New bus service will get you to Metro Airport from downtown in 1 hour

The limited-stop bus service planned for launch in January by the Detroit area's suburban bus system should provide a direct connection to Detroit Metro Airport from downtown in about one hour.

The new Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation service, which would run on Woodward, Gratiot and Michigan avenues, would also provide more frequent buses than RefleX, the limited-stop service it is slated to replace. But the direct connection from downtown to the airport in a limited-stop format marks a significant improvement over current public transit offerings.

SMART has not yet announced a name for its new bus service, but spokeswoman Beth Gibbons said "you will definitely know you are getting on a new bus service." The final service plans are to be presented to the SMART board on Thursday so some details, such as specific stops that have been released so far, could change.

With RefleX, which is operated jointly by the Detroit Department of Transportation and SMART on Woodward and Gratiot, buses run every 45 minutes during peak hours, and there is no Michigan Avenue route. With the new SMART service, the time between buses on Woodward and Gratiot drops to every 15-20 minutes with lower frequency late nights and early mornings, and on Michigan, buses would arrive every 30 minutes with less frequency at times mirroring the other routes.

The Michigan Avenue route would stop at the ground transportation centers at both the McNamara and North terminals as well as Detroit's Rosa Parks Transit Center, and all three routes would converge in a rectangular loop along Larned and Jefferson in downtown Detroit for transfers to other routes or transit options such as the Detroit People Mover, QLINE and MoGo bike share. Both Woodward and Gratiot routes would also provide service farther north than RefleX, to Pontiac and Chesterfield Township, respectively.

Service would generally run from 5 a.m. to either midnight — on Michigan — or 1 a.m. — on Woodward and Gratiot.

Fewer stops — in this case every one to two miles — mean a quicker trip than on regular bus routes. That's been the case with RefleX, which represented its own significant step forward for metro Detroit public transportation when it was launched in 2016 under the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan banner. It has provided all-day service between city and suburbs without the need for transfers between bus systems, a development that would continue with the new service.

The new service, which SMART says would cost $14 million annually to operate, would provide WiFi on buses, but not dedicated bus lanes for bus rapid transit that were included in parts of the RTA master plan.

Robert Cramer, SMART's deputy general manager, has said "the goal with this is to get frequent quick routes that connect to as many other mobility options as possible."

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Detroit Department of Transportation Director Dan Dirks said federal regulations dealing with notification for ending a transit service would mean DDOT's Woodward RefleX route — DDOT runs the Woodward line and SMART runs the Gratiot line — would have to continue operating for two or three months. He said the notification about SMART's plan for a new service was "not really as good as it could have been for us," but he struck a positive tone.

"It's going to allow folks who live in the city to get out to suburban jobs much quicker, so that’s a good thing. It's raising the amount of service in the corridor and that's something this region needs," Dirks said, noting that one downside for current RefleX riders on Woodward would be the higher SMART base fare of $2 compared to the DDOT fare of $1.50.

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Dirks said the changes would not lead to layoffs for DDOT drivers.

That type of assurance would please Fred Westbrook Jr., president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26. Westbrook, whose union represents DDOT drivers, was opposed to the RefleX service, saying those resources should have gone to boost other bus routes instead. He is also skeptical of allowing more SMART service inside the city limits, seeing it as competition.

"What I see it doing is DDOT and SMART competing for farebox revenue in the City of Detroit and the only person who's going to lose is the City of Detroit," said Westbrook, whose union recently wrapped up discussions on an initial contract, which will need to be ratified, for QLINE operators and technicians.

The SMART proposal has generated positive feedback from transit advocates, although it has also prompted speculation about the future of the RTA.

Joel Batterman, a coordinator with the Motor City Freedom Riders, sees the new SMART service as a move toward reversing some of the "devastating" cuts SMART implemented in 2011 as a result of lower revenues from property taxes caused by the recession.

Batterman, however, dismissed as ludicrous a claim by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson in an advertisement that SMART's new service is "going to revolutionize mass transit as we know it in Wayne, Oakland (and) Macomb counties."

Batterman said the new service would not be a substitute for the kind of investment in transit needed to bring southeast Michigan in line with other comparable metro areas.

Count Nick Schroeck of Bloomfield Township appreciates the SMART plan but says more transit options are needed for the region. Schroeck, who is director of the Transnational Environmental Law Clinic and an associate clinical professor at Wayne State University Law School, has chosen to commute by bus to Detroit for eight years. The new SMART service proposal would have initially ended his route, the 445 Limited, but that is being restored as a result of feedback SMART received during public hearings.

"This is like enhanced bus service along some corridors. I mean this is not regional transit. It is not. This is a band-aid," said Schroeck, noting that he hopes the service becomes popular enough to show that there is a real desire for better transit in the area. "I do not think this is the answer in and of itself. It’s a step in the right direction."

Representatives of the leadership in the four-county region — Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties along with the City of Detroit — have been trying to hammer out a plan for regional transportation and could produce a report some time in December. Officials say the new SMART service planned for launch Jan. 1 is an enhancement to current transit offerings and not an effort to replace the RTA.

Officials say the RTA could still pursue a millage request next year, although that is not guaranteed, even if the report recommends the smaller region desired primarily by the Oakland County contingent. That smaller region, which the Free Press first reported on in July, would be focused on a more urbanized core, both for service delivery and taxation. A smaller RTA region is likely, however, to require legislative action, which would complicate the effort.

Wayne County Executive Warren Evans is said to be a key driver of the current round of talks. He was not made available for an interview on the subject last week, but his spokesman, Jim Martinez, said the administration believes "the RTA will play an important role in moving transit forward" and that "we're optimistic that a millage effort in 2018 is possible but we aren't wearing rose-colored glasses." He said negotiators "are making progress toward a plan we think all parties can buy into."

Gerald Poisson, Oakland County's chief deputy executive and Patterson's point person on the transit talks, said he is working toward an equitable plan that he and others can feel comfortable taking back to the public. He said he does not see the new SMART service as an end-all option, but rather as an improvement over what is currently offered, calling it "a good step in the right direction."

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The RTA, which came close but failed to get voter approval for a $4.7 billion, 20-year regional transit master plan in 2016, has been awash in uncertainty this year as it has waited for a future vision to emerge from those behind-the-scenes discussions led by representatives of the county and City of Detroit administrations. That uncertainty will continue as interim CEO Tiffany Gunter leaves for a more secure opportunity after this year and the organization faces a period with a skeleton staff of one, along with some contract help, and a leader on loan from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.

Paul Hillegonds, board chair for the RTA, said the only way forward for the RTA is if regional leaders, presumably Patterson and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, support the master plan effort, something they did not do during the last millage ask.

"In the end, we need their buy-in. Frankly, if we don’t have their buy-in, we may never make it to the ballot," Hillegonds said.

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