Southeast Michigan’s Regional Transit Authority is finally here!!
Thanks so much to everyone who helped welcome the first official RTA Board meeting on Wednesday! 
Our march, "birthday party" press event, and meeting testimony all went wonderfully.
Dozens of regional transit supporters from all across the four-county region braved the rain to march from Rosa Parks Transit Center to Campus Martius with signs, balloons, songs, and chants.
We then took over the SEMCOG lobby for a powerful and diverse set of statements of why regional transit improvement is so important.
“When we didn’t have an RTA, we felt like we didn’t have hope,” said Cindy Reese of Detroit, who has advocated for regional transit with MOSES for a quarter-century. “Now, all we have to do is get behind our new authority, and show them how we support them.”
We then delivered a birthday card and cake to the new RTA Board members to celebrate this great new era in regional transit! Joel Batterman even wrote a song for the occasion:
"Oh the Motor City region did once teach the world to drive
But today too many of us lack the wheels to survive
A fresh new birth of transit will help all of us to thrive
And we’ll all go riding on. . . "
The actual business of the RTA’s first meeting was a bit anticlimactic after all our fun, but they did develop committees, discuss the Citizen’s Advisory Committee, and listen to strong public testimony. They have lots of administrative business to do, but clearly got the message that the public is paying close attention and we expect to be actively involved throughout!
Check out some of the media coverage and other summaries of the event:
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Detroit Free Press: "Transit advocates celebrate as regional authority gets to work" (article and great video summary)
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MLive: "Praise for birth of Metro Detroit’s Regional Transit Authority mixed with concern for Fair Grounds site at first meeting" (article plus great photo slideshow and videos)
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Trans4M blog: "Happy Birthday RTA! :: Trans4M Celebrates Birth of Regional Transit Authority at First Meeting"
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Michigan NOW: "Loving Detroit But Leaving It If No Transit Built"
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HuffPost Detroit: "Michigan Regional Transit Authority Board Holds Optimistic First Meeting"
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Michigan Radio: "Southeast Michigan’s Regional Transit Authority holds first meeting"
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Crain’s Detroit Business: "RTA board sets structure, appoints counsel in first meeting"
Stay tuned for lots more to come!!