Eastern Michigan’s parking system has seen some changes, including a new bus route and new regulations on where you can park.
In a press release from Director of Media Relations, Geoff Larcom, the details of the new route were outlined.
“The new free bus service — the Route 34 West Campus Shuttle — is designed to link the Rynearson Park & Ride Lot on Hewitt with central campus stops at Bowen Field House, Halle Library and the Towers residence hall complex.
“Under new parking guidelines being implemented at Eastern this fall, students, faculty and staff can park for free at the Rynearson Park & Ride lot. The free service between the Student Center and the College of Business will continue as the Route 33 College of Business Shuttle.”
With commuters constantly complaining about parking, hopefully this will fix the problem or at least reduce the number of complaints. But this is more than just a new way for commuters to get to class, or a new place to park — this is a change in the mentality of Michigan transportation.
Since Henry Ford mass-produced the automobile, public transportation has become a four-letter word in Michigan. Detroit, a city with more than 700,000 people, usually has 10 or 11 people on a bus at any given time, according to data from the Detroit Department of Transportation. Milwaukee, a city with fewer than 600,000 people, manages about the same.
Ann Arbor’s “The Ride” bus system manages 31 people per hour on average during its various routes, based on the transit authority’s data. So there is hope for better and more widespread public transportation in Michigan.
With the economy down, more people are looking to save money, and taking the bus might help.
Granted, most bus systems are subsidized by the government so they can afford to exist, but if more people use them then the need for those subsidies is reduced.
Of course, for public transit to be successful it has to link key locations together, i.e., suburbs and cities. You also need rail trolleys for long distances. An ideal system might have Detroit and its suburbs linked by buses with a trolley to other nearby cities, which have their own buses and trolleys that link together the entirety of the lower peninsula.
Public transportation does more than relieve parking problems. It reduces wear on the roads, which means less road construction. That’s a win for Michigan and its three seasons of construction. It can also reduce air pollution and might be able to reduce our need for oil. Gas is more than $3 per gallon. An Ann Arbor bus pass is $1.50 or less.
Call me an optimist, but from this new bus route I see a revitalized future for Michigan transportation. It might be one bus route in one small university in one county, but many great things have started from something small — the Roman Empire, the German empire, manned flight, space exploration and so on.
Whether a bold leap in a new era of public transit and fewer parking problems or just a way to stop annoying complaints, the new bus route is a step forward. Who knows what that step might bring, but hopefully it will be a change in parking policy that will allow everyone to see the benefits.
