Ride NewOrleans

What Ride NewOrleans does

Ride New Orleans (RIDE) is a nonprofit transit advocacy organization founded in 2014 and based in New Orleans, Louisiana, operating across the three-parish Greater New Orleans region (Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard Parishes). The organization pursues its mission of "world-class and equitable transit" through three integrated functions: grassroots rider organizing (via the Coalition for Quality Transit monthly meetings and the Youth Transit Leadership Cohort for ages 16-24), data-driven research and public education (the annual State of Transit report series published since 2015, plus the Transit Open Data Portal hosting historical GTFS feeds, ridership data, and job accessibility metrics back to 2012), and direct policy advocacy targeting elected officials, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), and city leaders. RIDE's most consequential programmatic output is the Opportunity Pass Pilot Program, launched September 3, 2024, which provides free RTA transit passes to Orleans Parish residents ages 16-24 through the RTA Le Pass mobile app or paper passes distributed at all 15 New Orleans Public Library branches; the program is funded by $2.5 million in American Rescue Plan fiscal recovery funds from the City of New Orleans and runs through December 31, 2026.

RIDE's technology footprint is modest but distinctive: its Transit Open Data Portal provides a public-facing data asset (GTFS archives, stop facilities, ridership by route/month) that no other local entity aggregates, and its Annual Job Accessibility Analysis uses a cumulative-opportunity methodology from the University of Minnesota's Accessibility Observatory applied to Census block-group weighted centroids. The organization operates with a lean team of approximately 4 staff (Executive Director Courtney Jackson, Director of Communications & Outreach Shirani Jayasuriya, Policy Manager Bob Danton, and Youth Programs Coordinator & Policy Associate Sam Strait) and a 12-member Board of Directors.

RIDE's revenue model is a diversified nonprofit mix: individual donations via CommitChange/NationBuilder, foundation grants (e.g., Conrad N. Hilton Foundation supporting the 2019 Hotel Worker Transit Survey), corporate sponsorships through the Champions Circle program (inaugural member Hancock Whitney at the "Fast and Frequent" level), and a managed services-style government contract for the Opportunity Pass pilot. The organization monetizes influence rather than product — converting research, organizing, and policy advocacy into tangible transit outcomes such as the $2.5M City Council allocation, the 2022 New Links regional network redesign, and RTA's $500,000 annual bus stop shelter commitment.

Name

Ride NewOrleans

Legal name

Ride New Orleans

Website

https://rideneworleans.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ride New Orleans is a nonprofit transit advocacy organization that improves Greater New Orleans public transit through rider organizing, data-driven research (annual State of Transit reports and a Transit Open Data Portal), policy advocacy, and program management — including the $2.5M ARPA-funded Opportunity Pass youth transit pilot.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Transit Advocacy

NAICS

Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation (485)

SIC

Transportation Services (4700)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Transportation, Parking & Mobility Administration (BPAIACAM)

Keywords

• Transit advocacy services
• Public transit research
• Community organizing
• Open transit data
• Nonprofit policy campaigns

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Charitable contributions from individuals supporting transit advocacy mission. Donation page available at commitchange.com.
2. Corporate Sponsorship: Champions Circle program for business stakeholders at Fast and Frequent level. Inaugural 2021-22 member was Hancock Whitney.
3. Foundation Grants: Program funding from foundations such as Conrad N. Hilton Foundation supporting hotel worker transit survey research.
4. Government Contracts: Manages Opportunity Pass pilot program funded by City of New Orleans ($2.5M ARPA funds) for zero fares youth transit initiative.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Ride New Orleans is a nonprofit transit advocacy organization that improves public transportation in the Greater New Orleans region through rider organizing, policy campaigns, data-driven research, and public education. It publishes the annual State of Transit report, maintains a public Transit Open Data Portal with GTFS feeds and job accessibility metrics, runs the Opportunity Pass pilot program providing free RTA transit passes to Orleans Parish youth ages 16-24, and convenes the Coalition for Quality Transit (monthly rider-led meetings) and Youth Transit Leadership Cohort.

Product overview

Ride New Orleans is a transit advocacy nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of programs focused on improving public transportation in the Greater New Orleans region. The core offerings include the annual State of Transit Report providing comprehensive transit performance analysis, the Transit Open Data Portal with public GTFS feeds and ridership data, and the Opportunity Pass pilot program providing free transit for youth ages 16-24. Supporting programs include the Coalition for Quality Transit (rider-led organizing), Youth Transit Leadership Cohort, and Youth Transit Literacy Workshops. The organization does not operate transit service but advocates for equitable, world-class transit policy through research, community organizing, and policy campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Opportunity Pass A pilot program providing free RTA transit passes to Orleans Parish residents ages 16-24, delivered through the RTA Le Pass mobile app or physical monthly paper passes distributed at New Orleans Public Library branches.
• State of Transit Report Annual comprehensive report examining the state of public transit in the New Orleans region, providing data-driven analysis of job accessibility, service performance, and policy recommendations. Published annually since 2014.
• Transit Open Data Portal Public portal providing access to transit data including annual job accessibility metrics, historical GTFS feeds for RTA and JP Transit, ridership statistics, and community-developed stop amenities datasets.
• Coalition for Quality Transit Grassroots rider-led organizing arm that meets monthly to discuss transit issues, develop solutions, and guide RIDE's policy recommendations and campaigns.
• Youth Transit Leadership Cohort (YTLC) Youth-led transit rider organizing effort for individuals ages 16-24, focused on identifying transit improvement areas and ensuring young riders have meaningful input in planning processes.
• Youth Transit Literacy Workshops Educational workshops designed to teach young people how to use public transit, covering trip planning, map reading, schedule interpretation, and general transit navigation skills.
• Transit Research and Reports Various research publications including Hotel Worker Transit Surveys, Senior Transit Outreach Reports, Bus Stop Shelter Best Practices, Open Data papers, and funding analyses supporting transit policy advocacy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Advocacy led to $2.5M City Council funding for zero-fares youth pilot program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, core and strategic.

• Senior Centers and Care FacilitiessupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 June 2025RIDE conducts outreach at senior homes, conducting focus groups and transit literacy workshops for senior transit riders.
• New Orleans Public LibrarycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 3 September 2024Library administers Opportunity Pass signups at all 15 Orleans Parish locations. Staff assist with enrollment forms and digital pass activation codes for youth transit program.
• Regional Transit Authority (RTA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2024RTA distributes passes and shares usage data for program evaluation. RIDE advocates for transit improvements and rider experience enhancements.
• NOLA Children & Youth Planning Board (CYPB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 September 2024Assists with program development, outreach coordination, and oversees impact assessment and reporting in collaboration with RIDE for Opportunity Pass pilot.
• Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association (GNOHLA)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2018Partnered with RIDE to survey transportation needs of hotel industry workforce. Over 500 hotel workers from 32 hotels surveyed.
• Youth-Serving OrganizationssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerOrganizations serving opportunity youth ages 16-24 eligible for group on-site enrollment options for Opportunity Pass program.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TransitCenter: New York-based transit advocacy and policy research nonprofit that funds and conducts research, similar to RIDE's State of Transit reports and policy work focused on urban mobility equity.
• Greater Greater Washington: DC-region nonprofit combining transit advocacy, urbanism journalism, and open data publishing. Closely parallels RIDE's combination of advocacy, data portal, and policy analysis.
• Riders Alliance: NYC-based grassroots transit rider organizing group running large-scale member mobilization campaigns. Directly comparable to RIDE's Coalition for Quality Transit and youth organizing model focused on winning service improvements.
• Active Transportation Alliance: Chicago-based nonprofit advocating for walking, transit, and biking. Comparable to RIDE as a multi-modal advocacy org running rider engagement, policy campaigns, and annual state-of-transit-equivalents reports.
• Coalition for Smarter Growth: DC-region nonprofit advocating for walkable, transit-oriented communities. Comparable mission and operating model to RIDE, focused on linking land use and transportation equity through advocacy.
• Transit Riders Union: Seattle-based transit rider advocacy nonprofit. Mirrors RIDE's mission in organizing transit riders to demand service improvements from regional transit agencies.
• Pittsburghers for Public Transit: Grassroots transit advocacy organization serving Allegheny County, PA. Closely comparable to RIDE in scale and approach: rider organizing, local policy campaigns, and direct engagement with regional transit authority (PRT).
• Tri-State Transportation Campaign: Regional transit advocacy nonprofit serving the NY-NJ-CT corridor. Directly comparable to RIDE as a multi-state/multi-parish focused advocacy group producing transit research and winning policy campaigns.
• Streetsblog: Urbanist and transit advocacy media network covering walking, biking, and transit issues across multiple U.S. cities. Comparable to RIDE in combining policy journalism with advocacy on transit equity.

Broad incumbents

• Transportation for America: National coalition of transportation advocates housed at Smart Growth America. Operates as a broader umbrella covering multimodal mobility advocacy at federal and state level, comparable in mission to RIDE but at a larger geographic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/RideNewOrleans
• Facebookfacebook.com/RideNewOrleans
• Instagraminstagram.com/rideneworleans
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ride-new-orleans

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ride NewOrleans