A four-year plan to expand and improve public transit was pitched to Gainesville City Council Thursday morning, with officials linking the system’s growth to economic development and meeting ridership needs. “We have a groundswell of support from corporations, businesses, manufacturing companies, nonprofits and other government agencies who are saying this is our time,” said Phillippa Lewis Moss, director of the Gainesville-Hall County Community Service Center, which operates Hall Area Transit. “The question for us is are we willing to help them connect?” she said.