SMART director warns state budget cuts could force service reductions in Macomb County

Tiffany Gunther, general manager of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), told the Macomb County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 18 that the regional bus system is seeing ridership gains even as it faces a potential drop in state funding that could force service cuts.

Gunther told the board SMART’s “mission” is to “connect people, we strengthen our community, and we drive economic growth by delivering safe and reliable mobility services.” She said the agency serves roughly 1.8 million riders annually on major routes, has seen a 26% increase in paratransit rides in Macomb County and provided about 63,000 rides in an on-demand zone — a 3% increase year over year.

Gunther said SMART’s total budget is about $176,000,000 and that roughly 60% of that comes from property-tax millages levied in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties, with the remainder from state and federal sources. She warned that the executive state budget proposal would be the lowest local bus operation allocation in recent history; an alternative House proposal would add $60,000,000 but tie that money to higher farebox recovery — a condition that, she said, would likely exclude systems that rely on local millages and serve large shares of seniors and riders with disabilities who pay half fare.

“If we see a drop in funding while we're simultaneously seeing an increase in ridership, that would really hurt the system,” Gunther said, urging commissioners to press Lansing lawmakers to preserve or increase state support.

Gunther outlined other ongoing SMART initiatives: a revived driver “rodeo” to boost morale and performance, a fleet maintenance plan intended to reduce in-service breakdowns, a shelter-cleaning pilot in Roseville and a “smart spaces” effort to improve stops and shelters. She said SMART’s community partnership program now includes 75 vehicles operated by partners such as Richmond Limousine Services and Star Transportation to serve seniors and others where fixed-route service is impractical.

On labor relations, Gunther said negotiations with SMART’s five bargaining units began last month and “are looking quite positive.” She also raised the risk that the budget outcome could force a 50,000-service-hour reduction if state support falls.

Commissioners asked several operational questions. Commissioner Wallace asked how to request a new stop or route change for mental-health access; Gunther described the standard process: operators or constituents bring requests to SMART staff, the planning team evaluates safety, spacing (about 0.5–0.75 miles between stops in denser areas), ridership impact and travel-time tradeoffs, and changes take time and analysis. Commissioner Koike and others discussed use of one-time ARPA funds for shelter and pension stabilization; Gunther said ARPA was used to shore up unfunded liabilities and improve recruitment and retention, freeing other funds for one-time shelter improvements.

The board voted 12–0 to receive and file the SMART presentation.

SMART provided several figures to the board and described program pilots and partnerships but did not present a finalized route-expansion schedule; Gunther said specific network changes depend on stable state funding and on outcomes from the agency’s “Smarter Mobility” recommendations.

As general manager, Gunther said she is increasing direct community outreach, adding an office of community partnership and asking operators to report shelter and stop problems in real time so maintenance can be dispatched faster.