The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA), branded as TheRide, is the

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

system serving the

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

and

Ypsilanti Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north ...

area in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. In fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 – October 2021), the system had a ridership of 1,725,797.

History

Predecessors

Bus service in Ann Arbor began in 1925, when streetcars of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Street Railway were replaced by buses. Multiple privately owned bus companies in Ann Arbor faced financial difficulties beginning in the late 1940s. Great Lakes Greyhound ended its Ann Arbor services in 1957, and its successors faced financial ruin. St. John Transportation Company of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

began service in 1968, with a guaranteed subsidy from the city. Even with its subsidy, St. John's costs proved higher than expected, and it ceased operations in January 1969. In 1969, the city of Ann Arbor directed the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to purchase and run its own buses. AATA FAQ page This included $200,000 for their first fiscal year.

First AATA-run buses

The city-wide buses began operation on 1 April 1969. In January 1970, the AATA was granted a $429,275 federal grant for the purchase of buses. By July, the system was predicted to carry 600,000 passengers in the next year, which chairperson George Bacalis called "exceptional." By October, the AATA was requesting to provide input on all work on major roads in the city due to the impact road works had on bus service.

Expansion

In late 1973,

Washtenaw Community College Washtenaw Community College (WCC) is a public community college in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan.Arborland Center to their campus in Ann Arbor Charter Township. The township government refused to provide its own funds towards the bus service. That same year, the AATA offered their first

paratransit Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...

line with a wheelchair-accessible van service within city limits. On 18 February 1974, the first AATA bus between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti ran, going from downtown Ann Arbor along Washtenaw Avenue to downtown

and into

Ypsilanti Charter Township Ypsilanti Charter Township is a charter township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 55,670 at the 2020 census. The city of Ypsilanti is mostly surrounded by the township, but the two are administered autonomo ...

On-demand bus service Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...

branded as Teltran started later that year within the city limits of Ann Arbor. By mid 1974, the AATA's bus system had over a million annual riders. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the AATA under director Michael Bolton worked with the city and the University of Michigan to create a 20-year transportation plan. The

American Public Transit Association The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit group of approximately 1,500 public and private sector member organizations that promotes and advocates for the interests of the public transportation industry in the United S ...

gave the AATA its annual bus safety award in June 1991. Bolton left the AATA for

Capital Metro The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, officially stylized as CapMetro, is a public transportation provider located in Austin, Texas. It operates bus, paratransit services and a hybrid rail system known as CapMetro Rail in Austin and ...

in 1994. The AATA was the first transit authority in the United States to operate low-floor buses when, in early 1993, they took delivery of ten

New Flyer New Flyer is a Canadian multinational Bus manufacturing, bus manufacturer, specializing in the production of transit buses. New Flyer is owned by the NFI Group, a holding company for several bus manufacturers. New Flyer has several manufacturing ...

D40LF buses. In terms of operation, only two Canadian authorities and the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...

operated such buses prior to the AATA. In November 2012, the AATA broke ground on the new Blake Transit Center, at a cost of $8.1 million. The new 2-story, 12,019-square-foot downtown transit hub replaced a one-story structure built at the site at 328 South Fifth Avenue in the 1980s. The new Blake Transit Center was officially opened for use on July 7, 2014. The D2A2 bus provides service from the Blake Transit Center to downtown

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Rebranding and expansion

In August 2013, the agency's board voted to change its name from the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) to the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA). The name change reflects the addition of neighboring Ypsilanti to the agency board and the growing focus on regional services within Washtenaw County's urban core. In December 2013, the Ann Arbor City Council approved adding Ypsilanti Township as a charter member of the AAATA. Despite reduced bus ridership in other areas of Michigan, AAATA continued expanding its ridership throughout the 2010s through expanded bus service.

Services

Fixed routes

Routes that travel east–west between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti are numbered in the single digits. Routes that begin at the Blake Transit Center and serve Ann Arbor neighborhoods are numbered 22–34. Local services in Ypsilanti, originating from the Ypsilanti Transit Center, are numbered 42–47, and crosstown routes that do not serve either transit center are numbered 62–68.

Current routes

Effective August 25, 2024.

Major transfer stops

The main hubs of the AAATA system are the

Blake Transit Center The Blake Transit Center (BTC) is a major public transit station in downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the main hub for TheRide, serving as the terminus and transfer point for 17 Ann Arbor-based routes in the system's hub-and-spoke bus network. ...

in downtown Ann Arbor and the

Ypsilanti Transit Center The Ypsilanti Transit Center (also known as the YTC) is the secondary hub for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority, the primary public transit service running in Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, and surrounding communities in Washtenaw County, Michig ...

in downtown Ypsilanti. Both transit centers have an indoor waiting room with a staffed ticket window. AAATA buses serve multiple locations on the campus of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. On the university's Central Campus, the main transfer point is the Central Campus Transit Center on Geddes Avenue. All services to the university's North Campus stop at Pierpont Commons, and all services to the University of Michigan Health campus stop on Observatory Street. Connecting service is available to University of Michigan Transit services at these locations, and other locations across the University of Michigan campus. Additional transfer points in Ann Arbor include Arborland Center,

Briarwood Mall Briarwood Mall is a shopping mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The mall's three anchor stores are Macy's North, Macy's, JCPenney, and Von Maur. Surrounded by office and other development, the mall anchors the southern Ann Arbor comme ...

, the Ann Arbor VA Hospital, and Traver Village Shopping Center. The Carpenter Road

Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwestern United States. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering ...

store, located in northeast Pittsfield Township, is a connection point for multiple bus lines in the Ypsilanti area.

Special services

TheRide provides

services, branded as ARide, for individuals with disabilities. Since 2021, these services have been operated by

MV Transportation MV Transportation, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is the largest privately owned passenger transportation contracting services firm in the United States. The company can provide paratransit, fixed-route, campus and corporate shuttles, and student ...

Microtransit Microtransit is a form of bus demand responsive transport vehicle for hire. This transit service offers a flexible routing and/or flexible scheduling of minibus vehicles shared with other passengers. Microtransit providers build routes ad-hoc ex ...

services in Ypsilanti Township and Pittsfield Township, branded as FlexRide, are operated by

Via Transportation Via Transportation, Inc. is a technology company that provides software as a service (SaaS) and operations to improve public transportation networks for cities, transit agencies, schools and universities, healthcare providers, and corporations a ...

. TheRide operates shuttle services for special events, including the Ann Arbor Art Fairs and

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...

home games. TheRide also coordinates

carpool Carpooling is the sharing of Automobile, car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. Carpooling is considered a Demand-Responsive Transport (DRT) serv ...

s and

vanpool Vanpools or vanpooling is an element of the transit system that allow groups of people to share the ride similar to a carpool, but on a larger scale with concurrent savings in fuel and vehicle operating costs and thus usually a lower cost to the ...

s in partnership with major area employers.

Connections

AAATA service connects with University of Michigan Transit services at multiple points on the university's campus. These services are free to the public. Connections to western Washtenaw County are available via the Western Washtenaw Area Value Express from the western terminus of route 30. Service to northeast Washtenaw County and Livingston County is provided by People's Express, connecting at the University of Michigan Hospital. The ''Wolverine'' train service, operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, stops at the

Ann Arbor station Ann Arbor station is a train station in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States that is served by Amtrak's ''Wolverine'', which runs three times daily in each direction between Chicago, Illinois and Pontiac, Michigan, via Detroit. History The pr ...

, which is served by lines 22, 33 and 65. The Amtrak station is also the Ann Arbor stop for multiple intercity bus services, including

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

and

FlixBus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...

. The

Michigan Flyer Indian Trails is an intercity bus operator primarily serving the U.S. state of Michigan, with routes also serving Wisconsin and Minnesota. Indian Trails is based in Owosso, Michigan, with offices in Romulus, East Lansing, and Kalamazoo. Hist ...

, which runs 12 daily trips from

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County, although a small portion extends north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

via

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

Detroit Metropolitan Airport Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport is the primary international airport serving Detroit and its Metro Detroit, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Romulus, Michigan, Romulus, a Detroit suburb ...

, stops at the

. D2A2 is an hourly express service between Ann Arbor and Downtown Detroit. In 2023 it added late-night summer buses from June to September, allowing Ann Arbor residents to leave Detroit near midnight.

Park and Ride

The AAATA provides ten free

Park and Ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

locations, mostly around the outskirts of Ann Arbor. All park-and-ride lots receive frequent bus service at weekday rush hours, and some locations feature all-day and weekend service. AAATA's "TheRide 2045" plan includes creating a second ring of park-and-ride lots for commuters further outside the city.

Fleet

TheRide currently operates a mix of

Gillig Low Floor The Gillig Low Floor (originally named Gillig H2000LF and also nicknamed Gillig Advantage) is a transit bus manufactured by Gillig since 1997. Introduced as a second product range by the company (alongside the Gillig Phantom), the Low Floor la ...

and

Nova Bus LFS The Low Floor Series (LFS) is a series of transit buses manufactured by Nova Bus for North American customers since 1996. It is produced in 40' rigid and 62' articulated bus, articulated (nominal) lengths with a variety of powertrains, including co ...

buses on its fixed routes. The system's buses run on B12 biodiesel, and many are diesel-electric hybrid units. The AAATA has 55

hybrid electric buses A hybrid electric bus is a bus that combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. These types of buses normally use a diesel–electric powertrain and are also known as hybrid diesel–e ...

in its fleet and, in 2007, became the first public transit operator in the Midwest to state its intention to convert to all hybrid electric buses, though these plans never came to fruition. In 2022, the AAATA began exploring a series of plans to replace its entire diesel-powered fleet with

battery-electric A battery electric vehicle (BEV), pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle (EV) that uses electrical energy exclusively from an on-board battery pack to power ...

hydrogen fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...

-powered buses by 2035.

Fares

AAATA uses a fixed-fare system. Full fare on fixed-route buses is $1.50, payable by cash or tokens. Day passes are available for $3.00, and 31-day passes are $45.00. Mobile ticketing is available for

IPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...

and

Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...

smartphone users through the EZfare app. Transfers are free, and are valid for unlimited connections to fixed-route buses for 90 minutes. Free fares are available for

students, faculty, and staff; children under 6; registered seniors 65 years of age and over; customers with disabilities who are eligible for paratransit; and TheRide employees. Reduced fares are available for customers including

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

recipients,

K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an English language expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States and Canada, which is similar to publicly supported sch ...

school students, and seniors ages 60–64. All reduced fares are half the standard fare. Standard fare for AirRide services is $15 per adult, with discounts available for accompanied children and round-trip tickets. D2A2 tickets are $8, with discounts available for advance bookings, seniors, and customers with disabilities.

Projects

Throughout its existence, the AAATA has worked on projects with other government agencies within Washtenaw county in order to improve transit service.

TheRide 2045

The AAATA's current long-term project plan, called TheRide 2045, sets a high level vision for how the AAATA plans to expand service. Goals include reducing travel times, addressing equity gaps, and improving environmental outcomes. The plan was created with assistance of a public advisory group and after an 18-month public engagement process. An early part of this plan is a new property tax for the AAATA service area starting in 2024 which, in addition to addressing a structural deficit, will increase hours, provide at least 30 minute headways on weekends, and add an express route between the

and the

. Information specialists began staffing the YTC on 1 August 2023 for the first time since the center opened.

Transit Signal Priority

In 1973, the city of Ann Arbor and the AATA agreed to a system that would provide a computerized traffic light system to provide buses with priority. As of 2018, Transit Signal Priority options were still being studied.

Zero-emission buses

TheRide recommended to the AAATA board in October 2023 to pilot

buses, with the AAATA contributing $1.1-1.5 million and federal grants paying an additional $4.4-6 million.

Administration

The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority is a special district under Michigan law, which has agreements with six municipalities in Washtenaw County to provide services. The City of Ann Arbor, the City of Ypsilanti, and

are full members of the authority, and have the power to make appointments to the authority's 10-member board of directors.

Pittsfield Charter Township Pittsfield Charter Township is a charter township of Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 39,147 at the 2020 census. Communities * Lucerne is a former settlement within the township that had its own post office fro ...

, Scio Township, and Superior Charter Township receive services from the authority under purchase-of-service agreements, and do not appoint board members. Funding for the AAATA is provided by a variety of sources. , passenger fares represent 7% of the authority's operating revenue. Other sources of funding include local property taxes, federal and state operating assistance, and purchase-of-service agreements. Bus drivers, maintenance staff, and customer service agents at the TheRide are union members, represented by Local 171 of the

Transport Workers Union of America Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article disc ...

. The AAATA is the designated authority for the proposed Ann Arbor-Howell commuter rail line.

References

External links

* {{Michigan public transit Bus transportation in Michigan Intermodal transportation authorities in Michigan Transportation in Ann Arbor, Michigan