Federal grant approved for $600,000 Lansing-to-Ann Arbor Michigan Flyer service increase
A federal grant to aid expansion of the Michigan Flyer route that runs from the Lansing area to the Detroit Metro Airport, with a stop in Ann Arbor, was approved in a contentious 10-9 vote by the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission Wednesday, according to a report from MLive Lansing.
With the new federal grant, the Michigan Flyer will now make 12 trips every day between the Lansing area and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
File photo
A previous vote at the commission’s meeting last month resulted in a 9-9 tie which was broken Wednesday by Ingham County Commissioner Brian McGrain. McGrain told MLive that he would likely have voted against the proposal but was swayed by an outpouring of constituent support for the increased routes.
The Capital Region International Airport, the main opponent of granting the funds, argued that it would be too difficult to compete against a subsidized competitor. The Flyer’s route brings Lansing-area travelers to DTW and the Capital Region Airport claims that increased bus service would result in an annual loss of $1 million in revenue.
With the new routes, Michigan Flyer will increase its number of daily trips between Lansing and Ann Arbor from eight to 12.
Ben Freed covers business for AnnArbor.com. You can sign up here to receive Business Review updates every week. Get in touch with Ben at 734-623-2528 or email him at benfreed@annarbor.com. Follow him on twitter @BFreedinA2
Comments
NCTerry
Sat, Jun 29, 2013 : 11:47 p.m.
I think it's pretty obvious that if anybody thought they could provide the service and make enough money to keep it viable they would have already done it. That's why federal subsidies exist. They help to provide needed services to the citizens who need them.
peter
Thu, Jun 27, 2013 : 10:05 p.m.
Federal grants are not free money. Someday, our grandchildren are going to have to pay these bills.
leaguebus
Fri, Jun 28, 2013 : 4:58 a.m.
And that means cutting all the programs that help the poor and middle class while giving huge subsidies to oil, banks, rich farmers, and large tax breaks to the "job creators".
Ben Freed
Thu, Jun 27, 2013 : 5:57 p.m.
MegaBus currently offers trips from Ann Arbor to the following locations: Chicago, Cleveland, NYC, Pittsburgh, State College and Toledo. A major part of the Michigan Flyer's services involve people traveling to and from Detroit Metro Airport which does not have a MegaBus stop. This isn't to say there couldn't be one in the future, but at the moment the Flyer is the primary method of public transportation from Lansing and Ann Arbor to the metro airport.
Bertha Venation
Thu, Jun 27, 2013 : 5:32 p.m.
Does it have special Nerd seating? If so, it could save us citizens some $$.
miman
Thu, Jun 27, 2013 : 5:16 p.m.
@Usual, AGREE!
Usual Suspect
Thu, Jun 27, 2013 : 5:33 p.m.
Unless the route is too short to fit their business model, I suppose.
Usual Suspect
Thu, Jun 27, 2013 : 5:02 p.m.
It seems somebody like MegaBus could do this without the need for involving public money.
ThinkingOne
Fri, Jun 28, 2013 : 2:37 p.m.
I am sure if that were true then they would have started doing it before this service started.