SMART Plans Micro Transit Expansion to Serve 1.9 Million Metro Detroit Residents

SMART will grow its micro transit service from five zones to eleven through the SMARTer Mobility study, as reported by the Michigan Chronicle. This brings access to 1.9 million Metro Detroit residents, up from 1.2 million.

Smaller vehicles will run in areas where 40-foot buses can't go or where too few people live to justify adding fixed routes with buses. Micro transit provides first-mile and last-mile connections while boosting options inside each zone.

Paratransit services will offer curb-to-curb transportation and door-to-door rides. Residents who can't access fixed routes because of disabilities get priority. The service is intended to help people get to work or school, as well as healthcare appointments and social activities.

"Transit equity isn't an abstract policy goal. It's about whether a senior in Clinton Township can get to a medical appointment, whether a parent in Dearborn can access jobs beyond their neighborhood, whether someone in Southfield with a disability can participate in community life instead of facing isolation," said Daniel Whitehouse, VP of Paratransit and On-Demand Services, as shared by Michigan Chronicle.

New scheduling software will introduce push notifications and real-time tracking. Paratransit riders can manage trips through an app. Those who prefer phones will get better access to the customer service team.

Community partners can use the technology at no cost. A unified passenger database will stop duplication and free up resources across the region, so more services can be provided.

SMART partners with groups, veteran workshops, schools, and career programs to reach residents. Parents and seniors are harder to reach than students, the agency found.

Wayne County could see connections between towns multiply if it opts into regional coordination, since changes to one service area ripple throughout.

"Every day someone lacks reliable transit access is a day of lost opportunity we can't recover," said Whitehouse, as reported by Michigan Chronicle. The agency is examining operations and asking why people aren't using services, which barriers exist, and what solutions might work.