by Lou Glorie

IN 1973 WHEN Ann Arbor voters first approved a millage dedicated to public transportation, the United States was learning a tough lesson due the Oil Embargo. Cars were lined up around gas stations for their rationed  gas.  Suddenly, we knew that our main mode of transportation—the gasoline powered automobile—might not be so reliable, and overnight  it had become expensive.

I have to believe that Americans, and Ann Arborites in particular, were starting to rethink our love affair with the automobile.  I think there must have been some expectation that taxing ourselves for a public transportation system, would allow us to escape from the domination of the car as our mode of transport.

But over these four decades, very few of us in Ann Arbor have been  able to reduce our use of the automobile.

One of the reasons is that our bus system is run mainly for the convenience of commuters—those who do not live in Ann Arbor, do not pay this tax, but have the benefit of park and ride lots and buses that take them to work and back.  There is no doubt that there is some benefit for us in getting, at least  these  cars off our streets, but what about our cars?  What about those of us who are struggling to pay for rent or mortgage, property taxes, food? Those of us who have been paying this transit millage for 41 years?

We’re still driving  our cars—even if we don’t want them.

It costs between $7,000 and $15,000 per year to own and operate a car.  Many people own them, even though they really cannot afford them. Why is that?  One reason is because our public transportation options really do not give us a choice.

The AAATA, is now asking Ann Arborites to increase our Transit Millage.  It has attempted to justify  this increase by pointing to the proposed route and scheduling changes.  But do these changes really amount to much of an improvement?

If we vote YES, will we then be able to get out of our cars?  No, not if we’re reliant on  the AAATA’s new routing system within Ann Arbor.

I find some of the changes helpful, like the extension of the hours of operation.

But the routing still has many glitches that the AAATA steadfastly refuses to fix.

Supporters of the millage increasingly insist that bus routing in Ann Arbor can only be designed as a hub because of the layout of the city.  I think the AAATA has been operating under a foolish consistency.  If the AAATA’s routing system is a hub and spoke—it’s one without a rim and tire.  I would propose they add the rim and tire to those spokes. For instance, why not a N. Maple/Stadium/ Washtenaw, Huron/ Jackson loop?

And what about  Ann Arbor’s many streets that run East/West  or North/South.  They are not and could never be spokes radiating from a hub to a rim. This is where a modification of the present downtown-centric routing system would be beneficial. Why not run buses back and forth along Seventh where present and future routes leave a huge gap between Miller and Madison. Likewise Huron Parkway.

These are the kinds of changes that would enable more of us who are taxed for this transit system to actually use it—and be able, finally,  to get out of our cars,  reduce our environmental footprint and save ourselves the expense of owning a car.

You might say, “Oh they’re not asking for so much extra money.” Can we say this added expense is negligible for everyone?  Many of us are barely making ends meet.  The presumption that Ann Arbor is full of rich people who owe a YES vote to Ypsilanti is offensive. Too many of us have been left behind in the “new” economy. If we’re paying dearly for a transportation system, we should have service that  can get us across and around town—not just downtown. A rejection of this millage increase will tell the AAATA they need to get it right—and do right by the people who will continue to be the major contributors.   This may be a rare case where NO does mean YES—yes to improved public transportation for Ann Arbor.  If you support public transit in Ann Arbor, it’s ok to vote NO!  This may be our only chance to get the system we need.

Lou Glorie is a member of the Better Transit Now ballot question committee. She is a long-time Ann Arbor resident who currently resides on the Old West Side.