Webinar: A Regional Transit Authority for Southeast Michigan

Presented By:

Megan Owens, Transportation Riders United (TRU)Richard Murphy, Michigan Suburbs Alliance

Dave Bulkowski, Disability Advocates of Kent CountyTim Fischer, Michigan Environmental Council

March 12, 2012

Transportation for Michigan (Trans4M) is a statewide coalition working to create a stronger Michigan through transportation policy reform that will:

• Revitalize Michigan’s cities and towns

• Reconnect its people to opportunity, and

• Spark a healthier economy

www.trans4m.org

A Regional Transit Authority:

What, Why, When, and How

A Summary by Megan Owens, Executive Director ofTransportation Riders United (TRU)

March 12, 2012

Transportation Riders Unitedis Detroit’s Transit Advocate

Since 1999, dedicated to improving transit throughout greater Detroit

• Improve Bus Service

• Remove Barriers to Rapid Transit

• Promote Smart Transportation Investments

www.DetroitTransit.org

Current Transit Services• DDOT

– Buses serve Detroit (unreliably)

• SMART – Buses link inner suburbs – Connect into Detroit during rush hours only

• People Mover – Circulates around downtown Detroit

• Transit Windsor– Provides Tunnel Bus to Windsor

• The Ride – Ann Arbor Transit Authority

• Amtrak – Three trains a day to Chicago

Southeast Michigan needs more and better transit

• To get people to work, school, doctors, groceries, and elsewhere– Over 30% of Detroit households

don’t have access to a car– Nearly 30% of people are too young,

too old, or physically unable to drive

• To increase the region’s competitiveness

• Effective travel throughout region, regardless of city or county borders

As every other big city has learned, an effective regional transit system requires an effective Regional Transit Authority.

Regional Transit Authority (RTA) Bills

• New legislation was introduced in January – In the Senate by Senator Casperson (SB 909) and– In the House by Rep. Townsend (HB 5309) – Strongly supported by Governor Snyder.

• Would establish a Regional Transit Authority for:– Macomb County– Oakland County,– Washtenaw County, and– Wayne County,– Including the city of Detroit.

Southeast Michigan needs an effective Regional Transit Authority

• To coordinate current transit services,• To provide new funding options• One agency focused on improving transit• Someone in charge of expanding transit

The new RTA would:

• Coordinate transit in the four-county region– Require better cooperation between DDOT and SMART;

• Plan, fund, and operate a Rolling Rapid Transit service on four main routes:– Woodward, – Gratiot, – A Oakland-Macomb

cross-county route, and – A Detroit – Metro Airport

- Ann Arbor route;

• Propose to the voters a new regional vehicle registration fee to fund transit.

The new RTA would be:

• Governed by a Board:– Two people appointed by each county, – One appointed by Detroit, and – One non-voting appointee of the Governor as chair.

• Run by a professional staff

• Advised by a Citizens’ Advisory Committee including:– Transit riders, – Seniors, and – People with disabilities.

Regional Transit Authority BillsCould Be Improved

• Should not be biased against rail– Requires unanimous Board vote to allow any rail

service in the region• Should do more to protect current bus riders– Detroit only gets one vote– Needs more focus on improving current service

• Should be focused regionally– Requires 85% of moneys raised in each county to

be spent in that county, regardless of need

Help Make It Happen!

1. Tell your state legislators to support the RTA bills!

– Urge them to improve it, if possible

2. Get your friends, family, co-workers and bus buddies to advocate to legislators too

3. Urge your organization, church, club, or other group to send a letter of support

4. Join TRU’s e-newsletter to get updates on RTA and other Detroit transit issues

RTA: funding sources

• Just how do we fund the proposed rapid transit network?

• How does the RTA affect the funding of the existing transit agencies?

• What about the rest of the transit agencies around the state?

RTA: federal fundingCurrent:•Federal Transit Administration provides both formula-based and discretionary funds to AATA and to RTCC as “designated recipients” for the Ann Arbor and Detroit urban areas.•Funds pass through RTCC to SMART and DDOT as “sub-recipients”•Several small, rural providers also sub-recipients through AATA, RTCC.

FTA operating and capital funds

AATA SMART DDOT

RTCC

Proposed:•RTA becomes “designated recipient” of Federal funds, passes through to local agencies.•Every agency receives funds “as if it were receiving independently”—the RTA can’t move around Federal funds between agencies.•Rapid transit system would be new sub-recipient with its own passthrough.

Rapid Transit

FTA operating and capital funds

AATA SMART DDOT

New RTA

RTA: state fundingCurrent:•Michigan provides formula operating funds to local transit providers based on “eligible costs”.•Set amount available in each state budget: for one agency to get more funding, others have to get less.

Proposed:•State formula funds would pass through RTA to local agencies in the metro region.•Each agency’s funding calculated as if it had applied independently—RTA can’t move funds around.•New rapid transit NOT ELIGIBLE for formula operating support: will not compete for funding with existing agencies.

State formula operating funds

AATA SMART DDOT

Rapid Transit

State formula operating funds

AATA SMART DDOT

New RTA

RTA: regional fundingCurrent:•There is no existing regional transit funding.

Proposed:•RTA could ask voters for a vehicle registration fee to fund transit. Vote is all-or-nothing, not per-county. (SB 912)•Fee could not exceed $1.20 per $1,000 of vehicle value ($40 max on average vehicle).

Voter-approved vehicle registration

fee

New RTA

AATA SMART DDOT

Rapid Transit

RTA: county fundingCurrent:•There is no existing county transit funding.

Proposed:•Any county could ask voters for a vehicle registration fee to fund transportation—not limited to transit. (SB 910)•Fee could not exceed $1.80 per $1,000 of vehicle value—that limit would be reduced in counties where RTA also collected a registration fee.

County Treasurer

Road Commission

Local road

agencies

Local transit or RTA

Other transportation

purposes

Voter-approved vehicle registration fee

RTA: local fundingCurrent:•Existing transit agencies are funded by a variety of millages and general fund allocations.•SMART’s funding can look like county-wide (Macomb) or regional (tri-county) funding, but opt-in/opt-out provisions make it very “local.”

Proposed:•RTA legislation does not appear to affect existing local transit funding or ability to fund transit.

City of Detroit general fund

AATA SMART DDOT

Local millages and purchase

of service

SMART millage in

opt-in areas

City of Detroit general fund

AATA SMART DDOT

Local millages and purchase

of service

SMART millage in

opt-in areas

RTA: funding implications• Federal, state, and local funding to

existing transit providers—in metro area and statewide—appears protected.

• Exception: SMART and DDOT federal funding calculated independently, not totaled and split 65/35.

• All counties statewide would gain a new transportation funding option (SB 910); the RTA would also get an option specific to transit. (SB 912)

• Rapid transit concept under discussion estimated at $500 million construction, $22 million annual operating. (Very, very, very rough estimate!)

• RTA vehicle registration fee estimated to collect $119 million/year at maximum rate.

• Primary purpose of RTA vehicle registration understood as funding rapid transit—but appears sufficient to allow RTA to pass some funding to local agencies.

Wednesday, March 21 – Friday March 23, 2012

Website: trans4m.org/miodysseyFacebook: facebook.com/MItransOdyssey

Twitter: twitter.com/t4michiganHashtag: #miodyssey