The Regional Transit Authority of SE Michigan is not a third bus company
What is the RTA? Why do we need it? What does it do?
Another Bus Company?
Contrary to popular belief, the Regional Transit Authority is not a third bus company. The RTA is a governing body that will oversee and coordinate existing transportation providers DDOT (Detroit Department of Transportation), SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation), The Ride (Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority), the Detroit People Mover (elevated monorail) and eventually The QLine (Detroit’s streetcar). Many major cities like Chicago, New York, Cleveland, Kansas City, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Seattle, Portland and Denver all have transit authorities that oversee and fund transit. It is very common for a transit authority to oversee a variety of transit systems from bus, light rail, streetcar, heavy rail to subways. Our transit authority would oversee existing transit systems in Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland and Macomb, a growing region of over 4.5 million people, as well as a new commuter rail between Detroit and Ann Arbor. It would make eight trips a day with stops in Dearborn, Wayne and Ypsilanti connecting commuters to colleges and jobs. The key word is “oversee.” Like other major cities, the RTA would not personally run buses or trains. It will leave that up to current providers who already know what they’re doing.
First, some history
Detroit has had public transit since 1863. The streetcars were pulled by horses until converted to electric power in 1895. The streetcar lines were built by 29 private companies and consolidated until, feeling that private companies charged too much for fares, Detroit formed the DSR (Detroit Street Railway), a city run service, and vowed to keep the price low. Streetcar service ended in 1956 and was replaced by buses. In 1967 the Michigan State Legislature passed the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act of 1967 (Public Act 204), which authorized the creation of numerous metropolitan transportation authorities across the state. Unfortunately, this new legislation did not grant newly formed SEMTA (Southeastern Michigan Transit Authority) with any powers to levy taxes or with any continuing source of funding so regional transit efforts stalled. The DSR, now DDOT, in need of a funding source, was consolidated and made into a city department. SEMTA, now SMART, tried to buy DSR but it rejected the sale due to concerns of service, cost and administration changes. A new regional transit authority was created in 2012 by the four counties in order to unite and improve our transit systems. It was heavily supported by Oakland & Macomb Counties. A plan to fund system improvements through a 1.5 mil property tax was put on the ballot in 2016 and rejected by only 1%. A new plan has been proposed with hopes of putting it on the 2018 ballot.
Why do we need a Regional Transit Authority?
Our current transit providers: SMART, DDOT & The Ride are tapped out. The Ride & SMART could ask for millage increases but probably won’t. DDOT operates using 7% of the city’s general fund, part of which goes to maintaining the city airport. The RTA would be a regional taxing tool that would distribute money back to transit agencies so they can expand and to communities for connected vehicle infrastructure and micro transit. The RTA also collects and distributes federal funds. In 2017 it collected and distributed $141.5 million in state and federal funding to SMART, DDOT, The Ride & the People Mover. That is one of many functions of the RTA. They are also working on a universal fare card and app so you can board any system with one card. Currently you need cash or a pass for each separate system. Passes can currently be bought online (from each system website), at different transit centers or Check ‘n Go stores. System coordination and regional routes are needed to connect area residents to jobs in the city and suburbs. While highways and roads cross city borders with ease, bus systems stop at city and county borders meaning system transfers and lengthy commutes. That is why there needs to be an RTA to coordinate the systems to eliminate route gaps and system transfers. Also, these bus systems can’t grow without asking for more funding. The RTA would use part of the tax to not only expand bus routes into growing areas that don’t have transit, but also provide more frequent service.
Why more buses instead of light rail?
Why not light rail instead of buses? Light rail costs more, covers less area and can’t reroute when businesses and people move away like the auto industry did in Detroit. Suburban businesses depend on semi-trucks and have located themselves near highways and wide roads where buses don’t currently reach. Our heavy rail corridors along Gratiot, Van Dyke, Woodward and Michigan Ave. would not serve the far reaches of the four counties and would have to be leased from freight companies. Buses are capable of rerouting and can travel on major roads as well as highways. Thousands of new jobs have been added to the suburbs that remain inaccessible to transit riders and are hard for car drivers to reach as commuters all head into the same urban areas for work.
I Drive a Car. Why Should I Pay For This?
Regional transit benefits everyone. It is there for you when gas prices soar, your car breaks down or whenever you need it. $5.4 billion over 20 years sounds like a lot of money for buses but that’s not an accurate statement. Did you know that $1.9 billion of the transit tax would into infrastructure and mobility solutions? That’s $30 million per year for Hometown Service, available to communities outside the fixed route service area to determine their needs and how best to fit them, $20 million per year for Core Area Flexible Mobility, available to communities within the fixed route service area to enhance flexible mobility, $20 million per year for Advanced Mobility, a county-controlled program dedicated to innovative solutions like connected/ autonomous vehicles, first-/ last-mile connections, and transit supporting infrastructure and $25 million per year dedicated to reducing choke-points with Rapid Infrastructure such as signal priority, off-vehicle fare vending, a single regional fare card, and funds to plan and design future Rapid Corridors. Now you’re looking at $175 million a year for more buses on more roads at higher frequencies and a commuter train. SMART’s annual budget is $116 million so that’s a fair price for regional service, train operations and creating thousands of new jobs. SMART & The Ride probably can’t ask for that big of a millage increase and DDOT is on a fixed income from the city’s general fund. SE Michigan’s four counties will spend over $20 billion of your tax dollars on roads over the next 20 years and then probably have to do it again. That’s just what you drive on. Transit is how you get there.
How else will this help drivers?
Our middle and outer suburbs are growing like crazy and the majority of workers commute in every direction to different cities and counties. These are not commutes to be trusted to self-driving cars which some say will eliminate the need for mass transit. Autonomous tech is still an expensive luxury feature that will take years to become a standard in all vehicles and is best for slow speeds in cities or cruising open highways. We still don’t know how they’ll handle our bad weather and our potholed roads at current speed limits. Even so, the RTA will give $20 million annually for advanced mobility projects.
Safety
Nearly 1,000 Michiganders die in car accidents every year. The worse traffic gets, the higher the probability of a crash or worse. Connected vehicle technology will help vehicles communicate with one another, will be a more realistic safety feature that will reduce accidents and create better flow. With the average age of cars on the road being 11 years, it will be another decade before all cars are connected and even then, most will be 10 years old. Imagine using a 10 year old cell phone or computer and trying to keep up in the workforce. Buses are one of the best means we have to move the most amount of people efficiently and also have the best chance of going autonomous do to fairly straight routes.
In summary
Is this current plan the best one? In many ways its better than the last one. It puts buses on every highway and connects several communities with each other and to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Is taxing four counties on their property values the best way fund transit expansion? Maybe not but it needs to come from somewhere. Why should we pay if we don’t use it? Like the Detroit Institute of Arts, Cobo Center and the Detroit Zoo, they are beneficial to the region and so is mass transit. If we abandon the RTA we will be taking a step back from becoming a world class city and are headed towards a future of more bad roads, increased congestion and more car accidents.
