Michigan Business & Economy

Public transit backer says RTA plan doesn’t go far enough

Michigan Public | By Stateside Staff

Published September 26, 2016 at 5:01 PM EDT

Michael Jackman told us the RTA's plan is short-sighted, and that investing in light rail would serve Detroit better in the long term.

Our conversation with Michael Jackman of Detroit Metro Times.

The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan’s new transportation plan needs money. On the November ballot, voters in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties will be asked to approve a 20-year property tax millage. Its estimated cost for the average homeowner is about $95 a year.

The millage will pay for new bus rapid transit lines and rail service between Detroit and Ann Arbor. It would also fix what has been a dysfunctional transit system that never really connected the suburban SMARTbuses with the Detroit Department of Transportation bus system.

Some people in the suburbs, mostly older, are not happy for a variety of reasons, chief of which seems to be not wanting to pay for a bus system they’ll never use. Many younger voters feel differently.

But there are some people who oppose the Regional Transit Authority tax for a very different reason.

Michael Jackman with Metro Times says the RTA doesn’t go far enough, and that it’s short-sighted in its dependence on a Bus Rapid Transit system.

He joined us today.

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