Stories indexed with the term ‘AAATA’

AAATA Preps to Shift Gears

Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board meeting (Aug. 21, 2014): The meeting began with CEO Michael Ford’s formal announcement of news that board members and the public had already heard – that he was leaving the AAATA in mid-October to take the job as CEO of the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority. Ford had formally tendered his resignation that day. The four-county area of the RTA includes the counties of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland as well as the city of Detroit.

CEO Michael Ford listens to public commentary at the Aug. 21 meeting of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority Board. (Photos by the writer.)

CEO Michael Ford listens to public commentary at the Aug. 21 meeting of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board. (Photos by the writer.)

Two items on the board’s voting agenda related at least indirectly to the leadership transition that the AAATA will be making. First, the board approved a resolution authorizing board chair Charles Griffith to appoint an ad hoc subcommittee to conduct a search for Ford’s replacement. The resolution approved by the board at its Aug. 21 meeting also authorized $50,000 for consulting services to help with the search.

Griffith said he has asked board members Anya Dale, Gillian Ream Gainsley and Eric Mahler to serve with him on the search committee, citing a desire to have a mix of board experience and geographic diversity represented on that group.

Second, the board approved the AAATA’s FY 2015 work plan, which will provide the basis for the FY 2015 budget. The budget will appear on the board’s Sept. 25 agenda for approval. The AAATA’s fiscal year runs from October through September. At the Aug. 21 meeting, Sue Gott credited Ford with developing the work plan, saying it would be valuable as a blueprint for the transition in leadership.

A major decision on the choice of bus technology might be made after Ford departs the AAATA in mid-October. Although the board approved a 5-year bus procurement contract with Gillig, and authorized an order for the first 27 of up to 60 buses called for in the 5-year contract, the board left the choice of drive-train technology open – between hybrid electric technology and clean diesel. The upfront capital cost difference is $200,000 per bus more for the hybrid technology. That final choice of technology will need to be made by the November board meeting.

Also at its Aug. 21 meeting, the board amended its pension plan to recognize same-sex marriages, which stemmed from a Supreme Court decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act and the IRS ruling that resulted from that decision.

The board chose to delay approval of new service standards, which are a required element of AAATA’s Title VI compliance. The board can meet the Federal Transit Administration deadlines for submission of its Title VI materials if it approves the new service standards at its September board meeting.

Board members also received an update on the progress being made in a Michigan Dept. of Transportation environmental assessment of a project that could implement active traffic management (ATM) of the US-23 corridor. The project includes the idea of allowing vehicles to use the median shoulder during peak demand periods. The MDOT presentation included a visit from former AAATA board member Paul Ajegba, who is region engineer for MDOT’s University Region – a 10-county area that includes Livingston and Washtenaw counties. If The Chronicle publishes coverage of that presentation, it will be in a separate report.

The Aug. 21 meeting was held in the boardroom at the AAATA headquarters on South Industrial, instead of the usual location, which is the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library. The downtown library on South Fifth Avenue was closed in connection with the repair of its public elevator. [Full Story]

Ford Reaches Agreement with RTA

The Detroit News has reported that Ann Arbor Transportation Authority CEO Michael Ford has reached an agreement to serve as CEO of the Regional Transit Authority. The contract, which will pay Ford $200,000 annually, is pending approval of the RTA board, which next meets on Aug. 20. Ford would start in mid-October at the earliest. The next meeting of the AAATA board is Aug. 21. [Source]

AAATA Gears Up for More Accessible Service

Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board meeting (July 24, 2014): The board’s meeting this month was the next-to-last one before the initial expansion of services that the transit authority will be implementing. The expansion results from the new millage that was approved in a voter referendum held on May 6, 2014. The rollout of additional service is scheduled for Aug. 24, while the board’s next meeting is three days before that.

From left: AAATA strategic planner Michael Benham, Ed Vielmetti (background) and CEO  Michael Ford, talked after he meeting.

From left: AAATA strategic planner Michael Benham, Ed Vielmetti (background) and CEO Michael Ford, talked after the meeting.

The board barely achieved a quorum – with six of 10 board members attending. Anya Dale presided over the meeting in the absence of board chair Charles Griffith.

The board received some updates on the preparations for implementing that expanded service plan. And three of the board’s July 24 voting items were related at least indirectly to the additional services: a plan for acquiring 20 new buses; adjustments to the current fiscal year’s operating budget; and a tweak to the AAATA’s mission statement.

The mission statement was modified to highlight “accessible” as the kind of transit services that the AAATA aspires to provide. The change to the mission statement also reflected the addition last year of the word “area” to the name of the organization. That name change came as the result of adding the city of Ypsilanti as well as Ypsilanti Township as members of the authority. Previously, the city of Ann Arbor had been the sole member. The additional services will be paid for with a millage levied on property owners from all the member jurisdictions.

The fiscal 2014 budget ends Sept. 30. Revenues were adjusted to reflect the millage revenue. Of the additional $4,543,695 in local millage revenues, $3,850,000 is being put toward next year’s FY 2015 budget. Adjustments to this year’s budget include changes to reflect the hiring and training of 11 new bus drivers, bringing the total to 138 drivers. An operations supervisor, two new vehicle mechanics, an additional service crew member, and a human resources administrative assistant will also be added.

The additional 20 buses the AAATA is acquiring for the service expansion are spread over the next three years, with two to be acquired this year, 11 in FY 2015 and 7 in FY 2016. The buses for FY 2015 and 2016 will be paid for with the additional local millage funds, while the buses this year will tap a federal grant with matching state funds. A public hearing was held on the federal grant application that will include those two buses.

Potential future expansion of services – in addition to those to be implemented starting Aug. 24 – was also reflected in a voting item on the board’s July 24 agenda. The board approved an increase in the contract with SmithGroupJJR from $105,200 to $800,000 – to continue study of north-south commuter rail options between Howell and Ann Arbor. An earlier phase of the study for the WALLY (Washtenaw and Livingston Railway) project identified a segment of the Ann Arbor Railroad right-of-way, between Liberty and Washington streets, as a preferred location for a downtown Ann Arbor station. A portion of the work is being paid for with a $640,000 federal Transportation, Community and System Preservation (TCSP) program grant.

The final voting item on the board’s agenda was a $234,360 contract with GZA GeoEnvironmental to perform environmental cleanup work at the AAATA headquarters building at 2700 S. Industrial Highway. The cleanup, which involves contamination from a gasoline leak that was identified in 2010, is covered by insurance.

At its July 24 meeting, the board also heard its usual range of updates, reports and public commentary, much of which highlighted the idea of accessibility. [Full Story]

AAATA OKs More North-South Rail Study

Additional study of north-south commuter rail has been approved by the board of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. The contact for work to be done by SmithGroupJJR for up to $800,000 worth of planning work was approved by the AAATA board in action taken at its July 24, 2014 board meeting. [.pdf memo for July 24, 2014 WALLY resolution]

Planning and work for north-south commuter rail between Ann Arbor and Howell in Livingston County has been going on for several years in a project that has been called WALLY (Washtenaw and Livingston Railway). The AAATA appears to be transitioning to a project label that incorporates “N-S Rail” as part of the description.

About two years ago, at its  Aug. 16, … [Full Story]

AAATA OKs Environmental Work

GZA GeoEnvironmental has been awarded a $234,360 contract for environmental remediation work at the 2700 S. Industrial Highway headquarters of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority.

The need for the work dates back four years to 2010, when an in-ground gasoline leak was discovered during an upgrade to the fuel tank monitoring system.

The AAATA board approved the contract with GZA at its July 24, 2014 board meeting.

The $25,000 insurance deductible through Chartis, the AAATA’s insurance company, has already been paid through previous work associated with this contamination. The current work – up to the $234,360 amount of the contract – will be reimbursed by Chartis for the total project price.

The work includes the following:

  • Installation of new monitoring wells.
  • Perform baseline groundwater … [Full Story]
  • AAATA Adjusts FY 2014 Budget

    The budget for the 2014 fiscal year has been amended for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority – to increase total expenses by $41,597 – from $34,073,795 to $34,115,392. Revenues have been adjusted to incorporate proceeds from the new millage, approved by voters on May 6, 2014. Of that additional $4,543,695 in local millage revenues, $3,850,000 is being put toward next year’s FY 2015 budget.

    The AAATA fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept 30. It’s not uncommon for public bodies to make adjustments to the budget toward the end of the fiscal year. Board action came at its July 24, 2014 meeting.

    The AAATA’s amended budget reflects a number of changes related to the new millage and the service expansion that … [Full Story]

    AAATA Mission Statement Tweaked

    The mission statement of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority has been updated to reflect the new name of the organization and a few other tweaks. The modified mission statement, adopted by the AAATA board at its July 24, 2014 meeting, reads as follows [added words in bold, deleted words in strike-through]
    It is the Mission of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority to provide accessible useful, reliable, safe, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective public transportation options for the benefit of the Greater Ann Arbor Area Community.
    The mission statement had been last affirmed over five years ago at the AAATA’s Feb. 18, 2009 board meeting.

    The changes had been discussed at the board’s June 10 retreat. The word “useful” was critiqued … [Full Story]

    AAATA Adopts Plan for 20 New Buses

    A plan to acquire new buses needed by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority to implement expanded services has been approved by the AAATA board. The services will be funded by the new millage that voters approved earlier this year on May 6, 2014. The expanded services are scheduled to begin on Aug 24.

    The AAATA board approved the modification to its capital and categorical grant program to add, over the next three years, a total of 20 new buses to its existing fleet of 80 buses. Total cost for the vehicles is $9 million. Action was taken at the board’s July 24, 2014 meeting.

    The initial service expansion will not require many additional buses – as expanded services focus on extended hours … [Full Story]

    512 E. Huron

    Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority finds a solution all by itself. [Bus with ad wrap: "Solutions" on a tow truck.] [photo]

    AAATA Gives CEO Retroactive Raise

    The board of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority has voted to approve a raise for CEO Michael Ford that extends retroactively to October 2012. The board’s vote – to award 3% increases for the previous and current years – came at a special meeting held before the board’s annual retreat on June 10, 2014.

    The context of the salary increase includes Ford’s selection as the new CEO for the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority, but it’s not clear at this point whether Ford will take the job. At the June 10 meeting Ford said, “Right now, I’m still the CEO here…”

    The increase for the period from October 2012 through September 2013 raised Ford’s base salary from $164,800 to $169,744. The … [Full Story]

    SE Michigan: RTA

    Regional Transit Authority Citizens Advisory Committee member Prashanth Gururaja has announced on Twitter the news that the RTA board has voted 7-0 to offer the job of CEO of the RTA to current Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority CEO Michael Ford. Some additional background here: [link] And Crain’s Detroit has now published a longer piece: [link]

    AAATA’s CEO Is Finalist for RTA Job

    Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority CEO Michael Ford has been named as one of three finalists for CEO of the southeast Michigan Regional Transit Authority (RTA).

    AAATA CEO Michael Ford spoke with Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living director for advocacy and education Carolyn Grawi.

    AAATA CEO Michael Ford spoke with Carolyn Grawi, Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living director for advocacy and education, after the May 15, 2014 meeting of the AAATA board.

    The four-county area of the RTA includes the counties of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland as well as the city of Detroit. It was established by the Michigan legislature in late 2012.

    The RTA’s hiring of a CEO has been frustrated by a lack of state funding. John Hertel, general manager of SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation), was appointed CEO by the RTA board last year, but he eventually left the post in early 2014 because no funding was available for his salary.

    Crain’s Detroit Business reported the Friday, May 16 vote by the RTA’s executive and policy committee to recommend Ford as well as two other finalists for the job. [Full Story]

    Fourth & Ann

    Rounding the corner, headed to city hall to collect absent voter preliminary totals, I was able to confirm the brakes on my bicycle are in good repair as I did not run over the guy who was just crossing the street – Michael Ford, CEO of the AAATA. He was headed to the /aut/ bar for the post-millage election results gathering. I updated him on early results.

    Transit Millage Vote: View from the Bus

    Editor’s note: Based on early results, the transit millage appears to have passed.

    It’s a Chronicle tradition to spend Election Day on two-wheeled transportation – a bicycle and a scooter – visiting as many precincts as possible and logging vignettes from the polls and points in between.

    Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, The Ride, AAATA, The Ann Arbor Chronicle

    An Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority bus loading near Blake Transit Center.

    But today’s vote – in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township – includes way more geographic territory than we’re accustomed to covering.

    Instead of trying to visit as many polling places as possible, we’re going to settle for visiting a couple in each jurisdiction. And to cover the distance, we’re going to tap the resources of the organization that’s putting the millage on the ballot – the AAATA fixed route bus system.

    So updates today will be light on polling places and heavy on the points in between. We hope readers will help fill in the gaps by leaving comments on this article with their own vignettes from the polls.

    Whatever your view on the millage, we hope you’ll mark a ballot today. [Full Story]

    Transit Board Acts on Policy, Infrastructure

    Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board meeting (April 17, 2014): The board had two voting items on its agenda: a policy on determining disproportionate impacts of fare and service changes on disadvantaged populations; and a contract for small concrete work associated with pads for bus stops, approach walks and ramps. Both items were approved.

    Eric Mahler

    Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board member Eric Mahler was discussing the potential for disparate impacts on different populations as a result of service changes. (Photos by the writer.)

    The issue of the May 6 millage vote came up during public commentary. In addition, CEO Michael Ford delivered some prepared remarks meant to dispel what he called myths about the AAATA that are being promoted by opponents of that millage. [.pdf of press release from opposition campaign]

    One myth is that the AAATA is inefficient, Ford said, when in fact the AAATA has 17% lower cost per passenger and has 18% fewer employees per passenger than its peers. Another myth, Ford said, is that the AAATA has 52 managers. “It’s just simply not true,” he said. Ford explained that the AAATA has 52 employees who are non-union – 11 of whom are managers. That includes administrative assistants, IT staff, customer service, human resources, safety and security personnel, dispatchers and others, Ford said.

    The assertion that the AAATA will use millage revenue to fund a train service is untrue as well, Ford continued. The AAATA had intentionally not put rail service in the ballot language. AAATA has been acknowledged in USA Today, by CNN, and by independent transportation associations as one of the nation’s best-in-class in terms of ridership, operational efficiency, fiscal stability, and technological innovation, Ford said. And that’s why he was hopeful that voters in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township would say yes when they go to the polls on May 6.

    The concrete work contract was awarded to Saladino Construction, for a one-year period and the possibility of four one-year renewals. Board members subjected the item to a relatively lengthy discussion as far as AAATA board discussions go – as they had questions about the amount of future work there would be, how workmanship is verified, and how pedestrian flow at bus stops is maintained during the work period.

    Also given a fair amount of discussion was the policy on service equity required under Title VI. Board members had several questions, including one about the action that is required if a disparate impact on low-income riders is found as a result of a fare increase. AAATA staff stressed that there is not currently a fare increase on the table. [Full Story]

    Bus Stop Concrete Work Goes to Saladino

    A one-year contract with Saladino Construction for small concrete jobs has been approved by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board of directors. The contract, which has the option to be extended for four additional one-year periods, will cover work for access walks, shelter and bench pads, sidewalk extensions, curb extensions and bus pullouts.

    Action to approve the contract came at the April 17, 2014 meeting of the AAATA board. The one-year contract is expected to be worth about $54,000 a year, which is under the $100,000 threshold requiring board approval. But because the board was approving potentially a five-year period, with the value of the work expected to exceed $100,000, the contract required board approval.

    Saladino was selected from four bidders for the work. Even … [Full Story]

    AAATA Adopts Title VI Policy

    A policy on service equity analysis has been adopted by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, as part of the authority’s Title VI compliance. Title VI is the civil rights legislation that in the context of public transportation requires proof that a service change has no adverse effect on disadvantaged populations. [.pdf of Title VI policy included in April 17, 2014 AAATA board packet]

    The adoption of the policy on service equity analysis came at the board’s April 17, 2014 meeting – in the context of a 5-year service improvement plan the AAATA hopes to implement if voters approve a millage request on May 6, 2014. The AAATA is required to have such a policy as one element in a Title VI program … [Full Story]

    Region: Chamber Supports Transit Millage

    On its website, the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber has endorsed the 0.7 transit millage that will appear on the May 6, 2014 ballot for voters in the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti, and Ypsilanti Township. The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board voted to place the millage on the ballot at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting. From the statement of support: “AAATA’s plan is also sound because it offers a specific set of services for a specific amount of tax increase; a pay for what you get equation.” [Source]

    Tax Question Focus of Transit Board Meeting

    Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board meeting (Feb. 20, 2014): The audience for the board’s regular monthly meeting was the largest in at least five years, as 35-40 people attended to show support for the main item on the agenda.

    CEO of the AAATA Michael Ford

    Michael Ford, CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, just before the start of the Feb. 20, 2014 AAATA board meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

    That main item was a board vote to place a millage request before voters on May 6, 2014. The request – on a 0.7 mill tax that would be levied to pay for additional services over the next five years – would need a majority of votes across the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township to be approved.

    The millage is supposed to pay for a set of service improvements over a period of five years. Those improvements include increased frequency during peak hours, extended service in the evenings, and additional service on weekends. Some looped routes are being replaced with out-and-back type route configurations. The plan does not include operation of rail-based services.

    The AAATA has calculated that the improvements in service add up to 90,000 additional service hours per year, compared to the current service levels, which is a 44% increase.

    The board’s vote to put the question on a May 6 ballot was unanimous, and came after more than a dozen people spoke during public commentary at the start of the meeting, urging the board to take the step of making a funding request of voters.

    Elected officials as well as leaders of the faith, labor and disability communities all spoke in favor of making the request of voters to fund the service expansion, citing arguments based on economic and social justice. They pointed to the long period of planning that had begun about three years ago with a much more ambitious effort to expand service countywide. The current, more limited approach – focused just on the “urban core” area of the city of Ann Arbor and the two Ypsilanti jurisdictions – was a way to meet urgent transportation needs, they said.

    After the board’s vote, during public commentary at the end of the meeting, one Ypsilanti resident recalled her own history marching with Rosa Parks down Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Although she’s been involved in activism for many years, she told the board, she could not think of anything that she was in the room to witness that was this important to her personally and to the city in which she lives.

    Compared to typical AAATA board meetings, the atmosphere was relatively boisterous, as supporters at times chanted, “More buses, more places, more often!” But one speaker at the end of the meeting cautioned against the celebratory mood, saying there was now a lot of work to do. A counterpoint to the solid support the board heard from most of the speakers had been offered by the very first speaker of the evening. He asked the board to delay the election until November, arguing that it would save the roughly $80,000-$100,000 cost of holding the May election, and result in broader participation in the vote. Another point raised by that speaker was concern that everyone pay an equitable share for the additional transportation.

    Although the main event was the resolution that placed the millage question on the ballot, the board’s agenda featured nine other items, many of which were at least tangentially related to the millage question.

    For example, in other action the board approved a change to its budget to allow for up to $100,000 to be spent on the cost of holding the special election. The board also approved a funding agreement with Ypsilanti Township, to make explicit what will happen to the township’s existing purchase of service agreement (POSA) if the millage is approved. And as part of the board’s routine annual business, it approved a funding request to the state of Michigan – but did not factor in an increased level of service in the budget submitted to the state. That was done on the instruction of the Michigan Dept. of Transportation. That request can be amended if the millage succeeds.

    Also at the Feb. 20 meeting, the board approved changes to its bylaws. Those changes were prompted by a change in governance to the AAATA last year – the addition of the two Ypsilanti jurisdictions. With the increase from seven to 10 members, the definition for the number of board members constituting a quorum or a majority needed to be modified. Out of that review of the bylaws came a decision to increase public speaking turns from a two-minute time limit to three minutes.

    In other business, the board approved the hiring of a consultant to help the AAATA with a planned upgrade to its computer-aided dispatch and vehicle locating software. The board also approved the recently completed audit report for the 2013 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, 2013.

    Another item approved by the board was a new contract for unarmed security services. And finally, the board authorized a contract for an insurance broker.

    Among the various operational updates received by the board was the announcement that the newly constructed Blake Transit Center in downtown Ann Arbor would be open by March 17, 2014. [Full Story]

    Committee to Oppose AAATA Millage

    Opposing a new 0.7 mill transportation tax is a committee that filed paperwork with the Washtenaw County clerk’s election division on Feb. 21, 2014. [.pdf of ballot committee paperwork]

    The committee, which is called “Better Transit Now,” filed its paperwork the day after the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority board voted to place the tax on the May 6, 2014 ballot. Listed on the paperwork as the treasurer of the group is Libby Hunter. The filing paperwork indicates that the group intends to seek a reporting waiver, which is for groups that don’t expect to spend more than $1,000.

    Deciding the issue will be voters in the AAATA’s three-jurisdictional area: the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti … [Full Story]

    Marsh USA Gets AAATA Insurance Work

    Marsh USA Inc. of Grand Rapids, Mich., the same insurance broker that’s consulted for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority for the last 10 years, has been awarded a new five-year contract. The contract, for up to $270,000 of consulting work, was authorized at the AAATA board’s Feb. 20, 2014 meeting.

    Marsh USA will provide insurance brokerage services for general, automobile, workers’ compensation, property and public officials/employee liability insurances.

    This brief was filed from the downtown location of the Ann Arbor District Library at 343 S. Fifth Ave., where the AAATA board holds its meetings. A more detailed report of the meeting will follow: [link]

    DK Security Gets Nod for AAATA Security

    Unarmed security guard services for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority’s three properties will now be provided by DK Security. Those properties are the headquarters at 2700 S. Industrial Hwy., the Blake Transit Center, and the Ypsilanti Transit Center.

    At its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting, the AAATA board authorized a one-year contract with DK Security for the work, with an option to extend the contract for four one-year periods.

    The contract needs to conform with AAATA’s living wage policy, which mirrors that of the city of Ann Arbor. The policy currently requires vendors to pay a minimum wage of $13.96 per hour without providing health care benefits and $12.52 per hour when providing health care benefits.

    The amount of the contract is not … [Full Story]

    AAATA CAD Consulting: TransSystems

    TransSystems of Boston, Mass. has been awarded a consulting contract by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority as the AAATA looks to upgrade its computer-aided dispatch and vehicle-locating software (CAD/AVL).

    AAATA board action authorizing a contract for up to $168,000 with TransSystems came at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting.

    As part of an planned upgrade for this type of software for its regular fixed-route buses, the AAATA is also looking to bring in-house the reservation and booking of paratransit rides. That’s currently part of its contracted paratransit service provider’s scope of work. That service provider is SelectRide. The switch to in-house paratransit bookings is planned for May 1, 2015, the day after the AAATA’s current contract with SelectRide ends. That contract … [Full Story]

    Manchester Not on Task Force

    In a report about results of a survey conducted by the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, we misidentified Steve Manchester as a member of a financial task force that included Bob Guenzel, Mary Jo Callan, Mark Perry, Norman Herbert and Paul Krutko.

    Manchester had been invited to join the task force after being recommended by Ypsilanti Township officials Karen Lovejoy Roe and Brenda Stumbo, but by the time he was able to connect with AAATA staff to follow up, the task force had already met. We note the error here and have corrected the original report.

    Survey: Majority Favorable on Transit Tax

    Results of a survey of 841 registered voters in the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township show a 63% positive reaction to a possible additional transit tax in those communities. Those three jurisdictions are the members of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority. [.pdf of Feb. 7, 2014 press release] [.pdf of survey questions]

    Fall 2013 AAATA Survey: Of the 841 registered voters surveyed, 63% said they would definitely or probably vote for an additional transit tax, while 31% said they definitely or probably vote against an additional transit tax.

    Chart 1: AAATA Millage Vote Survey. Of the 841 registered voters surveyed, 63% said they would definitely or probably vote for an additional transit tax, while 31% said they definitely or probably would vote against an additional transit tax. Half the respondents were asked about a tax at the rate of 0.5 mills while the other half were asked about a 0.9 mill tax. There was not a significant difference in the two groups. The amount of the potential millage request in 2014 is 0.7 mills.

    The AAATA’s release of partial survey results on Feb. 7 comes about two weeks before the next monthly meeting of its board of directors, on Feb. 20. At that meeting, the board will almost certainly consider whether to place a millage on the ballot – either for May 6 or later in the fall of this year.

    The purpose of the potential millage – which would be the first one ever levied by the AAATA – would be to fund a 5-year plan of service improvements, approved by the AAATA board at its Jan. 16, 2014 meeting. The millage itself would last for five years.

    Generally, those improvements include increased frequency during peak hours, extended service in the evenings, and additional service on weekends. Some looped routes are being replaced with out-and-back type route configurations. The plan does not include operation of rail-based services. The AAATA has calculated that the improvements in service add up to 90,000 additional service hours per year, compared to the current service levels, which is a 44% increase.

    If a millage were approved in May, those improvements that involve extending the hours of service later in the evening and the weekend could begin to be implemented by late 2014. However, increases in frequency along routes, which would require acquisition of additional buses, would take longer.

    The AAATA refers to the plan in its communications as the 5YTIP. The AAATA has calculated that the additional tax required to fund the 5YTIP is 0.7 mills. A draft five-year plan was presented to the public in a series of 13 meetings in the fall of 2013. Changes to the five-year plan made in response to public feedback were included in the board’s information packet for the Jan. 16 meeting. [.pdf of memo and 5-year improvement plan] [.pdf of presentation made to the board on Jan. 16]

    The dedicated transit tax already paid by property owners in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti is levied by each city and passed through to the AAATA. Those taxes would stay in place if voters in the AAATA’s three-jurisdiction area approved a 0.7 mill tax. For Ann Arbor, the rate for the existing millage is 2.056 mills, which is expected to generate a little over $10 million by 2019, the fifth year of the transportation improvement plan. For the city of Ypsilanti, the rate for the existing transit millage is 0.9789, which is expected to generate about $314,000 in 2019. For the owner of an Ann Arbor house with a market value of $200,000 and taxable value of $100,000, a 0.7 mill tax translates into $70 annually, which would be paid in addition to the existing transit millage. The total Ann Arbor transit tax paid on a taxable value of $100,000 would be about $270 a year.

    The transit improvement program also calls for an additional $1,087,344 to come from purchase-of-service agreements (POSAs), based on increased service hours in Pittsfield, Saline, and Superior townships.

    A subset of a financial task force that had formed during an effort in 2012 to expand the AAATA to a countywide authority has concluded that the 0.7 mill would be adequate to fund the planned additional services. At the most recent meeting of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, on Feb. 5, DDA board member Bob Guenzel stated that he had continued to participate on that task force, and reported that the group had forwarded its finding on the currently contemplated 0.7 millage to the AAATA.

    Besides Guenzel, who is former Washtenaw County administrator, the current configuration of that group includes Mary Jo Callan (director of the Washtenaw County office of community and economic development), Norman Herbert (former treasurer of the University of Michigan), Paul Krutko (CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK), and Mark Perry (director of real estate services, Masco Corp.) and Steve Manchester.

    The survey on voter attitudes toward a millage was conducted for the AAATA by CJI Research with a mixed methodology – of telephone contacts, and a mail invitation to respond online – during October and November of 2013. The sample of respondents was divided into two groups – those who were asked about their attitudes toward an additional 0.5-mill tax and those who were asked about their attitudes toward an additional 0.9-mill tax. According to CJI, the groups showed virtually no difference in the distribution of responses.

    Of the 841 registered voters surveyed, 63% said they would definitely or probably vote for an additional transit tax, while 31% said they definitely or probably would vote against an additional transit tax.

    The Feb. 7, 2014 press release issued by the AAATA highlighted three of its conclusions from the survey results: (1) that the AAATA is highly regarded by voters in the three member jurisdictions; (2) residents in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township are supportive of transit service expansion even if it means a new tax; and (3) among survey respondents, the best reasons to support a transit expansion are to help retain and attract jobs, generate economic activity by taking customers and workers to area retailers and other employers, and to improve service for seniors and the disabled. The margin of error for the survey was no more than 3.4%, according to the press release. [Full Story]

    AAATA Adopts Five-Year Transit Plan

    Ahead of a possible request to voters sometime in 2014 for a new transit millage, the board of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority has voted formally to approve a five-year transit improvement program. [.pdf of memo and 5-year improvement plan] The board’s action came at its Jan. 16, 2014 meeting after public commentary from three people who supported the board’s resolution.

    Generally, the improvements include increased frequency during peak hours, extended service in the evenings and additional service on weekends. Some looped routes are being replaced with out-and-back type route configurations. The plan does not include operation of rail-based services. The AAATA has calculated that the improvements in service add up to 90,000 additional service hours per year, compared to … [Full Story]

    AAATA Bus 12B

    Aboard 12B bus headed west, a rider asked for directions to Kroger; four different but friendly responses from passengers.