TRU e-mail 5/30/07 Options

[KevinKorell]

All the latest transit news:

- The SMART Board of Trustees voted yesterday to hire a new general manager - Hayes Jones - and deputy general manager - Steven Brown - to replace outgoing manager Dan Dirks.

- Last Thursday the Detroit City Council voted 5-4 to hire the Wayne County Sheriffs to provide security on DDOT busses for the next three years, paid for by a federal grant.

- Help spread the word about transit! TRU will be doing significant public education and outreach efforts this summer - come to a meeting next Monday, June 4, to learn more and get involved.

- Amtrak's popular Pontiac-to-Chicago line could be one of the first routes to see improvements under a proposed infusion of federal cash into the nation's urban train systems, Amtrak's chief told the Detroit News last week.


Details:

- The SMART Board of Trustees voted yesterday to hire a new general manager and deputy general manager to replace outgoing manager Dan Dirks. The new general manager will be Hayes Jones, who most recently was Oakland County's director of community and economic development. The new deputy general manager will be Steven Brown, current director of administration-public health for Wayne County, part-time mayor of Lincoln Park and a former SMART board member. Both are expected to begin soon to allow for a transition period before Mr. Dirks leaves June 30.

TRU looks forward to working with them to continue to improve and promote SMART bus service.


- Last Thursday the Detroit City Council voted 5-4 to hire the Wayne County Sheriffs to provide security on DDOT busses for the next three years, paid for by a federal grant. For over a year there has been no dedicated security force for DDOT. While busses are still generally safe, but with 130,000 people riding daily, problems happen and security is needed.

TRU applauds the City for finally allowing this to go through, although we are disappointed that it had to take a driver work stoppage to make it happen.


- Help spread the word about transit! TRU will be doing significant public education and outreach efforts this summer and you can help! Next Monday, June 4, at 6:30pm, come to the TRU office to learn about our outreach plans and how you can help spread the word about transit. The TRU office is on the 16th floor of the Guardian Building, 500 Griswold, downtown Detroit.

We plan to have tables at CityFest and other festivals. Its a great opportunity to educate, interest, and involved thousands of metro Detroiters, but it takes lots of enthusiastic supporters to make it work. Please join us Monday or contact TRUmember@DetroitTransit.org if you're interested but can't attend Monday.


- Amtrak's popular Pontiac-to-Chicago line could be one of the first routes to see improvements under a proposed infusion of federal cash into the nation's urban train systems, Amtrak's chief told the Detroit News last week. The Detroit News also reported the following:

A bill working its way through the U.S. Senate would, for the first time, provide an estimated $300 million a year to improve rail service in metro areas. Local communities would provide an as-yet undetermined amount of matching funds. Alex Kummant, president of Washington-based Amtrak, said his system's growing Pontiac-to-Chicago line is one of the top three routes in the nation that could be in line to get some of that money.

"Michigan in general and (the) Chicago (route) in particular could be one of the best places to invest that money," Kummant told a joint gathering of the House Transportation Committee and the transportation appropriations committee.