Regional Transportation Authority of Southeast Michigan

[iheartthed]

Well, actually one of the things we hope for is for people to use transit more and private cars less. But right now in southeast Michigan, last I checked, I think 2% of us take transit regularly and the other 98% of you drive cars. If we are spectacularly successful and we can triple the transit use, then the driving population goes from 98% down to 94%.

Funding wise that's not awful. If you were collecting $100 million before, now you're collecting $96 million. Not a catastrophe.

Also, if the new investments in transit translate into new industries and more people moving to the region then even if the percentage of drivers does decrease you would increase the funding.

[Novine]

The proposals introduced won't raise $1.5 billion. That was based on Snyder's proposal for a $120 a year registration fee. What's been introduced will raise about $1 billion. IF these regional fees and "special assessments" are passed, that would be additional money but I haven't seen any numbers on how much those proposal would raise for southeast Michigan.

[Warrenite84]

One thing not mentioned here but is related, is the NITC, [[Downriver Bridge Proposal). Before Govenor Snyder was elected, he received assurances from President Obama that the Canadian money used to fund the Bridge construction could be leveraged for Government road construction matching funds.

I don't remember the multiplier between public and private dollars but I remember a $2 Billion dollar figure. This kind of money plus the plate registration and gas tax changes could help immensely with infrastructure repairs and Transit authority funding.

I can see why he is intensely focused on seeing the bridge get built. It allows a lot of puzzle pieces to fall into place for him.

[SteveJ]

I just don't see any of this happening with a Republican senate and house especially during an election year.

[Dexlin]

This certainly isn't a done deal, but the Senate Bill [[909) has a Republican for a primary sponsor, with ole anti-DRIC Mike Kowall as a co-sponsor. On the House side, Saline Republican Rick Olson is one of the main crafters of this bill. I think we are closer to actually getting this passed and implemented than we have since the failure of DARTA in 2003.

There seems to be at the very least a bipartisan view that existing transit funding forumulas no longer work. If these bills are made sweet enough for legislative Dems [[and the House one is already sponsored by a Dem), this could be one of the very rare bills, this session, that may be able to get enough Democratic votes in both houses to make up for the ultra conservatives who flee any kind of change.

[Zaiko]

TRU meeting TONIGHT will feature Dennis Schornack.

University of Michigan Center at 3663 Woodward Ave, corner of Woodward and MLK/Mack Tonight between 6 and 830.

Schornack was hired this summer by Bill Rustem, Snyder's Director of Strategy. Rustem was Milliken's enviro point man with the bottle bill as his claim to fame in the '70's.

Schornack worked for years for John Engler to get laws passed on health care and environmental issues. Engler told George Bush 2 to appoint Schornack in about 2001 as the U.S. chair of the international joint commission. That mainly means working in Detroit and DC with the Canadians to maintain Great Lakes commerce and water quality.

The White House fired Schornack over a dispute in rural Washington state where a resident had built a fence for his dogs that encroached on the international border out in the woods.

Schornack is a good listener and reader and knows how to move legislation through the capitol. He has assembled the players in SE Michigan transit and the federal authorities. But there's no evidence that he's asserted pressure on people like L. Brooks and Norm White. Brooks' deputy, Jerry Poisson, is thrilled with the BRT plan, apparently. It will benefit the suburbs and it doesn't require rail.

There's no evidence that Schornack has read Origins of the Urban Crisis, even though he has it on his shelf. And there's no evidence he's trying to use transit as a way of redeveloping our barren city. Rustem too is willing to skip the economic development role that transit can play.

[Hermod]

There is separate language in companion bills that spell outmore specifics on funding. HB1501 and HB1502 each have information on levying county-specific vehicle registration fees of 1.20-1.80 per 1,000 sticker price. There is also a bill that dicusses the special assessment method in more detail also, I believe - not sure what number it is though.

It would be a whole lot cleaner and easier to collect to just have a general sales tax surcharge for the RTA area.

[cramerro]

It would be a whole lot cleaner and easier to collect to just have a general sales tax surcharge for the RTA area.

Agreed. I'm very concerned that if they are funding this with an additional local registration fee on top of the ~$60 increase already [[and the sister legislation that would allow counties to also have a registration fee surcharge for county use toward roads), AND SMART and AATA will still be asking for local millages to fund thier systems underneath the RTA umbrella [[since the registration fees will fund the RTA and it's rapid bus) that somewhere voters aren't going to be OK with approving multiple fees for different transit systems. Especially on top of local millages for everything from trash hauling and police to libraries and roads.

[DetroitPlanner]

It would be a whole lot cleaner and easier to collect to just have a general sales tax surcharge for the RTA area.

I am in agreement too. However the same State laws that set-up revenue sharing made this illegal. Its kind of ironic that the State legislature would fight this because they have also made severe cut-backs to revenue sharing over the last 12 years.

[Novine]

The state constitution controls how sales taxes are levied and apportioned. It would require a constitutional amendment to allow local sales taxes that exceed the 6% rate,

[417deer]

Please share your thoughts on this article.

November 2016 is not that far in the future, thus it is now important to let the RTA and our government and industry leaders know what is important to you for this to work.

Or, challenge the RTA and their supporters, if you think more work is needed or better solutions can be found.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/new...itch/80040056/

[Sandhouse]

I think this is an important topic and event. Thanks for bringing it up.

I look forward to seeing the RTA plan, which will show people what they'd be buying with this millage vote.

I would be in favor of improved express-bus service on the major roads, and possibly some freeway routes. I generally approve of "bus rapid transit" as a workable, useful service, and especially as a cost-effective alternative to high-cost, low-speed trolley-car schemes.

But I'm prepared to be disappointed by what is proposed for Woodward, Gratiot, and Michigan Avenues, 8 Mile, M-59, Telegraph, and other potential routes. Recent BRT schemes in other cities have grown badly overblown,to the point where they're as wasteful as some street-rail systems. [[For example the proposal for Lansing is a grotesque cartoon, costing either $165 or $215 million, depending on which FTA report you read.) Some agencies have utterly forgotten the low-cost, high-efficiency aspects of the BRT idea. I will be eager to see if the RTA planners are trying to get as many fast buses onto as many routes as soon as possible, or if they're looking to blow hundreds of millions of dollars paying contractors to rearrange pavement to carry 6 or 8 buses an hour.

You don't need to pour a lot of concrete to speed up bus service. Big time savings can come from no-cost actions like bypassing most of the bus stops, cashless fares, or avoiding left turns. I notice that SMART is proposing a 4-bus express service on Woodward and Gratiot that will better the proposed RTA BRT timings, at no capital cost at all.

What will RTA propose? How much will the millage be? Will homeowners vote for a sizable millage that generates marginal service improvements, and costs them some heavily-used highway lanes? This will be an interesting next few months.

[417deer]

I think this is an important topic and event. Thanks for bringing it up.

I look forward to seeing the RTA plan, which will show people what they'd be buying with this millage vote.

I would be in favor of improved express-bus service on the major roads, and possibly some freeway routes. I generally approve of "bus rapid transit" as a workable, useful service, and especially as a cost-effective alternative to high-cost, low-speed trolley-car schemes.

But I'm prepared to be disappointed by what is proposed for Woodward, Gratiot, and Michigan Avenues, 8 Mile, M-59, Telegraph, and other potential routes. Recent BRT schemes in other cities have grown badly overblown,to the point where they're as wasteful as some street-rail systems. [[For example the proposal for Lansing is a grotesque cartoon, costing either $165 or $215 million, depending on which FTA report you read.) Some agencies have utterly forgotten the low-cost, high-efficiency aspects of the BRT idea. I will be eager to see if the RTA planners are trying to get as many fast buses onto as many routes as soon as possible, or if they're looking to blow hundreds of millions of dollars paying contractors to rearrange pavement to carry 6 or 8 buses an hour.

You don't need to pour a lot of concrete to speed up bus service. Big time savings can come from no-cost actions like bypassing most of the bus stops, cashless fares, or avoiding left turns. I notice that SMART is proposing a 4-bus express service on Woodward and Gratiot that will better the proposed RTA BRT timings, at no capital cost at all.

What will RTA propose? How much will the millage be? Will homeowners vote for a sizable millage that generates marginal service improvements, and costs them some heavily-used highway lanes? This will be an interesting next few months.

Thank you for your nice comment

The ballot at the voting booth will state what you get and how you will pay in writing.

In the petition to give to the RTA, it states money from the CTF fund is to remain. Also, one set of bus schedules and full service to the airport is wanted. If these things are not in writing at the voting booth, then they may not be included.

There will be meetings before the vote. I think the leaders of the RTA want to help this region improve public transit from what I've read about them. It will certainly take the work of many people.

https://www.change.org/p/regional-tr...and-ddot-buses?

[417deer]

OnDecember 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.

Petition to revise this law to protect the disabled and low income with ballot language is on the internet for everyone to sign at Change dot Org. if enough people sign.

This is to prevent legal loopholes to implement unwanted or unjustified public bus service reductions and to force the break up of monopolies, which currently remain unchallenged by the RTA staff. Also, there are no provisions to protect the split or amount of the comprehensive transit fund for city and suburban revenuesharing.

The proposed changes will allow new technologies to improve our transportation system as a whole using intermodal logistics and computers. These solutions are now essential to both put safety first and promote job growth in the World market place.

[belleislerunner]

Sounds like a great bill to me!