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Welcome to

The State of Transit 2024

The program will begin shortly

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The State of Transit 2024

Hosted by Transportation Riders United

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Agenda

Transit year-in-review
Rider perspectives
State Policymaker panel
Transit Agency panel
TRU Board election (for current TRU members)
Opportunities to get involved

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Transit Year-in-Review

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Transportation �Riders United

We educate, advocate, and mobilize for more and better public transit and other affordable sustainable mobility options throughout the Detroit region.

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I developed a Transit Hierarchy of Needs:

First transit must be Available in a community, and be physically and financially accessible to everyone.
Then transit needs to be Reliable, safe and on-time.
Once those are achieved, transit should also be Convenient - in that it’s frequent, and available when and where you want.
Very good transit is also Attractive, with fast service, dedicated lanes, and comfortable shelters.
The very best transit is truly Preferrable, with premium high-speed service with integrated payments, interesting art, and other features.

Ideally, every transit system would have all of these. But until we do, the base items are most essential, even as we look towards all of them.
Transit in our region has a long way to go, but has made meaningful progress in many of these areas!

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Progress on Making Transit Available

SMART bus expansion into Novi and Wixom!

Next up, Rochester and Waterford

Rural transit expansion throughout north, western Oakland

More service to more place over more hours!

Next Wayne County?

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Reliability Struggles, Potential

Biggest struggle facing SE MI transit!

Progress: DDOT paratransit

QLINE dedicated transit lane

Potential: DDOT driver raise
Awaiting SMART raise

In terms of Reliability - transit agencies here and nationwide have struggled since the pandemic hit to provide all their scheduled service, largely due to a driver shortage.

That’s been our region’s biggest barrier for more than a year, one that TRU has worked hard to spotlight in our Save Our Service report and the hundreds of riders and allies we mobilized to speak out on it.
And we are seeing some progress

DDOT has made significant progress in making their paratransit more reliable for the most vulnerable in our community!
The QLINE has improved its reliability with a dedicated transit lane and enhanced signal timing.
We also applaud Mayor Duggan and Council for raising DDOT driver wages. Whether it will be enough remains to be seen, but it’s a critical step in the right direction.
SMART also is in active negotiations for a major wage increase, potentially the biggest in the state, although no word on when.
These wage increases should attract more drivers, enabling more reliable transit service for riders who have been struggling far too long with no-show buses.

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Progress Towards Convenient Transit

Progress: RTA’s D2A2 Express bus

Potential: DDOT Jefferson enhancements

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Progress Towards Attractive Transit

Potential: RTA’s Airport Express service

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Transportation �Riders United

We educate, advocate, and mobilize for more and better public transit and other affordable sustainable mobility options throughout the Detroit region.

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TRU Educated, Advocated, and Mobilized

10 Transit Tuesday Talks

24 speakers
300+ participants

4 reports & whitepapers
40 news stories
7 Transit Impact stories and videos

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TRU Educated, Advocated, and Mobilized

2 legislative breakfasts
10 policy recommendations
1400 messages to legislators
4 trips to the Capital

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TRU Educated, Advocated, and Mobilized

2 major rallies
320 messages to transit decision-makers
58 public comments
19 media stories

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TRU Educates, Advocates, and Mobilizes

Transit as vital part of an equitable climate solution

Transit’s role in

Talent attraction
Tourism
Affordability

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TRU Educates, Advocates, and Mobilizes

State investment in transit, rail, and multimodal

Amend RTA law

Improved transit as a climate solution

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TRU Educates, Advocates, and Mobilizes

Bring constituents and legislators together to talk transit

Coalitions for equitable sustainable transportation policies

New Friends of Transit network

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The State of Transit 2024

Metro Detroit region didn’t develop the transportation system we have overnight and we won’t solve its challenges overnight either.

But with dedicated legislative champions, hardworking transit agency leaders, and all of the riders, advocates, and activists working collaboratively, this could be an incredible year and the start of a transportation system where everyone truly can get wherever they need to go, regardless of whether they drive.

That’s my perspective on the State of Transit. Over the next 90 minutes, you’ll hear 14 other perspectives - bus riders, agency leaders, and state policymakers.

We’d also love your perspective. Share on social media your thoughts on the current #StateofTransit.

Now I want to introduce some of TRU’s amazing staff:

unfortunately Joel and Claire are both out on medical leave.
Petra is TRU’s Design specialist - working hard tonight managing our AV and ensuring everyone tuning in from home can follow along.
You probably met Thomas, Aaron, and Lukas, our awesome part-time engagement and outreach team.
Deb is TRU’s Assistant Director and Partnerships Manager

I’d like to invite Deb up for a few minutes before we move on.

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The State of Transit 2024

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State Policymaker Panel

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State Policymaker Panel

Senator Mallory McMorrow

Senator Jeff Irwin

State Representative Jason Morgan

State Representative Donovan McKinney

Chief Infrastructure Officer Zach Kolodin

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The State of Transit 2024

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Transit Agency Leader Panel

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Transit Agency Panel

RTA Director Ben Stupka

DDOT Director Michael Staley

SMART Deputy GM Tiffany Gunter

QLINE CEO Lisa Nuszkowski

DPM Manager Robert Cramer

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The State of Transit 2024

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TRU Board of Directors

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TRU Board Candidates

Adam Goodman
Farai Gundan
Mitchell Mantey

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The State of Transit 2024

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