If you follow me on Twitter, you know that from time to time I send out messages like "Bus 394 has squeaky brakes". Perhaps that's why you've stopped following me on Twitter.

If you are on an Ann Arbor Transportation Authority bus and notice that the brakes are squeaky, you should know that you can report this problem - or any problem, complaint, compliments, or suggestions - to the AATA on their comment suggestion web page. You'll be asked for the location, the bus number, the date and the time. In addition to responding to individual suggestions or complaints, the AATA board reviews overall trends in complaint and compliments for the system and uses that as a performance monitoring and measuring tool.

University of Michigan buses are maintained by the Parking and Transportation Services department. There's no problem submission form, but their contact us page has phone numbers and details.

Squeaky brakes are not new to buses; this 2005 Washington Times story speaks of the lonely crusade of a resident of Washington DC's Glover Park to get the brakes fixed on a route served by an Orion II minibus run by WMATA. Rob Goodspeed wrote in DCist that "cranky residents and bus riders probably share the same interest: quiet, well-maintained buses on the D2 route," and noted that the squeaky brakes were elevated to a major issue in the Glover Park neighborhood meetings.

So, if the brakes squeak - let someone know who has the power to fix them.  You, your neighbors, and the bus driver will thank you.

Edward Vielmetti rides the bus for AnnArbor.com.