Slogan Ride SMART General Manager John C. Hertel Founded 1967 Routes 48 | Daily ridership 44,000 Website SMART Motto Ride SMART Fuel type Biodiesel | |
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Service type bus service, paratransit Fleet 30 Gillig Advantage 29'
92 Gillig Advantage 35'
123 Gillig Advantage 40'
2 New Flyer DE60LF Alliance Detroit Department of Transportation Headquarters Detroit, Michigan, United States Service areas Oakland County, Michigan, Macomb County, Michigan | ||
The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) is the public transit operator serving suburban Metro Detroit. It partners with the Detroit Department of Transportation. Beginning operations in 1967 as the "Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority" or "SEMTA", it operates 44 linehaul and three park-and-ride bus routes in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties. Its name was changed to SMART in 1989. As of 2008, SMART has the third highest ridership of Michigan's transit systems, surpassed by Capital Area Transportation Authority and Detroit Department of Transportation. SMART has its headquarters in the Buhl Building in Downtown Detroit.
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Some of SMART's routes enter the City of Detroit and serve the Downtown and Midtown cores during "peak hours" (Weekdays, 6-9A.M. and 3-6P.M.). Elsewhere in Detroit city limits, SMART policy does not permit passengers to be dropped off on outbound routes, or board on inbound routes. This is intended to avoid service duplication with Detroit Department of Transportation, which supplements the city of Detroit with its own bus service.
History
The Michigan Legislature passed the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Act of 1967, which included the creation of Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA). SEMTA was charged to take over the ownership and operations of the fractured regional transit systems in Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne counties, including the city of Detroit.
The authority acquired a number of existing transit authorities in the region, including the Detroit Department of Street Railways (DSR). However, the 1967 transportation act did not provide the regional authority with any means to levy taxes. Because of this, by 1974, the DSR had been reorganized as a city department of Detroit, leaving SEMTA only coordination over the suburban services. That same year, SEMTA acquired a commuter train service between downtown Detroit and Pontiac from the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. Due to declining ridership, the service was discontinued by 1983.
In 1979, SEMTA approved a regional transit plan, which included improved bus service and new rail transit, but the plan was never implemented due to lack of funds. The last commuter rail service was a former Penn Central route, named the Michigan Executive, that ran from the Michigan Central Depot in Detroit to Jackson. Its final operator was by Amtrak, as funded by the State of Michigan. The already pared down Executive service ended in 1984.
Beginning in 1983, SEMTA oversaw the construction of the Detroit People Mover, which was conceived as part of a much larger which consisted of light rail linees and a downtown subway. Mismanagement of the project resulted in tens-of-millions of dollars of cost overruns, causing the federal government to pull out of the project. In 1985, with the half-built project in limbo, the city of Detroit negotiated with SEMTA to take over the project, and it was transferred to the newly created Detroit Transportation Corporation. With little interest in the suburbs for expanding mass transit and Detroit not interested in joining the system, SEMTA was restructured as SMART in 1989, reducing the authorities service area from seven counties to three and excluding the city of Detroit.
In October 2011, the authority cut 22% of its service and laid off 123 employees due to declining property values which fund the system through its millage, and the inability of the authority to reach an agreement with its unions.
Fares
The adult cash fare for fixed routes is US$2, transfers cost $0.25. The fare for "park-and-ride" express routes is $2.50. The concession fare for children and students is $1, and for seniors and the disabled, the fare is $0.50, with free transfers. SMART also offers 31-day passes for each of the above fare categories, and a regional monthly pass, permitting unlimited rides on both SMART and DDOT for $49.50. Kids below 3 feet 8 inches (112 cm) tall pay no fare with fare-paying rider; limit 3.
On December 1, 2009, SMART raised its fares by $0.50. There was also a $0.50 charge added to regional monthly pass users and DDOT transfers. Fare increases were made to prevent possible cuts in bus services.
Removed routes
The following routes were removed as part of the service cuts made on December 12, 2011. The Groesbeck Shuttle still exists as a Connector service, but its early morning fixed route has been removed.