The Transit Action Agenda for Michigan is a pathway to improved transportation policy at a state level in Michigan. This report soft launch is open to contribution by allies and advocates of transit with any expertise, as we hope to provide a goal for legislators to come to after the break. Detailing funding for transportation from the local to federal level, the needs of more accessible transportation in Michigan, and specific policies to push for to improve transportation for all Michiganders.
Michigan has a unique opportunity – and an urgent need – to transform our state’s approach to public transit.
Transit has a huge potential to save families money, connect people to jobs, enable seniors to age in place, to decrease climate pollution, and to make Michigan a more attractive place to live, work, invest, and play.
Despite that, the availability and reliability of transit across the state has been eroded in many ways over recent decades: Lower investment compared to our peer states, layers of policy and organizational thinking that favor a focus on cars, and treatment of transit as solely an option of last resort. These barriers have also characterized state legislative leaderships’ policy approach.
Now is the time to change that. The historic alignment in our state’s politics, momentum in our urban areas, and renewed availability of federal resources for transit provide a tremendous opportunity for our leaders to reverse decades of stagnant support for transit. Doing so will save Michiganders money and increase equitable access to opportunity while enabling the state to meet its climate commitments and become a more attractive place to live, visit, work, and invest.
By making bold investments, addressing constraints on existing funding structures, modernizing our state department of transportation’s operations, and lowering legislative barriers for great transit in our cities, we can develop the high quality public transit our state deserves.
Policy Recommendations: Transit Action Agenda for Michigan
MAKE TRANSFORMATIONAL INVESTMENTS
- Restore State Investment in Local Bus Operating (LBO)
- Make Transformational Investments in Rapid Transit and Rail
- Flex Federal Funds to Support Transit and Rail
MODERNIZE MDOT
- Quantify and Increase Transit Access and Quality
- Create a mode neutral project selection process
- Prioritize People Over Pavement
ELIMINATE BARRIERS FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
- Enable Local Funding Options
- Amend RTA to Allow More Flexibility
- Support cities’ multimodal goals along state routes.