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Voters To Decide in May if They will Pay For Expanded Transit Service

Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority officials hope to begin making service upgrades in August.  That’s if voters in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, and Ypsilanti Township pass a .7 mill tax that will be on the May ballot. 

Carolyn Grawi is with Partners for Transit and the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living.  Grawi believes even if you don’t take the bus voting for the tax hike makes sense.  She says that’s because it will help the economy, take cars off the road, is good for the environment, and is the right thing to do for people who need the service.

The tax will raise about $4.3 Million a year, to fund the extended weekend and evening hours outlined in the five year transit plan.  The tax equals $70 for a home with a market value of $200,000.

Having the vote in May will cost about $100,000 but delaying the vote likely would result in service improvements not coming for more than a year.

The ballot language can be found here.

— Andrew Cluley is the Ann Arbor beat reporter, and anchor for 89.1 WEMU News. Contact him at 734.487.3363 or email him acluley@emich.edu.

Like many, I first came to this area when I started school at the University of Michigan, then fell in love with the community and haven’t left. After graduating from U of M in the mid 1990’s I interned at WDET for several years, while also working a variety of jobs in Ann Arbor. Then in 1999 I joined the WEMU news team.
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