The Metro: Metro Detroit’s transit gap is wide. RTA’s plan to close it is slow by design
Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan Executive Director Ben Stupka outlines what the RTA hopes to accomplish this year to connect neighborhoods and people.
In August and September of 2023, RTA set up booths at 11 events across the four counties and spoke with riders at three regional transit centers. Attendees were asked to place stickers on an interactive board to identify which of the goals and strategies they felt were the highest priorities.
In metro Detroit, the vast majority of residents live within a 10-minute drive of a grocery store. But if you don’t have a reliable car, it’s a different story. Less than half of residents can reach those same stores by walking, biking, or taking a bus. And the same pattern holds for schools and healthcare facilities.
We need to do better at linking the city and suburbs by bus, bike, and foot— but how?
Ben Stupka is the executive director of the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan. He spoke with Robyn Vincent about what the RTA hopes to accomplish this year to connect neighborhoods and people.
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