Earlier this month, I set out on a mission to ride the bus from Traverse City to Frankfort. The nearly 80 mile round-trip task seemed daunting at first, as I imagined spending the better half of my day commuting back and forth. I was pleasantly surprised to discover the TC Express, a Benzie Bus route that takes an average of one hour to get from city to city.
It sounds like bus ridership is growing. Our field reporters tell us that there’s an increasing number of riders on the Frankfort to Traverse City Connector, and that buses all over town are filling up. That’s news we like to hear. What about you? Do you think transit in this region is improving? Do you see more people at bus stops around town? Do you ride the bus? Why or why not? Share your opinions and join the community discussion on transportation, housing, and energy at a new Grand Vision website.
In Lansing, the Michigan Senate passed a series of bills that would create a regional transit authority for Detroit and its surrounding counties. The authority would be responsible for coordinating and improving transit service in the Metro Detroit region. The House of Representatives could vote on the bill this month. This is a monumental step toward making transit service in Michigan more efficient and much more effective.
The Regional Rider is a monthly update that highlights the efforts to coordinate transit service in the six-county Grand Vision region. This month: Frankfort and TC get a little bit closer; Metro Detroit considers transit authority; coming events; and a new Bruckbauer on the bus.
Jemario Raglin said he was struggling with geometry, so he sought help from a tutor offered via SEEDS at Benzie County Central High School. To help make that program work, SEEDS relies on the county’s public transit system.
Anyone looking for a bright economic spot to celebrate in our sorely tried region of the state should have attended last week’s groundbreaking for the new Benzie Bus headquarters.