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SMART looks to chill out riders with ‘cooling buses’ and heat up regional transit through new ballot proposal
The hot and smoky weather recently invading metro Detroit takes a toll on more than just residents.
It also stresses machinery, including the massive public buses used by Detroit’s Department of Transportation, or DDOT, and the regional SMART bus system.
SMART also faces an upcoming vote on a ballot proposal to renew its existing millage for another decade.
It would also extend that tax to Wayne County communities that so far have opted out of the system.
SMART’s general manager and CEO, Tiffany Gunter, says the bus service provides both independence for riders and, in these current weather conditions, a way to beat the heat.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
Tiffany Gunter: We started these cooling buses when the temperatures top 90 degrees because we recognize our shelters are limited in amenities. So being able to get away from the heat while you’re waiting on public transportation to come pick you up is just sort of our responsibility to provide shelter for our passengers.
And we opened it to everyone. You don’t have to have a fare to use the cooling buses. You can just simply get on. They were out there from July 13-17 from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. We even extended the weekend hours.
Even though the temperatures dropped below ninety, we still have this issue with air quality and we don’t want to expose our passengers to this current particulate matter. Because providing shelter is part of being a community partner and providing the public transportation.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: The hot weather in particular is not only taking a toll on people out and about, it’s stressing some equipment and vehicles in the region. And that’s what you guys rely on. Is that having an effect on the SMART bus system?
TG: It is happening. It happens naturally in the summer months with the air conditioning units. But before we even worry about that, we first are most concerned with our operators, our mechanics, and our passengers. We passed out masks to everyone when we started having the air quality issue last week, making sure our operators have sufficient PPE. We onloaded passengers through the backdoor of the bus and didn’t charge a fare, so that people can just get on the bus and we didn’t have that front door opening and slamming our operators with that air quality immediately. We keep the windows closed on the bus. When the HVAC fails on the bus, the bus could still run, but we choose to pull it out of service. And that’s a deliberate safety choice, not a failure on the bus’s part. We’d rather absorb a schedule impact than to put our drivers or our passengers on a sweltering bus. I think that’s worse than having the bus not come.
And we encourage everyone to use the free transit app. It’s a real-time tracking tool. We’ll let you know when the bus is coming. That way, you know if you need to stay inside of a grocery store or shopping mall for a little bit longer. That real-time tool is how we work in partnership with our passengers, so they can see when that bus is actually coming, if in fact we’ve had an accident or there is a traffic or construction delay. Those things happen as well as mechanical failures with our vehicles.
QK: I’ve talked to a number of people in auto racing over the years. They’ll tell me, “Our vehicles, our cars, they don’t just run on fuel, they run on money. That’s what keeps them going.” One would assume SMART has the same thing. But as far as I can tell, you guys have not raised the cost for fares for a while. Are you bringing in enough revenue to really properly monetize the system?
TG: The fares bring in a base amount. But our local contribution comes from the property tax millage that’s levied for SMART. That base fare allows us to provide rides for seniors for 50 cents and offer discounted student fare rides. Our fares remain the same because oftentimes if you do $2 a day for a month, it can add up to close to 70 bucks. And that can be a hindrance for a lot of people to use the system.
QK: When we’re talking about money, there is a 10-year transit millage proposal that is on the upcoming ballot which could raise some extra revenue for SMART. As general manager of the system, you’re probably for that ballot proposal. Why would you argue to voters that they should approve that mileage?
TG: My job is not to tell anyone how to vote. As a public entity we only are allowed to educate, so I don’t have a view on how people should vote. But when we talk about what’s at stake here, we know that that the measure is going to replace an expiring millage in Wayne County. It will represent a new millage for the 17 current opt-out communities. This ballot initiative will fund our fixed route service, our on-demand Smart Flex service, which is that microtransit curb-to-curb service that you can use with the app, our paratransit service, which serves people with disabilities and our most vulnerable populations, plus 46 community transit providers.
This is the first countywide vote with all 43 communities deciding to go together once the state has repealed that opt out provision. In 2022, Oakland County went all in. They closed out their opt outs and they voted to go in as a county. Since that time we’ve seen increases in ridership with our community providers in the northern Oakland space and that western Oakland space of 125%. That’s when the system really begins to work as a truly regionally connected system with no gaps.
QK: I have read articles where the writers oppose the millage because they claim that only municipalities that have previously opted out of the smart system would have to pay this increased tax. And I’ve heard others argue for years that they should not have to pay for something if they’re in, say, a rural area or some other place where they don’t think they’ll ever use a bus. Or when they do see a bus go through, it looks like it’s got only a couple of people in it. What’s your response to those kinds of comments?
TG: Public transit is investment in infrastructure. It’s access. When we look at what the industry asks us for when they’re considering where to place their businesses, they want to know two things: They want to know about the talent pool. We know we have a talent. And they want to know about access to transportation. So those two things are top of mind as we’re thinking about how a region and community grows. When you talk about the rural areas, it’s not just a fixed route bus. We had some of the same arguments against bus service in Oakland County in 2022. And those same communities are seeing a 125% increase in usage. Because it’s not a fixed route bus. It’s microtransit, it’s community transit. And the people that are using them are those same folks that oftentimes have argued against them.
You can’t look at public transit as if it’s going to be a constantly congested highway. Highways aren’t congested all day. You look at it more like an elevator where people are on-and-off throughout the day. Increased investment means we can increase frequencies, meaning the bus shows up every 20 minutes versus every 30 minutes. When we did that, added Wi-Fi and a couple of other amenities, people started trusting SMART again and came back to the service. That, combined with the transit app that shows real-time information, means we’re starting to look like a real public transit agency out here. And I’m excited about that.
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