustainable city initiatives—yet in 2018 Valley Metro
lacked a current sustainability program themselves. The agency has engaged in
sustainability initiatives since signing the American Public Transportation Association
Sustainability Commitment in 2011, and Valley Metro’s previous sustainability plan was
created in 2014. Their 2014 plan is outdated, and a new sustainability plan needed to be
created to continue sustainability at Valley Metro. This applied project, Five Year
Sustainability at Valley Metro, created an updated sustainability program for the agency.
Valley Metro’s Sustainability Action Plan 2019 was created through transit sustainability
research, local city sustainability research, an agency wide sustainability survey, forming a
sustainability action team, and working with the executive leadership team. The action plan
was approved by Valley Metro executive leadership on April 4th, 2019 and execution of the
plan will begin immediately. Another outcome of this applied project was hiring Valley
Metro’s first sustainability coordinator to run their program. This applied project provided
Valley Metro with updated visions, goals, and strategies for creating a more sustainable
agency and transportation system.