Regional Transit Authority to seek new taxes for transit system (Detroit: employment, living in)

[animatedmartian]

Tax proposed for Detroit-to-Ann Arbor rail and other regional transit plans | MLive.com

This November, voters in the tri-county and Washtenaw county areas will be asked to approve a 1.2 mill tax to generate funding over the next 20 years to implement a rapid transit system to cover Metro Detroit.

The money would be used to fund 60 BRT buses on Woodward, Gratiot, and Michigan Avenue in Metro Detroit and Washtenaw Avenue between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; 150 traditional buses for cross county, express commuter, and airport shuttle routes; improved funding of local routes covered by DDOT and SMART; and finally create a commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit using existing rails.

Unlike the current "opt-out" of service option that SMART has, all property owners in the 4-county region would fall under the tax and no municipality would be able to opt-out.

[usroute10]

The timeline for the Michigan Avenue and Gratiot BRT lines to come on line is 2026! Wow, that seems like such a long time!

I would have preferred that this RTA consolidated the SMARTBUS and DDOT into one metro bus system before asking the anti-transit suburban voters for money for rapid transit. Show these suburban voters that the RTA can eliminate redundant stuff like administrators and bureaucracy and such, and create a more efficient bus network before branching out into rapid transit.

Why the first concern of the RTA wasn't to consolidate the 2 bus systems is beyond me. Now the region will have 3 bureaucracies over the regional transit system - DDOT, SMARTBUS, and RTA. It doesn't make sense.

I will wholeheartedly vote yes for this millage, but I think it will fail.

[jonnynonos]

A long overdue no-brainier. I hope it passes.

[jonnynonos]

Originally Posted by usroute10

The timeline for the Michigan Avenue and Gratiot BRT lines to come on line is 2026! Wow, that seems like such a long time!

I would have preferred that this RTA consolidated the SMARTBUS and DDOT into one metro bus system before asking the anti-transit suburban voters for money for rapid transit. Show these suburban voters that the RTA can eliminate redundant stuff like administrators and bureaucracy and such, and create a more efficient bus network before branching out into rapid transit.

Why the first concern of the RTA wasn't to consolidate the 2 bus systems is beyond me. Now the region will have 3 bureaucracies over the regional transit system - DDOT, SMARTBUS, and RTA. It doesn't make sense.

I will wholeheartedly vote yes for this millage, but I think it will fail.

Maybe. A lot of suburban Detroit voters don't understand or relate to big-city life and they don't, sadly, have much sympathy for the many people who for whatever reason don't own a car. I don't think it's out of malice; it's just outside their realm of experience.

And that's really who this "mass transit system" is likely to benefit. The routes are going to be substantially more time consuming than driving in nearly all circumstances, and traffic and parking in metro Detroit are not debilitating issues like they are in other major cities. Anyone with a car is not going to use this system, making it far less attractive than something like light rail, which even very wealthy people often use in other cities.

That being said it will be of use to the poor and elderly, and could potentially make employment easier for some people. Furthermore it is just something a big city should have.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by usroute10

The timeline for the Michigan Avenue and Gratiot BRT lines to come on line is 2026! Wow, that seems like such a long time!

I would have preferred that this RTA consolidated the SMARTBUS and DDOT into one metro bus system before asking the anti-transit suburban voters for money for rapid transit. Show these suburban voters that the RTA can eliminate redundant stuff like administrators and bureaucracy and such, and create a more efficient bus network before branching out into rapid transit.

Why the first concern of the RTA wasn't to consolidate the 2 bus systems is beyond me. Now the region will have 3 bureaucracies over the regional transit system - DDOT, SMARTBUS, and RTA. It doesn't make sense.

I will wholeheartedly vote yes for this millage, but I think it will fail.

Consolidation would likely mean loss of jobs, and probably those at the bottom of the totem pole would be first to go (drivers, mechanics, etc). There would be an outcry. Otherwise, the system would have to expanded to a point to minimize the redundancies, but then that would mean higher operating costs.

Then again, if the RTA is trying to get funding for a bigger system anyway, then consolidating DDOT and SMART and seeing where they could expand from there seems most logical.

[MS313]

Although I'm not a fan of these "glorified city buses" I hope it does pass. But I want to see more rail. These suburbanites aren't going to see the benefit of paying taxes for some more buses that they probably think will be mismanaged and screwed up. Our next step should be rail... period. Yeah I know it's expensive and we have to start somewhere... so hopefully they have future plans beyond this.

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Originally Posted by jonnynonos

Maybe. A lot of suburban Detroit voters don't understand or relate to big-city life and they don't, sadly, have much sympathy for the many people who for whatever reason don't own a car. I don't think it's out of malice; it's just outside their realm of experience.

And that's really who this "mass transit system" is likely to benefit. The routes are going to be substantially more time consuming than driving in nearly all circumstances, and traffic and parking in metro Detroit are not debilitating issues like they are in other major cities. Anyone with a car is not going to use this system, making it far less attractive than something like light rail, which even very wealthy people often use in other cities.

That being said it will be of use to the poor and elderly, and could potentially make employment easier for some people. Furthermore it is just something a big city should have.

It's not going to pass unless you can show how such a system can and will benefit EVERYONE.

The best way to do that is to design a system that will help cut down on traffic congestion.

If you could convince me that a regional mass transit system would lighten freeway traffic and therefore shorten my commute by 5-10 minutes, I would pay triple the mill proposed. I suspect a lot of other commuters would do the same.

[Bhaalspawn]

Look out Oakland County! They are coming for your wallet!

[craig11152]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

The money would be used to fund 60 BRT buses on Woodward, Gratiot, and Michigan Avenue in Metro Detroit and Washtenaw Avenue between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; 150 traditional buses for cross county, express commuter, and airport shuttle routes; improved funding of local routes covered by DDOT and SMART; and finally create a commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit using existing rails

I will vote no. Living in Ann Arbor I am already paying for 3/4 empty buses down Washtenaw to Ypsilanti. We just approved a millage to expand the AAATA (Ann Arbor Area Transit Authority) I am taxed out for a pretty good local bus system that serves my community. If this passes they ain't going to give us back the money we already pay for those buses they are just going to "divert it". I don't think there is enough "need" in my county to chip in. I'd be inclined to vote yes if it meant somehow the AAATA went away. I don't mind paying for one system I never use, I do mind paying for 2 systems.

[belleislerunner]

Good idea for collaboration in concept- won't be getting my vote because the routes make no sense.

You have to make the routes between the employment hubs and where people live for there to be perceived value.

The routes should have been between downtown and Southfield up the Lodge

Routes between downtown and Troy on I75. Routes up 75 from Downriver to downtown. Across 96 and 696 from one end to the other.

Then you build a few massive parking garages in Southfield, Troy, Macomb, Livonia, Allen Park, Dearborn and you have express buses running to downtown locations or the employment hubs and vice versa. This is how most Metros are set up (e.g. in Washington DC you drive to the last subway stop, park in a huge parking garage and then train in the rest). It saves you gas/mileage/leasing cost - without the inner city traffic. Atlanta is the same way.

Like the earlier legislation on roads. Don't vote for something just because it's a "step in the right direction". Make sure it's the right step in the direction you want to go. This hopefully should go down in flames.