--This article originally appeared on March 19, 2009
Mass transit systems that have been underfunded or non-existent for year after year got a healthy infusion of federal funds from the Omnibus act.
Omnibus means Omnibus Appropriations Act, which is an annual run-of-the-mill Congressional budget bill. These are notorious for earmarks (federal dollars set aside by members of Congress for projects in their districts); while only a fraction of the overall bill, they can add up to big-time controversy.
Metro Detroit's mass transit program scored a number of these earmarks to make a lot of small but effective improvements to existing systems and to help get new ones off the ground.
"That's definitely money the system has needed for a very long time," says Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United, a local mass transit advocacy group. "The bus system has been run on a very minimal budget."
Some of those small-but-important earmarks include:
- $1.425 million for a new fare collection system for Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) buses
- $712,500 to replace DDOT buses
- $3.924 million for maintenance and engine replacement of Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transit (SMART) buses
Money for popular rail projects, such as:
- $950,000 for the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line
- $475,000 for the Detroit Transit Options for Growth Study to put light rail on Woodward Avenue
The Omnibus bill also includes language directing the Federal Transportation Administration (the agency that doles out funds to build mass transit lines) to give "priority consideration" to the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line. That project is expected to come online in the fall of 2010.
Source: Offices of senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Megan Owens, executive director of Transportation Riders United
Writer: Jon Zemke
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