DETROIT -- A $5.4-billion regional transit plan to add a plethora of bus and train routes across four counties won't appear on the November ballot, officials decided Thursday in a meeting of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA).

The RTA board was expected to vote Thursday on whether to move forward with a 1.5-mill ballot proposal to fund the Connect Southeast Michigan plan, which was introduced in March by Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans.

But without enough support for the plan from Oakland and Macomb counties, the board opted to postpone the vote.

"We're not giving up on transit," RTA Chair Paul Hillegonds said.

"I believe conversations will continue between the deputies of the four counties. Our goal is to get a better master plan than we brought to the people in 2016. We won't have it on the ballot, but ... we'll be on the ballot at some point."

Voters rejected a similar plan in 2016.

Hillegonds anticipates a new transit proposal will be on the 2019 ballot at the earliest.

The plan involved five cross-region bus routes along major corridors, 15 new express routes and a commuter rail between Detroit and Ann Arbor. It sought to raise $50 million in annual funding for hometown services in each community and $20 million for an advanced mobility program.

Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland and Macomb counties each appointed two representatives to vote on the plan, which would need at least one favorable vote per county for a spot on the ballot.

"We're going to continue to be at a talking table with Oakland and Macomb. There's no regional transit system without those two," said Khalil Rahal, assistant Wayne County executive. "If those plans don't make their way out, we're going to certainly talk to Washenaw County about doing a Wayne-Washtenaw plan as well, and I think exploring both options makes sense at this time.

"One thing the (Wayne) County executive has always said was if you want a smaller footprint, that's absolutely negotiable, but there can't be any doughnut holes. We don't want to be able to go from... Detroit to Pontiac but not be able to stop in Bloomfield Hills."

Rahal said the region's ongoing lack of comprehensive transit service costs Southeast Michigan economic opportunities.

"I really feel very strongly that until we have a true regional transit system, we're going to continue to not be competitive and lose on the big opportunities like Amazon," he said.

Millage renewal proposals for Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) and Washtenaw County's Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA) will be on the August ballot.

Detroit is also anticipating more collaboration with the suburban SMART system for better service, according to Dave Massaron, chief operations officer for the city.

"We're disappointed obviously that this didn't end up in the ballot," he said. "The city will continue to make additional investment in DDOT ...we hope we're able to to make additional moves toward cooperation with SMART to get seamless service."

The RTA earlier this year surveyed 2,200 residents on opinions of the plan, yielding the following results.

Transit riders:

Macomb: 67.4 percent support, 11.9 percent against.

Oakland: 71.4 percent support, 10 percent against.

Washtenaw: 79.9 percent support, 4.3 percent against.

Wayne: 71.4 percent support, 6.1 percent against.

Non-transit riders:

Macomb: 40.4 percent support, 37.7 percent against

Oakland: 53.8 support, 27 percent against.

Washtenaw: 59.6 percent support, 19.9 percent against.

Wayne: 54 percent support, 21.2 percent against.

Overall: