Quote:
The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan is weighing a takeover of the QLINE.The move, should it be approved, would mean a transfer of the 3.3-mile Detroit streetcar system from the nonprofit M-1 Rail to a public 10-member board, with appointed representatives from Macomb, Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw counties as well as the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan, although the governor’s representative does not vote.
Dave Massaron, chair of the RTA board, said in a news release Thursday that “this transition will help ensure the QLINE remains as a transit option for the community and the city of Detroit long into the future.” He noted that the RTA’s role is “to ensure the ongoing viability of regional transit services.”
M-1 Rail President Lisa Nuszkowski said in a separate release that the rail line is “an asset that was always envisioned as one piece of a larger, connected regional transit system” and that “now is the time to make this transition. Performance has never been better. Ridership is approaching 1 million for the year, and the system’s finances are sustainable over the long-term.” The two entities, according to one release, have “initiated a collaborative due diligence process focused on all financial and operational elements of the transfer. Through this process, the RTA intends to validate M-1 RAIL’s budget and confirm that a transfer to the organization will come with a balanced budget which will impose no additional burden on the region’s taxpayers.”
A decision is expected early next year, although it’s not clear how quickly the transfer could happen.