Committee advances access-to-transit grants and recommends SMART contract amendment; officials cite ridership gains

The committee recommended funding six projects under the county’s first Access to Transit grant round and moved to recommend a contract amendment with the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) for 2025 operations.

Oakland County transit staff said the Access to Transit program solicited projects that improve sidewalks, shelters and other infrastructure that helps people reach transit. Staff said 10 applications were received, an interdisciplinary review recommended eight projects and the transit committee accepted six projects for a total award of approximately $777,000. Staff said two projects were postponed for further review and two were not recommended because they were not transit-related.

Eli, a transit staff member, described the program’s goals: “The walking environment is critically important for transit access because most folks either walk or roll, meaning a wheelchair or bicycle, to access transit service.” Committee members asked about procurement rules; staff said funding comes from the transit millage and interlocal agreements will govern implementation, while local governments will typically manage procurement for projects built in their jurisdictions.

Separately, staff presented an amendment to the county’s transit agreement with SMART for 2025 that includes operating support for current routes and recent service expansions. Staff said the amendment provides approximately $44,100,000 to support SMART’s operations and includes coordination on planning and technology: SMART is pursuing a regional dispatch/operations software procurement and county staff asked that SMART coordinate that work with smaller local operators in Oakland County.

At the meeting staff also summarized SMART’s July–September 2024 quarterly report and a veterans transportation pilot. Staff said SMART recorded about 1,860,000 rides in the quarter, up about 4% year over year. On the veterans pilot ("This Rise On Us"), staff said 4,600 rides were provided and the rider fare portion at $2 per ride equated to about $10,000; staff said the overall cost to provide those rides, including vehicles, drivers and fuel, had an estimated value of about $270,000, and that most of the non-fare cost is covered through the millage and other operator revenue streams.

Committee members described the Access to Transit awards as a pilot intended to produce projects that can be showcased to other communities. The committee approved the Access to Transit recommendations by voice vote and recommended the SMART amendment to the board; both items were forwarded with committee approval.