Who’s in charge of regional transit? It’s supposed to be the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) which was created by state law to explicitly coordinate and improve public transit throughout the four counties of southeast Michigan. Yet on Thursday, November 16, the Regional Transit Authority appears to give up and close up shop. At their Nov …
Despite overwhelming need for regional transit improvement, and despite pleas from the region’s community and business leaders, Oakland and Macomb leaders today (July 28) blocked regional transit.
When the RTA board voted to place transit funding on the November ballot, 5 members voted for it – all the board members from Wayne, Washtenaw and Detroit. But all 4 from Oakland and Macomb voted against it. Since the law that created the RTA required an affirmative vote from each county, that vote failed.
Not all hope is lost, however. If the County Executives can work out a deal in the next two weeks, the RTA could bring it back up for another vote, but they must do so before August 16 to get it on the ballot.
Otherwise, we’re likely stuck for another 4 years before we have another chance to vote on true regional transit.
We need your help to keep up the pressure!
