Good news may be on the horizon for Ypsilanti residents who work at restaurants and other businesses in downtown Ann Arbor and rely on public transit.

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority's governing board today voted unanimously to approve a $14,417 challenge grant to encourage the enhancement of transit service between the two cities. A total of $180,000 in local subsidy is needed.

Ann Arbor Transportation Authority officials say the DDA's challenge grant sets in motion a mechanism to attract other funding partners to make the service improvements a reality.

Other potential funding sources include passenger fares, the state of Michigan, University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, private property owners, municipalities and the AATA, the agency responsible for providing transit services in the Ann Arbor area.

Talks about improving transit service between Ypsilanti and downtown Ann Arbor have been ongoing for several months. The DDA’s Parking and Transportation Demand Management Strategies Plan released earlier this year recognized that many people who currently live in Ypsilanti have limited options for getting to their jobs in downtown Ann Arbor.

After several discussions with AATA officials and other community partners, the DDA's Transportation Committee recently said enhancements to AATA Route 4 and local Ypsilanti service would have the greatest impact to meet the goals of the plan.

Proposed enhancements include:

• Reducing 15-minute bus frequencies to an average of 10 minutes.
• Reducing 45-minute route times to 38 minutes or less on many buses.
• Prioritizing downtown Ann Arbor transit service with a stop downtown before continuing to the University of Michigan Hospital on many buses.

DDA board member Newcombe Clark, a longtime advocate of increased transit services between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, said today he hopes the service enhancements on the table are only as a first step in solving the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti transit problem.

The AATA has been exploring service improvements between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

John Mouat, chairman of the DDA's Transportation Committee, said the way he sees it, DDA officials are starting off by going after the "low-hanging fruit."

Ypsilanti Mayor Paul Schreiber applauded the DDA's move. He noted Ypsilanti voters passed a transit charter amendment on Nov. 2 by a margin of almost 3-to-1, which he called an "excellent endorsement" for improved public transportation.

"The resolution for enhanced Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti bus service is a great step toward addressing the immediate needs along the busiest corridor in Washtenaw County as identified by the AATA," he said. "I am grateful to the DDA for thinking regionally about public transportation and the urban business community in Washtenaw County."

AATA CEO Michael Ford stated in a report Nov. 12 that a recent meeting on Ypsilanti service options was attended by representatives from the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study, the city of Ypsilanti, Pittsfield Township and the University of Michigan.

"The parties have reached general agreement on the package of enhanced service desired: increased peak‐hour frequency on route #4 (Washtenaw) and the Ypsilanti local routes (#10, #11, #20), and expanded Night Ride service," Ford wrote in his report.

AATA officials say work is under way to identify options for expanding Night Ride service to provide a late‐night option for work trips between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.

One major factor in the AATA's ability to implement the desired improvements to transit service is a lack of buses for expanded service, officials have said.

At this point, the agency can commit one bus at most. But the enhancement package requires three buses — one for Route 4 and two for the Ypsilanti local routes.

The AATA will receive 10 new buses in October 2011. Officials said those are replacement buses, but the agency could retain some of the replaced buses for expanded service. As a result, the AATA will either need to phase in implementation or obtain additional buses.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529.