From an Indian Trail press release

Michigan Flyer, LLC, of East Lansing, MI—a division of Indian Trails, Inc.—plans to add a new I-96 route this fall, doubling the number of trips it makes each day between East Lansing and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

Currently, Michigan Flyer offers luxury motor coach service along the I-94 corridor between East Lansing, Jackson, Ann Arbor and Detroit Metro.

To establish the new route on the I-96 corridor between East Lansing, Howell, Brighton, Ann Arbor and the Detroit airport, Michigan Flyer is seeking a one-time grant of $1.5 million from the federal Transportation, Community, and System Preservation (TCSP) program for start-up operations for one year. The new route should become self-sustaining in the second year.

This new service would be a major improvement in convenience for travelers from and to the Greater Lansing/Tri-County region because it would double the frequency of trips—from 7 to 14 per day—from East Lansing to Detroit Metro. That would enable Michigan Flyer to offer hourly departures, which passengers have told Michigan Flyer they want.

To begin the new route, Michigan Flyer would contribute $390,000 in matching funds/in-kind value toward operations and invest $1.5 million of its own funds to purchase three new luxury motor coaches.

Michigan Flyer is poised to begin this service as soon as Nov. 15, 2011, to serve the public during the peak holiday travel season.

However, the I-96 project cannot proceed without the TCSP funding. TCSP has announced they are making $61 million available nationwide to be awarded competitively to applicants that mitigate congestion and air pollution.

 The TCSP Program funds public-private partnerships to improve the efficiency of the transportation system, reduce environmental impacts of transportation, reduce the need for costly future public infrastructure investments, and ensure efficient access to jobs, services and centers of trade.

In fact, TCSP funding guidelines state that priority consideration is given to projects that:

• “Demonstrate a commitment to public and private involvement, including the involvement of non-traditional partners in the project team; AND
• “Examine ways to encourage private sector investments that address the purposes of this section.”

Indian Trails and Michigan Flyer are privately owned providers of public transportation services. A significant percentage of Indian Trails inter-city routes statewide are subsidized by the State of Michigan.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is sponsoring Michigan Flyer’s application for the TCSP grant.

Editors note: Michigan Flyers is making an effort to secure funding for the route and is making its argument at: http://michiganflyer.com/pdf/MIFLY_Tri-County_Planning_Commission-20110727.pdf

From the Detroit Free Press

Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff headed a panel of national experts Monday during a transit workshop at Wayne State University. Afterward, Rogoff sat down with editorial writer Jeff Gerritt to talk about the challenges and opportunities presented by Detroit’s Woodward Light Rail Project and regional transit in southeast Michigan.

QUESTION: The City of Detroit has already cut bus service significantly. Without a regional transportation plan in place, operating new light rail service on Woodward could divert more money from the Detroit Department of Transportation and the city’s already inadequate bus system. Does the FTA consider that an impediment to completing the Woodward Light Rail Project?

ANSWER: Yes, it is. We are critically concerned. We’re not interested in building a rail system that’s going to starve the bus system. For transit to work in this city — or any other — you need both, and you need to have them coordinated and planned in a way that they’re not only feeding each other but also serving all the requisite employment centers, hospitals, universities. Going through the financing plans, we do have concerns about whether funds for the bus service would have to be diverted for the rail system.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20110814/OPINION01/108140440

From the Detroit Free Press

With the help of the Federal Transit Administration, Detroit’s $500-million Woodward Light Rail Project is on track, including agreement on a final environmental impact statement setting route and station locations. Moreover, the project’s momentum has sparked suburban interest in rail and regional transit service.

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Norman White, CEO of the Woodward Light Rail Project, deserve great credit for taking on a project that could lead, at last, to a first-class regional transit system.

That said, Detroit must stop the foot-dragging on creating a regional transit authority that would operate not only light rail but also an improved city and suburban bus system. If not, the city risks undermining already faltering bus service — and even derailing plans to run light rail along Woodward, from 8 Mile to downtown.

The project would take roughly $10 million a year to operate. State transit funds and — on a short-term basis — federal congestion mitigation money could cover some operating costs. Even so, without a regional authority and dedicated funding, the project is simply not viable.

Read more: http://www.freep.com/article/20110814/OPINION01/108140434/Editorial-modern-public-transit-system-within-reach?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Opinion

From Progressive Railroading

Yesterday, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) convened a panel of transit experts to advise southeastern Michigan leaders on ways to create a new public transit system that would include Detroit’s planned Woodward Avenue light-rail system.

Each of the five members of the Detroit Area Transit Panel has an “industry-renowned record of achievement” in creating or expanding rail transit in their own cities, FTA officials said in a prepared statement.

The panel includes John Inglish, chief executive officer of the Utah Transit Authority; Carl Marsella, retired general manager and chief executive officer of the Regional Transportation District of Denver; Neil McFarlane, GM of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon; Beverly Scott, CEO of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority; and Gary Thomas, president and executive director of Dallas Area Rapid Transit.

The panel will host workshops for regional transportation stakeholders in Michigan and meet one-on-one with key state, city and local officials to determine the challenges to and opportunities for implementing transit rail in the Detroit area, FTA officials said.

In 2010, Detroit was awarded a $25 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program grant for the first phase of the proposed Woodward Avenue light-rail line, a 3.4-mile system connecting downtown Detroit to the New Center district along the region’s main artery.

Source: http://www.progressiverailroading.com/prdailynews/news.asp?id=27571