The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) launched its summer-long online campaign to underscore the importance of making public transit a central pillar of the next Long-Term Infrastructure Plan.

"Take Action! Write to the Minister" is a grassroots advocacy campaign rallying CUTA members and the public to voice their support and call on the federal government to increase funding for public transit. At its core is an action center designed to send a letter to Minister Lebel with recommendations to make public transit an integral part of the next long term infrastructure plan, and a social media campaign to spread the word and take action.

Several months ago, the minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Denis Lebel, launched a formal process that will lead to the development and adoption of Canada's next long-term infrastructure plan. Minister Lebel announced a series of roundtable consultations across Canada with all the provinces and territories to get input into the next generation of infrastructure programs. The vast majority of federal funding for transit in the last decade came from the Building Canada Plan that will expire in 2014.

Over the last five years, the federal government has made unprecedented investments in public transit. This contribution, along with provincial and municipal investment, has allowed transit systems across the country to expand and offer more sustainable mobility solutions to Canadians. In fact, ridership growth in Canada has outpaced urban population growth by 50%. The number of trips taken on public transit is at record level, as more Canadians get on board every year. In 2011, no less than 1.99 billion trips were made on public transit.

Take Action! Write to Minister Lebel can be accessed by following @canadiantransit on Twitter, becoming a fan on CUTA's Facebook page or taking action at cutaactu.ca