Detroit Public Transportation: 2014 and beyond.

[DetroitPlanner]

^^Where was that article buried? That seems like quite a significant push. Where's stasu? He might even like this.

JARC is not a new program. The program is more modest now than it was in past years.

"The largest source of federal transit dollars - the urbanized area formula grant program - will be set at $4.4 billion in FY13 and $4.5 billion in FY14, but will now have more competition for grants as projects that formerly would fit in the now-cancelled Job Access and Reverse Commute [[JARC) program will now have to compete in this area."
http://publictransport.about.com/od/Transit_Funding/a/Review-Of-The-New-Federal-Transportation-Bill-Map-21.htm

This was in the article too:
"Unfortunately, MAP-21 is only a two-year bill - through September 2014 - rather than a five-year bill as many had hoped. It's annual funding level of $52.6 billion is a five percent increase over the 2006-09 average SAFETEA-LU total; most of this increase is in the transit side of the bill - a 13.3% increase versus a 3.13% increase in the highway side. In a departure from past practice, MAP-21 contains no earmarks."

[That Great Guy]

By replacing fuel taxes with property to pay for the operating expenses of SMART, we have raised $400 Million to match $1.2 Billion in Federal grants to widen I-75 and I-94.

The cost of SMART was shifted away from the Michigan Department of Transportation- MDOT which collects and distributes money derived from the State fuel tax to the property owners who opted into the County Transit Authority. There are plans to tax shift more fuel tax money for county roads.

The fuel tax money is not enough. So, we agree by majority vote to tax shifting, tax increases and massive bus service reductions to get Federal grants to expand freeways.


Next August 2014, it will make no difference on how you vote, unless you do something about it, like defeat the freeway projects or increase local taxes.

The game is over.

The Car has won and the Bus has lost

Unless, we or someone does something about it, instead of posting the facts.

My efforts of filling up the SMART and DDOT buses on 4 routes were not enough to stop the service cuts and convince MDOT to maintain current funding or make concessions in regard to the freeways.

Top SMART officials support this tax shifting to build bigger freeways and have failed to control their costs to avoid bus service reductions and further cuts in Federal, State and Industry support for mass transit.



This August SMART tax renewal is also a shift, increase and nothing more then a feel good charity. If $60 makes you feel good, then maybe $250 will feel better?

So, y'all will pay for my SMART ride no matter what. How much do ya all wanna pay?

If you want mass transit then actions must be taken and not lots of talk and broken promises.