Detroit resident Deanne Austin doesn’t drive. So, when she got a manufacturing job in Livonia, she knew it wouldn't be easy getting there.
Austin ended up taking three buses each way, and needing to rely on family members and rideshare services when a bus wasn’t available.
“I spent the majority of my day getting to work,” Austin said.
She worked there for eight years. But, even after leaving, she couldn't shake the feeling that she deserved to live in a community where she could get where she wanted to go without driving.
“I was always encouraged to move out of Michigan,” Austin said. “But I think we just can't just live in Michigan, we need to be able to thrive. When you offer better transportation, it's a lifeline to so many different people.”
Part of the reason that journey was so difficult is because Livonia is one of 17 communities in Wayne County that have opted-out of the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) bus system — making a direct bus impossible.
That could all change this August, when the entire county will vote on the Wayne County Public Transportation Millage on their primary ballots.
Opting out is not an option anymore. The Michigan Legislature removed the long-standing opt-out rule in 2024, meaning if the millage passes, some suburbs will be taxed for transit service for the first time. SMART says it would use the money to expand service into previous opt-out areas and fund specialized connector programs tailored for seniors, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.
But if it fails, SMART could lose the revenue needed to maintain current operations in the county.
The millage would be levied at a maximum rate of 0.9831 mills for a period of 10 years beginning with the 2026 tax year and ending with the 2035 tax year. That translates to about $8 a month for a home with a market value of $200,000 ($100,000 in taxable value). It would replace an expiring millage and is estimated to raise about $57.6 million in the first year.
“We are all one broken axle away from not being able to drive.”
A century ago, an electric streetcar network connected Detroit to Ann Arbor, Pontiac, and dozens of towns in between. As the automotive industry and urban sprawl boomed, the system was dismantled by the 1930s. The region has been stitching transit back together ever since.
"There's so many people of different nationalities and ethnicities that need to get around. This is a human, layered piece.”Detroit resident Deanne Austin
The Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) was formed in 1967 to take over the financially strapped suburban mass transit services in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties, including the City of Detroit.
Detroit reorganized its own public transit system — the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) — and broke off from SEMTA in 1974. DDOT would receive the portion of millage dollars collected in Detroit.
SEMTA was restructured as SMART in 1989.
Oakland and Macomb counties do not currently allow opting-out of SMART. Besides Detroit, the following Wayne County communities have opted out of the system:
- Belleville
- Brownstown Township
- Canton
- Flat Rock
- Gibraltar
- Grosse Ile Township
- Huron Township
- Livonia
- Northville
- Northville Township
- Plymouth
- Plymouth Township
- Rockwood
- Sumpter Township
- Van Buren Township
- Woodhaven
Megan Owens, Transportation Riders United executive director, says public transportation access helps everyone.
"You may not personally use transit, but you depend on someone who does,” Owens said. “Your kids' daycare worker, the chef at your favorite restaurant, the nurse in the ER. The janitor at your work. Maybe it's the older lady down the street who's crashed into your mailbox one too many times."
Owens said “we're all one broken axle or one broken foot away from not being able to drive,” and that even if people don't currently use public transportation, they never know when they might need it.
"What seems weird to me is that we've ever allowed opt-outs,” Owens said. “You don't get to opt out of a highway going through your community. You don't opt out of public schools, or public libraries, or public parks."
Opposition grows
Not everyone is on board. A group called Not SMART Wayne, led by Matthew Wilk, says the tax would be a waste of money.
Wilk contends that low ridership — SMART buses average just 3.9 riders, according to 2024 filing — means the buses aren't delivering congestion, environmental, or road-wear benefits.
"Our best advertisement against this tax is buses driving around town — because they drive around empty,” Wilk said.
He said SMART doesn't have an incentive to operate efficiently because it is so heavily subsidized — and that the public has grown weary of paying because of recent inflation and rising costs.
“We're hearing from a lot of people, it's really not a right-left issue. It's on both sides of the aisle issue – people do not want to be taxed this year,” Wilk said. “That’s not to say that public transportation is not necessary. We feel that it just has to be done right.”
Not SMART Wayne has also explored legal routes to stop the millage. The group filed a lawsuit, arguing that the Wayne County Transit Authority didn't properly provide notice of a March 19 meeting where ballot language was approved and used unclear ballot language. It was ultimately dismissed.
The organization also filed a campaign finance complaint alleging county officials improperly partnered with Transportation Riders United at a June informational event. A Wayne County spokesperson told The Detroit News that it followed all applicable laws.
Austin said the vote is personal — a chance to spare someone else the eight years of three-bus commutes she lived through. But she also hopes it changes who people picture when they think about transit.
“Who rides the bus?” Austin said. “They say poor people or Black people ride the bus, and now that that's changing, people realize that there's so many people of different nationalities and ethnicities that need to get around. This is a human, layered piece.”
