Great news: 
The Michigan legislature heeded our calls and have agreed to maintain transit funding!
Earlier versions of the budget bills cut $15-20 million from public transit, which could have strained many transit agencies to the breaking point.
On Tuesday, nearly 100 transit supporters from all across the state converged on the Capitol building to highlight the importance of maintaining bus funding. We spoke with close to fifty legislators, including most of the Republicans from southeast Michigan, hammering home how critical transit is and how harmful and unnecessary the proposed cuts would have been.
Thanks so much to Ruth, Emily, Anton, Clark, Todd, Dusty, Tim, and all the fabulous volunteers, interns, and other supporters who made this great event possible!! Thanks also to everyone who made phone calls and sent emails to your legislators over the last few weeks. This aggressive and consistent effort made a big difference.
Please take a moment to thank the local conferees who heeded our calls, including Senator Pappageorge (R-Troy), Rep. LeBlanc (D-Westland), Senator Anderson (D-Westland), and Senator Colbeck (R-Canton).
As Clark Harder from MPTA (who has more than twenty years experience around the Capitol) said, "Together we have once again shown that public transportation is to be reckoned with in the State Legislature."
Now we will monitor carefully to make sure the transportation budget does indeed pass the legislature in keeping with this leadership agreement.