
The transit community showed up in full force for the biggest night in transit, TRU’s annual State of Transit meeting on January 28. More than 150 in person attendees and 75 virtual attendees tuned in to join the conversation on the current condition of transit and how we can work together to make it better.
Ahead of the meeting, TRU released its first annual State of Transit report which seeks to shine a spotlight on the importance, strengths, challenges, and improvements needed for the Detroit region’s public transit system. The report highlights how rider experience with transit varies across the region, the gradual progress in restoring bus reliability and why elected officials must boost transit funding.
Special thanks to Wayne State’s Office of Economic Development, TechTown, and SMART for sponsoring. And a big thank you to each one of our speakers for sharing their time and insight into this important topic.
The event was jam packed with great information and diverse perspectives. Following a reception with lots of networking, the program included:
- A State of Transit / Year in Review presentation from TRU Director Megan Owens
- An invitation to donate to TRU from TRU Assistant Director Deb Freer
- A Transit Provider Panel featuring leaders of DDOT, SMART, and RTA discussing their challenges, progress, and plans
- A Policymaker Panel featuring top transit champions from Wayne County and the Michigan Senate and House
- Three rider perspectives
- TRU’s plans for 2025 and opportunities to get involved
- TRU Board recognition and board election
Details and quotes are below. You can also see more about it from the news coverage, including:
- Fox 2: “Michigan’s public transit community celebrates 2024 successes, but funding issues remain”
- Bridge: https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-transit-advocates-push-more-ddot-funding/
- Sam Robinson: https://www.detroitonemillion.com/p/state-of-detroit-transit-advocates
- Bridge Detroit: https://www.dailydetroit.com/4-things-i-learned-about-the-state-of-transit-to-start-2025/
- WDET Detroit Public Radio https://wdet.org/2025/01/31/new-ddot-director-robert-cramer-talks-transit-in-detroit/

Transit Provider Panel:
For the Transit Provider Panel we were joined by:
- Executive Director of the Regional Transportation Authority, Ben Stupka,
- Deputy General Manager at SMART, Tiffany Gunter, and
- Executive Director of Transit for the City of Detroit Robert Cramer.
During the panel TRU Director Megan Owens asked them about what their agencies provide, what some of the biggest challenges their agencies are facing and what riders can look forward to in the coming years.
Ben Stupka, Executive Director, RTA:
- “We launched the DAX service this year which is the first express connection between downtown Detroit and the airport.” Stupka said the D2A2 Bus to Ann Arbor has been running for three years now “it’s been a very successful service.”
- RTA recently took over ownership and operation of the QLINE, “We really want to see what we can do to make that the catalyst for more regional transit investment that we really wanted when it was invested in in 2017.
- Stupka said biggest challenge in this region is funding, “We’re seeing services and starting to pick up, we’re starting to meet those obligation and now we’re able to start planning for what is the future, how do we get together to figure out what those next level investments and how as a newly formed region do we make those changes?”
- RTA will be launching the Access to Transit Program, “This is a program … to make investments at bus stops to make them safer, more well-appointed, better bike and pedestrian connections, all those things.”
Tiffany Gunter, Deputy General Manager, SMART:
- Comparing 2023 to 2024, “we saw a 17.6% increase in ridership from 6.4 million to 7.6 million.” Although not back to pre-pandemic levels, “we’re definitely seeing a lot more confidence in our users coming back to SMART as we increase service reliability.”
- “We have closed our operator shortage,” SMART is only short 13 fixed route drivers and 8 for paratransit (down from 100+ last year).
- “We’re still down 20 mechanics, so as much as we have more reliability on the operator side, we are still having difficulty on the vehicle reliability side.” “We are evaluating our preventative maintenance program and overhauling it completely so that we can … have all our vehicles available for service.”
- Shared progress of micro-transit services, “Happy to report on the FLEX services, in December of 2024 we hit our one millionth rider mark.”
- “I think the conversation about funding goes without saying, we need a sustainable source of funding….How it gets done is absolutely paramount to our ability to attract business development and sustain this region and grow our domestic product.”
Robert Cramer, Executive Director of Transit, City of Detroit:
- People Mover had free fares in 2024 and will continue that in 2025
- “Focusing on improving the rider experience and helping to connect and support and boost the great things happening in and around the downtown area and to improve our connectivity with the QLINE as well.”
- “I think the biggest challenge is to move the needle measurably while trying to keep up with daily stuff.”
- ”We’ve made great progress at DDOT as far as having more active TEOs,” Cramer said they have around 520 TEOs (bus drivers) and averaging 90-100 active students throughout the year.
- “If you want all the hard work that we’re doing, meaning our teams, our funding supporters, and advocates, we need to actually have steady improvement and sustain a real reliable service.”
Policy Maker Panel:
For the Policy Maker Panel we were joined by State Senator Mallory McMorrow, State Representative Jason Morgan and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans.
Senator Mallory McMorrow:
- “Representative Morgan and I and so many others worked tirelessly over the last year to really change the conversation in Lansing where transit is no longer optional. We put a stake in the ground to say that transit is economic development in a big way.”
- “To have this legislation put forward where transit was at the front and center, and to get 90 groups from GM from automakers, from transit agencies, from economic development associations sent a very loud message throughout Lansing that this is a conversation that is worth having.”
- ”There’s a lot of reasons why car insurance is so expensive, but part of the reason is that in our region, in our state, there’s no competition. You must have a car, you must have insurance to be able to fully participate in our economy. And until we have a robust public transit system, there is nothing to force insurance companies to bring those rates down because they know you need it.”
- McMorrow encouraged people to use their personal stories when reaching out to legislators, “nothing is more powerful than your personal story, which takes a but longer–it means sending a direct email or leaving a voicemail– but hearing the the story….that moves me a lot more than you know.”
Representative Jason Morgan:
- “The last couple years we have really elevated the dialogue around transit.” ”We’ve advanced transit in Oakland County, we’ve increased the millage in Washtenaw County. We’ve been doing the work at the local level and I’m proud to see that happening.”
- ”We are going into very different times in the next couple years in terms of leadership in Michigan and in Washington DC. And so we need to protect the funding that we have currently, particularly for local bus operating, for capital for the matches from the state and federal government where funding comes in, we’ve got to make sure we’re protecting that and we’ve got to build out longer term planning.”
- ”I want to see a plan from every gubernatorial candidate as to what they’re going to do around a transformational plan for public transit. I think we need to demand that every candidate that wants our vote for governor, for US senate, for mayor of Detroit, whatever the heck they’re running for, needs to have a plan for transit.”
- Morgan encouraged people to keep showing up and talking about why transit is important to them, “Continuing that persistent, respectful pressure is what’s going to be needed.”
- “Don’t count anyone out. We may find unexpected allies in different parts of the state you would never dream of and they could be our best champions when we need it most.”
Executive Warren Evans:
- “I’m proudest of our staff’s work on getting the statute passed to get us out of the opt out communities.”
- Evans said his focus will be on the 17 opt-out communities in Wayne County and “to sit with all of them and get their input and let them know we want to develop a plan that works for them, not just one that works for us.”
- “The only thing that will bring young folks there or keep young folks there is their ability to get Downtowns and to Ann Arbor and stuff without driving…..Unless transit comes into some of these communities, I don’t think they’re ever going to be able to get the young people in to help sustain those townships and cities.”
- “I live in North Canton township, so if I needed to take public transportation from my home, I would have to walk six miles to Westland to find the first public transportation. Yeah, I got a car, but how many people don’t? How many people are trying to get to workforce development projects? How many seniors are trying to get to doctor’s offices?”
TRU Annual Update:
TRU Director Megan Owens provided information on the State of Transit Report and gave updates on some of TRU’s accomplishments in 2024.

5 Key takeaways from the State of Transit Report:
- Transit is Essential
- Transit has been underfunded for decades
- Bus service is improving
- Expanding transit works
- Need to boost investment
TRU’s recommendations for 2025:
- DDOT and SMART stay focused on bus reliability
- Then plan and budget how to expand
- Wayne County Plan for countywide
- Boost investment in Transit
- Double DDOT over 3 years
- Restore state match of local bus operating
TRU accomplishments in 2024:
- TRU Researches:
- Surveyed 1,100 bus riders
- Conducted 3 community walk audits
- Analyzed MDOT decision-making
- TRU Educates:
- Hosted the Transportation Civic Academy
- Conducted a dozen elected official ride-alongs
- TRU Advocates:
- 8 trips to the state Capitol
- Over 95 legislature discussions
- TRU Partners:
- Partnered with 50+ organizations
- 30 Friends of Transit
- TRU Mobilizes:
- Over 5,000 messages sent to transit decision-makers
Attendees also got to hear why public transit is important for the community through remarks from bus rider Patty Fedewa and Rider Perspective videos from Dawn Hammontree and Brother Cunningham. Check out our YouTube page to watch the Rider Perspective videos and subscribe to see more in the future.
TRU Invites Everyone to Get Involved
Megan noted that there is huge opportunity to make an impact improving transit but that everyone needs to get involved to make it happen. TRU’s Engagement Manager Za’Nyia Kelly shared some upcoming events and opportunities:
- Monthly TRU Volunteer meetings, including updates and trainings
- A TRU Volunteer Orientation on Feb 4
- An AmBUSadors planning meeting on Feb 11
- Transit Talk Tuesday on Feb 18
- Wayne County Engagement Action Team
See a listing of upcoming TRU and transit community events at https://www.DetroitTransit.org/events. Then sync it to your own calendar to regular updates!
Contact ZKelly@DetroitTransit.org to talk more about ways to get involved.

TRU Elected New Board Members:
The TRU board elected and welcomed new members Christopher LeFLore, Deanna Austin, Gillian Gainsley and Issac Douglas. Board members Corey Rowe, Kristen Milefchek and Nicole Brown were re-elected for additional three year terms.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s State of Transit Event, we look forward to working with everyone in 2025.