Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Locale | Metro Detroit |
Transit type | local bus, express bus, bus rapid transit (BRT), commuter rail |
Chief executive | Ben Stupka, Executive Director |
Headquarters | 1001 Woodward Avenue, Suite 1400 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
Website | rtamichigan |
Operation | |
Began operation | 2013 |
Operator(s) | DDOT SMART TheRide Detroit People Mover M-1 Rail |
The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA) is the agency with oversight and service coordination responsibility for public transit operations in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. The counties of Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne are included in the agency's jurisdiction. [1]
The RTA is governed by a 10-member board which includes two representatives from each county and one representative from Detroit appointed by the county executives, county commission chair of Washtenaw County, and Mayor of Detroit, respectively. Additionally, one non-voting representative is appointed by the governor; this member chairs the board. [1] Board members serve staggered three-year terms, and may be reappointed. Since members are permitted to serve until a successor is appointed, in effect, they may serve beyond a three-year term. [1] They may not be a current elected official, employee of a county or city in the region, nor an employee of a transportation provider in the region. [1] The board may employ a CEO to oversee the day-to-day operations of the authority. [1]
The board is granted the authority with a 7/9 supermajority of the voting members - including at least one member from each jurisdiction - the power to: [2]
The board is granted the authority with unanimous consent the power to:
Elections for the question of the levy of assessments and vehicle registration tax increases can only be held in a presidential election year on the date of the presidential primary election. [2]
The RTA does not itself operate any transit services, but coordinates services run by other operators.
The D2A2 is an express intercity bus service between Detroit and Ann Arbor, offered in partnership with TheRide. D2A2 runs directly from Grand Circus Park in downtown Detroit to the Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor, with no intermediate stops. The service operates hourly on weekdays, and every 1½ to two hours on weekends. [3] D2A2 service began in March 2020. [4] [5] [6]
The Detroit Air Xpress (DAX) is a non-stop express bus service connecting downtown Detroit with Detroit Metropolitan Airport. It runs every 60-90 minutes from 3:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, serving Downtown Detroit via a stop on Washington Boulevard near the Rosa Parks Transit Center. [7] DAX began service on March 25, 2024.
D2A2 and DAX are operated by Indian Trails under contract. A single ride on either route costs $6 when reserved online in advance, or $8 when purchased onboard; for frequent commuters, a pack of 50 tickets for is available for $100. Luggage can be transported on both services for no additional charge. [7]
RefleX was a limited-stop bus service on Woodward and Gratiot Avenues, connecting Detroit with suburbs in Oakland and Macomb counties. RefleX started operation on Labor Day weekend in 2016. [8] The Woodward route, operated by DDOT, ran to a northern terminus at Somerset Collection in Troy, while two Gratiot routes, operated by SMART, ran from Mount Clemens to termini in Downtown and Midtown Detroit. [8] RefleX was discontinued in early 2018, and replaced by SMART's similar FAST network.
The RTA has its beginnings in the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act of 1967 (Public Act 204). [9] A provision of the act specifically created the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA), but provided the authority with no additional means to levy taxes or fees to fund the operations for the transit providers it had acquired.
In 1974, facing a loss of funding from SEMTA and wanting more control of its transit affairs, Detroit's Department of Street Railways (DSR) restructured itself as the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT). [10] On December 7, 1988, Public Act 204 was amended to restructure SEMTA, reducing the service area from seven counties to three, and excluding the city of Detroit. [10] The new transit authority was named the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transit (SMART), and began operation on January 17, 1989. To continue limited coordination and development of services between DDOT and SMART, however, regional leaders representing the three-county area and Detroit filed articles of incorporation to form the Regional Transit Coordinating Council on January 12, 1989. [10]
On December 19, 2012 Governor Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill No. 909 into law establishing the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), which included a provision allowing for the first time a way for such a regional transit authority to fund itself. [11] Almost one month later, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the M-1 Rail Line would receive US$25 million in federal funding as he had previously indicated such support was dependent on the creation of a regional transit authority for the Detroit region. [12]
Along with oversight and coordination responsibilities for the Detroit Department of Transportation, Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, and the Detroit Transportation Corporation, the authority was also established to create a single mass transit plan for the region, including the development, funding and operation of rapid transit along four major corridors in the metropolitan area. The new plan used as its basis the Comprehensive Regional Transit Service Plan, which was adopted on December 8, 2008. [13] The RTA chose HNTB to assist in the development of the Regional Master Transit Plan in 2015.
From 2016 to 2018, the RTA coordinated RefleX, a limited-stop bus network connecting Downtown and Midtown Detroit with the region's northern suburbs.
The RTA launched its first express service, the D2A2, on March 16, 2020; [6] service was reduced soon thereafter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In early 2015, the RTA retained Parsons Brinckerhoff and AECOM to study improved mass transit along the corridors of Gratiot and Michigan avenues. The authority also took over oversight of the Woodward Avenue Alternative Analysis Rapid Transit Alternative study, [14] which found BRT (bus rapid transit) as the locally preferred alternative as the improved mode of transit along a 27-mile stretch of Woodward Avenue. [15] The master plan was officially presented to the media and public on May 31, 2016 with highlights including plans for: [16] [17]
The plan was approved by the board on August 4, 2016 with the $4.7 billion plan to go voters for approval on November 8, 2016. [18] The measure failed by a 50.5% to 49.5% margin, with 895,877 voting in favor of the proposal, and 913,856 in opposition. The proposal passed in the counties of Wayne and Washtenaw, but very narrowly lost in Oakland and was defeated handily in Macomb. [19] [20] [21] [22]
Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor (M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103.
Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the surrounding area with its largest employer being Oakland County. There are varied definitions of the area, including the official statistical areas designated by the Office of Management and Budget, a federal agency of the United States.
The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA), branded as TheRide, is the public transit system serving the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area in the U.S. state of Michigan. In fiscal year 2021, the system had a ridership of 1,725,797.
Southeast Michigan, also called southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are concentrated in Metro Detroit.
METRO Regional Transit Authority, also known as Akron Metropolitan Regional Transit Authority, is the public transit agency serving Summit County, Ohio and the city of Akron. It operates a number of local routes, and also operates one route into downtown Cleveland. Akron Metro transports passengers to/from school, work, grocery stores, malls and jobs all across Summit County. METRO RTA's fleet consists of about 200+ vehicles running on diesel, diesel-electric hybrid and as of 2022/2023, two fully electric Gillig vehicles, compressed natural gas fuels. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 4,260,900, or about 14,900 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) is the public transit operator serving the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Beginning operations in 1967 as the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA), the agency was reorganized and renamed SMART in 1989. SMART operates 44 bus routes, plus paratransit and microtransit services.
Ann Arbor station is a train station in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States that is served by Amtrak's Wolverine, which runs three times daily in each direction between Chicago, Illinois and Pontiac, Michigan, via Detroit.
Leon Drolet is a Michigan Republican politician and Anti-tax activist elected Macomb County Commissioner. He is a political activist known for his conservative fiscal views, which have caused criticism from politicians from both sides, including Candace Miller, L. Brooks Patterson and Mark Hackel. From 2001 to 2006, Drolet served in the Michigan House of Representatives. Drolet also served as a Macomb County, Michigan county commissioner from 1999 to 2000 and from 2006 to 2008. Drolet was active in the Southeast Michigan Tea Party Movement.
Ann Arbor–Detroit Regional Rail is a proposed commuter rail service along the Michigan Line between the cities of Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan, a total length of 39.72 miles (63.92 km). The project would connect with a proposed Detroit bus rapid transit service and the QLine streetcar.
WALLY was a commuter rail service proposed in 2008 which would have linked the Michigan cities of Ann Arbor and Howell. It never got past the planning stages.
The Detroit metropolitan area in southeast Michigan is served by a comprehensive network of roads and highways. Three primary Interstate Highways pass through the region, along with three auxiliary Interstates, and multiple state and U.S. Highways. These are supplemented by the Mile Road System, a series of local roads spaced one mile apart on a perpendicular grid.
Grand Circus Park station is a public transit station in downtown Detroit, Michigan, served by the Detroit People Mover and the QLine. The station takes its name from the adjacent Grand Circus Park. It is also the terminus of the D2A2 commuter bus to Ann Arbor, and serves as a transfer point to SMART's FAST Michigan and Woodward express bus lines.
The QLine, originally known as M-1 Rail by its developers, is a 3.3-mile-long (5.3 km) streetcar system in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Opened on May 12, 2017, it connects Downtown Detroit with Midtown and New Center, running along Woodward Avenue (M-1) for its entire route. The system is operated by M-1 Rail, a nonprofit organization.
Indian Trails, Inc., is an intercity bus operator primarily serving the U.S. state of Michigan, with routes also serving Wisconsin and Minnesota. Indian Trails is based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus, East Lansing, and Kalamazoo.
Transportation in metropolitan Detroit comprises an expansive system of roadways, multiple public transit systems, a major international airport, freight railroads, and ports. Located on the Detroit River along the Great Lakes Waterway, Detroit is a significant city in international trade, with two land crossings to Canada. Three primary Interstate highways serve the region.
The Pontiac Transportation Center is an intermodal terminal station located in Pontiac, Michigan that is served by Amtrak's Michigan Services Wolverine. The transportation center is also served by Indian Trails intercity bus service and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) regional bus service.
SEMTA Commuter Rail, also known as the Silver Streak, was a commuter train operated by the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) and the Grand Trunk Western Railroad between Detroit and Pontiac, Michigan. It began in 1974 when SEMTA assumed control of the Grand Trunk's existing commuter trains over the route. SEMTA discontinued operations in 1983. Amtrak began offering intercity service between Detroit and Pontiac in 1994 as part of its Michigan Services.
The Troy Transit Center is an unstaffed train station in Troy, Michigan, United States, that is served by Amtrak's Wolverine, which runs thrice daily between Chicago, Illinois, and Pontiac, Michigan. It is also served by Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART). The transit center replaced the nearby Birmingham Amtrak station in October 2014.
The Blake Transit Center is the Ann Arbor hub for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. It connects 17 bus routes in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan and several intercity routes, and it is LEED Gold certified. The current building is the second Blake Transit Center, built in the early 2010s to replace a smaller building on the west side of the block that could no longer manage the increased utilization.