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Connect Southeast MichiganMass TransitRTA

PODCAST: Will A New Metro Detroit Regional Transit Plan Even Leave The Stop?

On this week’s Daily Detroit Happy Hour with Sven Gustafson, we talk mass transit. A new plan called “Connect Southeast Michigan” has been put forth by Wayne County Executive Warren Evans (more here)… but does it even have a chance? Does any plan have a chance? The Daily Detroit team walked through some of the speech Evans gave to a Regional Transit Authority Board meeting, a couple of comments, what the plan is and what it could mean.. and had straight talk and openly wondered if there is...

RTATransit

LISTEN: The State Of Detroit Transit Today With Paul Hillegonds, RTA Chair; Rob Cramer, SMART; Dave Gifford, Advocate

What is the state of Metro Detroit’s transit system? Where do we go from here? Will there be a ballot proposal in 2018? What about universal fare cards? What improvements have been made? That was all covered at the Transit Riders United Annual Meeting which had a program about the State of Transit. There are a lot of questions around something that’s pretty critical topic to address for the future of the City of Detroit and the region. We don’t have all the answers, but Sven’s guests do s...

DetroitIndianapolisMass Transit

If Oakland And Macomb Counties Don't Want The Benefits Of Mass Transit, Forget'em

The ongoing saga of regional transit negotiations is like watching a friend tragically go after dating someone they really, really like – but the person that’s the target of their affection just isn’t interested. The reality is a four county transit solution isn’t politically workable here. We should accept that and like Indianapolis, an Amazon top 20 city, move on. One of the things that was surprising on our most recent Daily Detroit Happy Hour podcast was that Indianapolis was a top 20 ci...

Mass TransitRTA

Michael Ford Is Out As Head Of Regional Transit Authority

There’s a change at the top of The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA) today. Michael Ford is out as head as CEO of the organization, with the board voting to terminate his $200,000 per year contract. The Board of Directors, according to a news release, appointed Tiffany J. Gunter Interim CEO upon the departure of Michael Ford. Mrs. Gunter will serve in this role until a permanent replacement has been hired. “Michael came to the RTA and served as our first CEO. He was inst...

BusDetroitMass Transit

I'm Riding The New RefleX Bus To Work. Here's What It's Like.

I’ve spent the past couple days riding the new RefleX bus, a limited-stop, express bus service between the suburbs and downtown Detroit, and I’m here to tell you: The Duran Duran song by the same name totally keeps popping into my head. Also, the three-year pilot program is a welcome new transportation service. The RefleX (fle-fle-fle-fle-flex) is a new service from the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan that provides service between the suburbs and central business district se...

EditorialFuture of Detroit Mass TransitMass Transit

When It Comes To Transit, Maybe It's Time We Left Brooks Patterson Behind

It’s a common saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. As we told you earlier today, the RTA board — after four years of work, and thanks to some last-minute objections from Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel and Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson — defeated a proposal to let voters decide whether they want to fund an improved regional mass transit system. To most modern cities, this is the kind of basic thing you just do. Here...

DetroitOakland CountyRTA

The 27th Attempt At Regional Transit Might Not Be Completely Dead, But It's On Life Support

Sitting on the 19th floor of One Woodward Center this afternoon, the energy was clear: Despite the overwhelming support of those in the public who had come downtown to this hearing, the transit plan from the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan as we know it is on critical life support. After a litany of public comments, RTA officials walked through with a policy lovers precision some of the changes they had made to the plan to attempt to fend off the county executioners, and the C...

Business LeadersDetroitMass Transit

Business Executives, Other Area Leaders Write Open Letter To Hackel And Patterson Supporting Transit

It’s pretty clear where some of the region’s heavy-hitters in the business community stand on mass transit, especially after a letter sent to the executives signed by nearly three dozen people. In a letter sent to Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, they line out many of the benefits they see in allowing the regional transit plan by the Regional Transit Authority to come to a vote. Dated July 27, 2016 Dear Executives Patterson and Hackel:...

EditorialMass TransitRegional Transit

Metro Detroit's Future Could Go Off The Rails If We Walk Away From The RTA

This is why we can’t have nice things. That was our reaction, along with a cynical shrug of the shoulders, to the news that the Southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority was forced to postpone voting on its master plan. This, after literally decades of false starts and setbacks that have left the Detroit region a woefully underserved backwater of public transportation, with two competing bus systems and a service area with glaring holes where virtually no transit service exists. The vo...

Mass TransitRTAsoutheastern michigan

Regional Mass Transit Plan Proposal Vote Delayed One Week

Detroit’s been waiting a long time for a cohesive plan for mass transit, and it looks like we’ll have to wait another week to get a final plan. A vote of the board of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan had been scheduled for their meeting today at 2 p.m. to approve the proposal that will go before voters this November, but in a statement, board chairman Paul Hillegonds said they needed more time to study the feedback they’ve gotten from the community – especially around the f...

DetroitMass TransitRTA

Metro Detroit's Future Mass Transit Needs To Be Simple To Use And Seamless

This November, the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan is expected to propose a millage request to voters in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties to improve public transit in metro Detroit. The plan calls for constructing dedicated bus rapid transit lanes along Gratiot, Michigan and Woodward avenues (see video here); creating commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit; and establishing transit to Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The RTA is expected to release its ma...

15 Minutes Or BetterCrowdfundingDetroit

"15 Minutes Or Better" Aims To Bring Together And Educate Detroiters About Benefits Of Mass Transit

Mass Transit is a foreign concept to most metro Detroiters. The “15 Minutes or Better” project is aiming to change that. Younger people across the nation are clamoring for mass transit, and voting with their feet by moving to where they can take a streetcar, light rail, or other transit options other than driving their own car–the Motor City is no exception. Part of the hot real estate market in the central core of the city is in anticipation of the new M1 Rail streetcar. The reality is that...