The time has come to take a look at the lack of mass transportation in and around Detroit. With the city in a true economic crisis, measures are being taken, or at least considered, to help the area.

There are many arguments for building a mass transit system between Detroit and Ann Arbor. “I’m all for it,” said Professor Matt Lassiter, who teaches History 364: History of American Suburbia. He explained how much more convenient it would be for him to ride the train to see a Tigers game or go to the Renaissance Center.

Mass transit systems are “the souls of cities,” argued Neil Greenberg. Greenberg is an alumnus of the University and founder of Airbus, a bus company that operates during vacations to transport students from Ann Arbor to Metro Airport and back.

Greenberg works for SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation) when he isn’t running Airbus. He goal is to transform mass transit in Detroit and its suburbs into a system that could connect urban and suburban life, break down racial barriers, and help the environment.

“I’m not just a transit guy, I’m a city guy.” Greenberg said. He thinks that transportation is the key to bridging the gap between Detroit and its suburbs.

Building a transit system might stimulate Detroit’s economy if citizens of Ann Arbor and other suburbs of Detroit had easier access to the city. A transit system could link the city to the suburbs; a commuter rail would provide an easier route between the destinations and would also cut down on gasoline consumption by individual cars. This would be better for the environment and would lead to less traffic on highways. A huge amount of money is spent on highway construction and renovations each year; a commuter rail would decrease these costs, allowing Michigan’s limited financial resources to be spent in other ways.

To illustrate this point, Greenberg used the example of the Lodge Freeway outside Detroit. The freeway recently finished reconstruction at a cost of $200 million and a hassle to drivers. The road also had major work done around twenty years ago, and will need to be reconstructed again in another twenty years.

People argue that a mass transit system in the area would cost too much money. But a commuter rail, for instance, would be expensive to build but not nearly as expensive as the Lodge Freeway is to maintain.

Both Professor Lassiter and Greenberg spoke about the idea that mass transit systems are expected to pay for themselves, while highways are subsidized so greatly by the government.

Additionally, railway construction stimulates the economy by attracting local businesses and creating jobs for individuals. Railways are permanent. “Rail lines are never discontinued. Cities are built around them,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg is eager to see mass transportation in the Detroit area become a reality, but he knows that it will be difficult to pull together, if it happens at all. He believes that the way to bring about change is to start small but to have a vision. The problem with talk of mass transit in this area is that the plans are too big. Greenberg thinks that the process should start slowly, and the rest will follow.

“We need to take small but effective steps. It’s about proving it,” he said.

Instead of discussing plans to spend billions of dollars on a long commuter rail that will connect all of South East Michigan, Greenberg proposes that the area start with a smaller rail line to prove that mass transportation would be utilized and that there is a need for it here.

Professor Lassiter attributed the lack of a major transit system until now to racial issues.
Greenberg also suggested that mass transit systems work to break down racial barriers. If everyone took mass transit to get to work, each passenger could see that other riders just go to work or pick up their kids and that people do the same everyday activities regardless of the color of their skin.

“We just don’t understand each other in this region,” said Greenberg. He believes that a transit system could help to begin bringing people together.

The debate over mass transportation in this area did not start in the last few years. Lassiter explained that there has always been a divide between Detroit and its surrounding area. Detroit, unlike other American cities, is made up of low-density single-family homes so cars were more widely used and there was less of a demand for mass transportation within the city itself.

Older cities that developed before the automobile, such as New York, Boston and Chicago, have good mass transit systems that are widely used to this day. Through the years, politicians in the Detroit region have resisted a mass transit system. There has been continuous debate having to do with transportation working in two ways: bringing people to Detroit, and also away from the city and into the suburbs.

Lassiter explained that a common myth about the lack of a transit system here is that mass transportation was viewed as unpopular in the Detroit area because of the influence of the auto industry. Lassiter said that while this might have been true years ago, race is now the dominant barrier to building a transit system.

This can be seen when looking at newer cities such as Portland and Seattle. Where there is less racial conflict, cities have good mass transit systems. There is no fear in these later-developing cities that a lower class minority of workers will leave the cities in order to find jobs in the suburbs.

During Gerald Ford’s presidency, $600 million was offered to the Detroit area to build a transit system that would connect the city and its suburbs, Greenberg said. Politicians in the area argued over how to spend the money for a few years, until they had waited too long to act and the money was used elsewhere.

If a mass transit system was constructed between Ann Arbor and Detroit, students and residents from Ann Arbor would have easier access to the airport and downtown neighborhoods. Additionally, a rail system connecting Ann Arbor and Detroit would bring people living in Detroit to jobs outside the city.

While mass transit continues to be a contentious issue in this area, political leaders are beginning to take steps that may lead to more transportation options.

The Detroit Options for Growth Study (DTOG) is a project sponsored by the Detroit Department of Transportation. DTOG states on its website, “As the revitalization of the Detroit area progresses, the need for a viable rapid transit system that connects neighborhoods, businesses, major destinations and new development is becoming more and more evident.”

“Hearing that is refreshing,” said Greenberg. “We need to start thinking regionally. We need to start thinking outside the box.”