Eric D. Lawrence

Detroit Free Press

A rapid transit connection between Wayne and Washtenaw counties could still be in the works.

The possibility was discussed today during the first full meeting of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan board since voters rejected the RTA millage request last week.

Ben Stupka, the RTA's manager of planning and financial analysis, said establishing a transit connection between the two counties, especially the job centers of Detroit and Ann Arbor, would fill a major need for the area.

"One of our large regional transit gaps is that connection between Washtenaw County and Wayne County," Stupka said after the meeting. "We want to start to bridge that gap."

No firm details have been established, and it's unclear when such a service could launch or how much it would cost. The RTA would need to seek grant funding.

The service could be developed as an expansion of the RTA-branded refleX service, which is a limited stop, express bus route on Woodward and Gratiot avenues that connects Detroit to the Somerset Collection in Troy and Mt. Clemens. Or it could operate as a refleX-like service.

►Related:RTA millage defeated by area voters

RefleX is operated jointly by the Detroit Department of Transportation and Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation — DDOT runs the Woodward line and SMART has the Gratiot line — at an estimated cost of $5.6 million per year. It began operating on Labor Day weekend and is expected to be a three-year pilot project, although it is only currently contracted through April. RTA, which was created in 2012, has a mandate to coordinate service among DDOT, SMART, the People Mover and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority.

Creating a transit connection for Wayne and Washtenaw counties in the near-term would reflect the comments of RTA officials and transit advocates who said they intend to continue working toward a regional transit system for southeast Michigan despite the millage defeat on Nov. 8. RTA Chief Executive Officer Michael Ford said he is "very committed to moving forward and getting something done" related to regional transit.

The millage would have funded the RTA's 20-year master plan, which called for, among other things, expanded local bus service, bus rapid transit and premium connections to Detroit Metro Airport from Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties as well as commuter rail connecting Detroit and Ann Arbor. It lost by a little more than 18,000 votes.

Paul Hillegonds, RTA board chair, noted the effort's "remarkable support."

However, he said voters in numerous other cities with more connected public transit systems than southeast Michigan had approved enhancements to their systems.

"At a time when Washington may be talking about new infrastructure money we fall back further in the line to take advantage of funding that goes beyond this region, and it just gives me, and I hope all of us, a great sense of urgency about the need to finish the task we've embarked on," Hillegonds said.

The next opportunity for the RTA to place a millage request on the ballot will be in 2018. Officials said they would be speaking with stakeholders and analyzing the election results in coming months as well as planning a retreat for board members. However, there was also a suggestion that the RTA talk not just to supporters but also to those who voted against the millage.

About half a dozen members of the public, including transit advocates, offered comments in support of the RTA plan, although the board was urged to make sure residents understand it in the future. Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United, said residents had demonstrated more support for a regional transit plan than they have in decades.

"This is far from over," she said.

But Jim Casha, an RTA critic from Norwich, Ontario, called the entire process a sham.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence.