Advocates promote millage for public transit gaps
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Public transit advocates are asking voters to support a millage that would expand patchwork bus routes to cover more of Wayne County.
Why it matters: More than 300,000 people in Wayne County don't or can't drive, and many of them have few to no public transit options, nonprofit Transportation Riders United director Megan Owens said in a press conference Thursday.
The big picture: Wayne County residents will vote on the millage in the primary election Aug. 4.
- It's a millage renewal for communities that already have SMART regional bus service, like Dearborn and Grosse Pointe, but it would also increase property taxes for 17 communities that opted out of the service, including Livonia and Northville.
Zoom in: Detroit opted out because it operates its own bus system, which works with SMART. Money raised there will go to city transit services.
By the numbers: The proposal would add 0.98 mills for homeowners. For a home with a taxable value of $200,000, that's $8 a month.
- The millage would last 10 years and generate $50 million a year, per the Free Press.
How it would work: The Wayne County Transit Authority would oversee the expansion with new and longer bus routes, operated mostly by SMART. Sparsely populated areas in southwest Wayne County would get low-cost on-demand service like a taxi.
- The millage would also provide more door-to-door transit for seniors and riders with disabilities.
What we're watching: Earlier this month, a group opposing the millage filed a lawsuit saying the process has lacked transparency, which the authority chairman denies, per the Free Press.