Some progress is finally being made for those in Southeast Michigan who have been fighting for better public transportation.
A total of 68 bus stops are now up and running in Novi, Wixom and Bloomfield Hills. However, transportation advocates still say more work needs to be done.
One of the biggest problems is still a shortage of bus drivers in public transportation, and that's having an impact on riders.
Lukas Lasecki is enrolled in at Oakland Community College and he lives on his own. To save money, he uses the SMART Bus system.
"A SMART ride is $2, and if you do the math it adds up to a lot of savings over time," Lasecki said.
Places like Twelve Oaks Mall used to be unaccessible to him through SMART, but the expansion of the bus service into Novi now means he gets dropped off right in front of the mall.
"Just in this past week, this has opened up all sorts of new shopping opportunities for me, places that I was never able to get to without a 2-mile walk I can now get to with ease," Lasecki said.
For the first time in 28 years, SMART is running in Novi and Bloomfield Hills, and for the first time ever, a fixed-route transit service is in Wixom.
Voters helped make these routes possible through the approval of the Oakland County Transit Millage last November.
However, transportation advocates like Megan Owens with the nonprofit Transportation Riders United, said more work is needed.
"The voters enthusiastically supported expanding the service, but until there are more drivers, some of the expansions into places like Rochester Hills, or Waterford, or elsewhere, they are sort of on hold," Owens said.
SMART said they are looking to hire 91 operators for the fixed route service and 26 for connector routes.
The lack of drivers can, at times, make service unreliable.
"You always have to plan with extra time because you don't know if your bus is going to show up until right beforehand," Lasecki said.
According to SMART, they are in negotiations with the union.
"They are actively negotiating and say they are going to boost pay and provide much more competitive wages, but we have been waiting for nine months now and riders are really frustrated," Owens said.
Owens said while there have been conversations about expanding into places like Rochester Hills and Waterford, without enough drivers, there is no telling when those expansions will happen.
She said there is more work that needs to be done beyond hiring drivers, like more sidewalks around Twelve Oaks Mall.
