What Price Transit?

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What would they do with the money?

"It would be a game changer," says Michael Ford, the authority's CEO. "It will allow us to have more buses on existing routes, more direct routes, more night service and weekend service, and more service to more communities."

"People really need to know how widely demanded a better transit system is out there," says Mike Garfield, director of the Ecology Center and a leading millage advocate. "National ridership is the highest it's been since the late fifties, and ridership on the AAATA is up too."

Mayor John Hieftje considers the millage "vital to the community. It's the single best thing we can do to improve the economy and quality of life in this region."

Though Hieftje is retiring this year, three of the four candidates to succeed him support the millage (Sally Hart Petersen says she's undecided). So do Ypsilanti's mayor and city council, Ypsilanti Township's supervisor and board, and the six county commissioners representing the three municipalities. It's also backed by the presidents of the U-M, EMU, and WCC; the Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti Regional Chamber of Commerce; the Michigan Suburban Alliance; the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living; and the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice; and many local businesses.