On May 12 the Brookings think tank released its report on public transport accessibility in the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the US. According to the Brookings rankings, the Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Newport News is 78th out of 100, with Richmond way down in 92nd.

If you've ever taken GRTC in Richmond, you'll know the city bus service is actually pretty good. It gets me to work and back every day. So why is RVA in the bottom 10? The answer is access.

Richmond's public transport is concentrated heavily in the city, and severely limited in the surrounding counties that have been historically keen to keep buses out of the 'burbs. As a result the Richmond metro area's share of working age residents living near a transit stop was just 31%, compared to an average of 69% in the 100 cities on the Institute's list.

There's better news for Virginia in the fitness standings. The American College of Sports Medicine released its annual American Fitness Index yesterday, ranking the 50 largest metropolitan areas according to factors like the percentage of people who exercise, obesity rates, access to sporting facilities and so on. Virginia Beach came in 9th and Richmond 12th.

So seems the good news is that even though Virginia's public transportation access is lacking, at least we're all theoretically fit enough to walk those extra few miles if we need to find our nearest bus stop.