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New funding OK'd to expand public transit between Detroit and suburbs

 bus
flickr user Matt Picio
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http://j.mp/1SPGCl0
Detroit's Department of Transportation will get $6 million to replace buses.

Expanded bus service between Detroit and its suburbs is expected by the middle of next year.

That's according to Travis Gonyou, spokesman for the Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan. 

Gonyou said the board of RTA has approved spending $2.8 million per year for three years to expand public transportation between Detroit and its suburbs.

Gonyou said the routes and frequency of service made possible by these additional funds still need to be worked out. But he is optimistic that service planners are going to find better ways to link Detroit and the surrounding counties.

"When we look at where jobs are, and how to get people to and from jobs, how to get them to and from health care, social services, entertainment, being able to move around our region is of crucial importance to our economic success and our economic development," said Gonyou. "Having a quality and connected transit system is very important to all four of our counties."

The purpose of the RTA is to plan and coordinate public transportation for the four-county region of Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, and Washtenaw counties.