Farmington Council Votes to Opt Out of SMART Bus System

In the end, it came down to a matter of trust. 

officials say their decision Monday to opt out of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), despite an 11th hour proposal and impassioned pleas from riders, was simply a vote of no confidence. The 3-1 decision will leave thousands of riders who use the two remaining bus lines that serve Farmington without service, unless city officials come up with an alternative plan by the end of the year.

Council members said that is what they intend to do. Council member Greg Cowley, who supported the opt out resolution with council members Kristin Kuiken and JoAnne McShane, asked SMART riders to put their trust in the council. 

"I would not opt out unless I believed we could provide better service," he said. 

Officials remained skeptical of SMART's offer to provide three, 14-passenger vehicles that would provide a "dial-a-ride" kind of service for residents. The authority's deputy general manager of operations Jim Fetzer said fares for the service, which would provide a ride with just an hour's notice, would be $2, or $1 for people with disabilities. 

Fetzer acknowledged that SMART is not as regional a system as it used to be. Due to huge losses in revenues and difficulties in negotiating union contracts, that eliminated routes in Farmington and Farmington Hills. Fetzer said SMART is on more solid ground financially, since unions are in the process of negotiating new contracts. 

"We've really tried to become leaner and meaner," he said. The eliminated route was among the most inefficient, with an average of just three riders per trip, Fetzer said. 

Recently collected ridership numbers showed more than 10,000 riders annually get on and off each of the two remaining routes that serve Farmington; one bus takes on more than 15,000 riders in Farmington each year:

Route 805

Ons-15,300
Offs-10,965

Route 330

Ons-10,455
Offs-13,770

But Cowley said many residents aren't being well served by the system, because SMART buses won't go to locations in opt out cities, such as or in Novi. Fetzer said only 23 of more than 60 Oakland County communities are part of the authority; SMART's Oakland County ombudsman Steven Brown said most of those are smaller communities in more rural areas. 

"The fact of the matter is, we don't have a regional transportation solution," Cowley said. 

Visions Unlimited students support SMART

Among the riders who commented, half a dozen students from urged officials to stick with SMART. The special education program for young adults ages 18-26 with developmental and physical disabilities relies on the system to provide transportation for field trips and programs that help students become more self-reliant. 

Jeffrey Cohen said his son, Joshua, is part of a Visions program that utilizes the SMART buses every day. 

"My dream as a member of this community is that my son will achieve a level of independence, and transportation is a part of that dream," he said. "I would urge you that if you feel compelled to opt out that you put something of equal or greater value in place." 

John Waterman, executive director of PEAC (Programs to Educate All Cyclists), said PEAC came to Visions Unlimited because Farmington and Farmington Hills have SMART bus service. He said PEAC was headed to a school in Livonia until he learned Livonia was an opt out community. 

After the vote, he offered his services to the city to help with the development of a replacement program. "I am very concerned about what this is going to mean for the education of our students at Visions," he said. 

School principal Bonnie James said she was very disappointed by the opt out decision. She said some Visions employees use SMART to get to work, and students rely on buses when they travel to speak with schools, seniors and other groups as part of a disabilities awareness outreach program. 

City officials repeatedly assured residents they support public transportation and would work over the coming year on a solution. 

"We are looking at other forms of transportation and ways of serving the community," Kuiken said. 

McShane said she has reopened talks with private contractors she contacted two years ago, during the last round of discussions over whether to remain with SMART. And Fetzer said SMART will continue to work with the city in an effort to get officials to reconsider their decision. Farmington officials could reconsider their vote at their next meeting, city attorney Thomas Schultz said, but "it's not the kind of thing we would do with a large legislative decision". 

Cities that are part of the system have until Jan. 31 to vote on whether to stay with SMART. Farmington Hills officials are expected to discuss SMART service at the city's Jan. 23 meeting. 

Clarification: Ridership numbers given by SMART during their presentation were only for stops in Farmington, although both routes serve Farmington and Farmington Hills. Specific numbers were added to the original version of this story to clarify the information.