Student Launches Site to Map Voter Transit
Aleena Patel built Transit to Turnout to help students find polling places and reach them by bus, shuttle or rideshare.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Civic Engagement
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Aleena Patel launched Transit to Turnout in September, a website that helps local and out-of-state voters locate their assigned polling places and plan transportation to them. The site found that 18 of 39 polling places in Charlottesville and Albemarle County have no bus stop within about a 10-minute walk.
Why it matters
Getting to a polling place is a practical barrier that can keep students from voting, and only 53 percent of eligible students nationally voted in the 2024 presidential election. For Charlottesville residents, the tool highlights how many local polling sites are hard to reach without a car.
The site cross-checked all 39 Charlottesville and Albemarle County polling places against official 2026 election records and found 18 with no bus stop within about a 10-minute walk. It is not yet known how many students have used the tool to change how they reach the polls.
The players
Aleena Patel
A student who built Transit to Turnout after a classmate struggled to get to her polling place last year, and who hopes to secure funding to expand the site across Virginia.
The details
Patel built the interactive map and bus guide with Lovable, an AI-assisted development platform, using React, TypeScript and Leaflet. It lists 27 routes across the University and City transit systems, plus alternatives such as JAUNT, MicroCAT and the Lyft Voting Access Program, and it includes a residence hall directory. Address searches run in the user's browser without collecting or storing location data.
Timeline
- September 2026: Transit to Turnout is published.
- Oct. 17, 2026: The website has more than 1,000 page views.
- Tuesday, November 3, 2026: Midterm elections take place.
Civic Context
Student turnout trailed far behind eligible participation in the 2024 presidential election, with only 53 percent of eligible students nationally casting ballots. Tools like Transit to Turnout target the logistical gap between registration and reaching the polls.
Students and residents who rely on buses or rideshare can use the site to check whether their assigned polling place is within a short walk of a stop. The tool also lists JAUNT, MicroCAT and the Lyft Voting Access Program as options for voters without a car.
The takeaway
Check your assigned polling place and its transportation options before Election Day so a missing bus stop does not keep you from voting.
What happens next
The midterm elections take place on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, when the polling places mapped by the site will be in use.
Further reading
Explore more local Civic Engagement coverage to see how voters are getting to the polls in Charlottesville.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Crossword -- January 29 - The Cavalier Daily - University of Virginia's Student Newspaper.
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Would getting to your polling place be hard enough to keep you from voting?
