Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Metro Detroit |
| Transit type | local bus, express bus, bus rapid transit (BRT), commuter rail |
| Chief executive | Michael Ford |
| Headquarters | Detroit, Michigan |
| Website | http://www.rtamichigan.org/ |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 2013 |
| Operator(s) | |
The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA) is the agency with and service coordination responsibility for mass transit operations in metropolitan Detroit, Michigan. The counties of Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne are included in the agency's jurisdiction.
The RTA is governed by a 10-member board which includes two representatives from each county, one representative from Detroit, and one non-voting representative appointed by the governor who chairs the board. The board hires a CEO to oversee the day-to-day operations of the authority.
The board is granted the authority with a 7/9 supermajority of the voting members the powers to:
The board is granted the authority with unanimous consent the powers to:
The RTA has its beginnings in the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act of 1967 (Public Act 204). A provision of the act specifically created the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA), but provided the authority with no additional means to levy taxes or fees to fund the operations for the transit providers it had acquired.
In 1974, facing a loss of funding from SEMTA and wanting more control of its transit affairs, Detroit's Department of Street Railways (DSR) restructured itself as the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT). On December 7, 1988, Public Act 204 was amended to restructure SEMTA, reducing the service area from seven counties to three, and excluding the city of Detroit. The new transit authority was named the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transit (SMART), and began operation on January 17, 1989. To continue limited coordination and development of services between DDOT and SMART, however, regional leaders representing the three-county area and Detroit filed articles of incorporation to form the Regional Transit Coordinating Council on January 12, 1989.
On December 19, 2012 Governor Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill No. 909 into law establishing the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), which included a provision allowing for the first time a way for such a regional transit authority to fund itself. Almost one month later, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that the M-1 Rail Line would receive 25 million in federal funding as he had previously indicated such support was dependent on the creation of a regional transit authority for the Detroit region.
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