In the last chaotic hours of the lame duck session in December 2024, the Michigan legislature successfully passed an important bill for public transit. And Governor Whitmer has signed it into law!
In Wayne and Oakland Counties, future transit ballot measures will be voted on and funded by the entire county!

Once House Bill 6088 is signed and fully implemented, metro Detroit will finally see the end of the swiss-cheese patchwork of transit services caused by a few township officials refusing to even let their voters consider transit investments!
We’re so proud that our years of work with County leaders combined with several intense weeks of meeting with legislators, coordinating with allies, and enabling hundreds of messages from residents helped make this possible.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this happen
This could only happen with many people in the community working for a common purpose. Please join us in thanking:

- Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Deputy Executive Assad Turfe, and their team for initiating and championing this effort;
- Representative Farhat for introducing HB 6088 in the legislature and shepherding it through;
- The Democrats of the Michigan House of Representatives for their approval of it Dec 10;
- The Democrats of the Michigan Senate for their tireless work during these last days of the Lame Duck session – staying in session over 26 hours to get this and other important legislation done!!!
- The Michigan Environmental Council, Michigan Public Transit Association, NRDC, Sierra Club, and other allied groups speaking out for it; and
- TRU’s dedicated members, volunteers, and other supporters like you for making sure lawmakers heard from those who need/want transit in their community!
This is a vital step towards finally eliminating the opt-out system and ensuring more jobs are within reach and no senior in metro Detroit is completely stranded without transit when they retire from driving!
Read our previous post on Wayne County all-in for more context and more on why this is important and what it will mean for the County.
What’s next?
Update: Governor Whitmer has signed the bill into law!
Throughout 2025, we’ll be working with Wayne County leadership and all 43 communities in Wayne County to listen to what residents want and need to help shape a countywide transit plan that will effectively serve each communities’ unique needs. Stay tuned for lots of opportunities for presentations, discussion, and input! Contact Joel@DetroitTransit.org if you’d like to help us plan that outreach and engagement.
Then the Wayne County Transit Authority will vote to put a funding measure on the countywide ballot, likely in 2026. We’ll work hard to make sure voters throughout the county to understand the value of transit expansion so it gets major voter support.
So while we may not see service expanded until 2027, we do want to celebrate this important step towards transit for all!