Michigan voters support transit millages!

Once again, the people of Michigan showed they support public transit and, when given the chance, will vote to pay for it!!

Congratulations to The Rapid which (narrowly) got voter approval for major service improvements, including Bus Rapid Transit. Congrats also to Holland, Grand Haven, Kalkaska, and Benzie Counties which all received huge approval of transit millage proposals.

See all the detail is a great story by the Great Lakes Bulletin News Service:

It was a clean sweep: In five local elections across Michigan, millage requests for bus systems won big, even crushing victories. The dramatic electoral sweep will keep popular transit agencies rolling and, advocates say, send strong signals to Lansing lawmakers trying to cut state funding for public transportation.

Four of the millage requests won by landslides. Three—in Benzie County, Kalkaska County, and the Holland area—won by 3-to-1 margins; the fourth, in Grand Haven Township, won by a 2-to-1 margin. The fifth, in the Grand Rapids area, which will fund what likely will be the state’s first-ever “rapid bus” line, was extraordinarily close: “Yes” won by 126 votes.