История общественного транспорта Анн-Арбора и Ипсиланти

The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA), branded as TheRide, is the public transit system serving the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area in the U. S. state of Michigan. In fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 – October 2021), the system had a ridership of 1,725,797.

Bus service in Ann Arbor began in 1925, when streetcars of the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti Street Railway were replaced by buses. Multiple privately owned bus companies in Ann Arbor faced financial difficulties beginning in the late 1940s. Great Lakes Greyhound ended its Ann Arbor services in 1957, and its successors faced financial ruin. St. John Transportation Company of Dayton, Ohio began service in 1968, with a guaranteed subsidy from the city. Even with its subsidy, St. John's costs proved higher than expected, and it ceased operations in January 1969. In 1969, the city of Ann Arbor directed the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to purchase and run its own buses. This included $200,000 for their first fiscal year.

The city wide buses began operation on In January 1970, the AATA was granted a $429,275 federal grant for the purchase of buses. By July, the system was predicted to carry 600,000 passengers in the next year, which chairperson George Bacalis called "exceptional." By October, the AATA was requesting to provide input on all work on major roads in the city due to the impact road works had on bus service.

In late 1973, Washtenaw Community College provided funds to run a bus service from Arborland Center to their campus in Ann Arbor Charter Township. The township government refused to provide its own funds towards the bus service. That same year, the AATA offered their first paratransit line with a wheelchair accessible van service within city limits. On , the first AATA bus between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti ran, going from downtown Ann Arbor along Washtenaw Avenue to downtown Ypsilanti and into Ypsilanti Charter Township. On demand bus service branded as Teltran started later that year within the city limits of Ann Arbor. By mid 1974, the AATA's bus system had over a million annual riders. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the AATA under director Michael Bolton worked with the city and the University of Michigan to create a 20 year transportation plan. The American Public Transit Association gave the AATA its annual bus safety award in June 1991. Bolton left the AATA for Capital Metro in 1994. The AATA was the first transit authority in the United States to operate low floor buses when, in early 1993, they took delivery of ten New Flyer D40LF buses. In terms of operation, only two Canadian authorities and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operated such buses prior to the AATA. In November 2012, the AATA broke ground on the new Blake Transit Center, at a cost of $8.1 million. The new 2 story, 12,019 square foot downtown transit hub replaced a one story structure built at the site at 328 South Fifth Avenue in the 1980s. The new Blake Transit Center was officially opened for use on July 7, 2014. The D2A2 bus provides service from the Blake Transit Center to downtown Detroit.

In August 2013, the agency's board voted to change its name from the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) to the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA). The name change reflects the addition of neighboring Ypsilanti to the agency board and the growing focus on regional services within Washtenaw County's urban core. In December 2013, the Ann Arbor City Council approved adding Ypsilanti Township as a charter member of the AAATA. Despite reduced bus ridership in other areas of Michigan, AAATA continued expanding its ridership throughout the 2010s through expanded bus service.

The authority mainly operates fixed route bus service within its service area. Two transit centers, the Blake Transit Center (BTC) in downtown Ann Arbor and the Ypsilanti Transit Center (YTC) in downtown Ypsilanti, serve as the system's main hubs. The Central Campus Transit Center (CCTC) serves as a major transfer point with the University of Michigan bus network. #NameTerminiFrequency (min)NotesMon FriSatSun3Huron RiverBlake TCYpsilanti TC3060604WashtenawBlake TCYpsilanti TC15 3030305APackardBlake TCYpsilanti TC3060 5BMeijer, Ypsilanti30 606EllsworthBlake TCYpsilanti TC30606022Pontiac Dhu VarrenBlake TCUM North Campus (Pierpont Commons)30606023PlymouthBlake TCPlymouth Road Park & Ride15 30306024Eisenhower GolfsideBlake TCSt. Joseph Hospital / Washtenaw Community College30606025Ann Arbor SalineBlake TCMeijer, Ann Arbor Saline Rd3026Scio ChurchClockwise loop through Blake TC, Scio Ridge30606029 follows route counter clockwise27W. Stadium Oak ValleyBlake TCMeijer, Ann Arbor Saline Rd30606028PaulineBlake TCMaple + Pennsylvania15 3029LibertyCounter clockwise loop through Blake TC, Scio Ridge3060 26 follows route clockwise30Jackson DexterBlake TCMeijer, Jackson Rd30606031DexterBlake TCJackson + Wagner30606032Miller MapleBlake TCMaple + Pennsylvania30606033NewportBlake TCWarrington + Newport3030 34Maple DexterBlake TCMiller Road Park & Ride30 11 trips daily; weekday peak only42Forest MacArthurYpsilanti TCMacArthur + Harris30606043E. MichiganYpsilanti TCHolmes + Ridge30606044Ecorse TylerYpsilanti TCWest Willow Community Center30606045GroveYpsilanti TCGrove + Harry30606046Huron Paint CreekYpsilanti TCHuron River Dr + Textile30606047Harriet W. MichiganYpsilanti TCHewitt + Ellsworth30606061U M MillerCentral Campus TCMiller Road Park & Ride30 62U M StateCentral Campus TCWolverine Tower12 15 63U M PontiacCentral Campus TCFood Gatherers30 8 trips daily; weekday peak only64Geddes E. StadiumCentral Campus TCPioneer High School30 11 trips daily; weekday peak only65U M Downtown GreenCentral Campus TCGlacier Hills30 66Carpenter HuronMeijer, YpsilantiGreen Road Park & Ride3060 select trips extended to Glacier Hills68Harris FordGault VillageHolmes + Ridge30

The main hubs of the AAATA system are the Blake Transit Center and the Ypsilanti Transit Center. Both transit centers have an indoor waiting room with a staffed ticket window. AAATA buses serve multiple locations on the campus of the University of Michigan. On the university's Central Campus, the main transfer point is the Central Campus Transit Center on Geddes Avenue. All services to the university's North Campus stop at Pierpont Commons, and all services to the University of Michigan Health campus stop on Observatory Street. Connecting service is available to University of Michigan Transit services at these locations, and other locations across the University of Michigan campus. Additional transfer points in Ann Arbor include Arborland Center, Briarwood Mall, the Ann Arbor VA Hospital, and Traver Village Shopping Center. The Carpenter Road Meijer store, located in northeast Pittsfield Township, is a connection point for multiple bus lines in the Ypsilanti area. The AAATA is also the designated authority for the proposed Ann Arbor Howell commuter rail line. Non managerial and non administrative workers at the TheRide are union members, organized in Local 171 of the Transport Workers Union of America.

AAATA service connects with University of Michigan Transit services at multiple points on the university's campus. These services are free to the public. Connections to western Washtenaw County are available via the Western Washtenaw Area Value Express from the western terminus of route 30. Service to northeast Washtenaw County and Livingston County is provided by People's Express, connecting at the University of Michigan Hospital.

The Wolverine train service, operated by Amtrak, stops at the Ann Arbor station, which is served by lines 22, 33 and 65.

The Michigan Flyer, which runs 12 daily trips from East Lansing via Brighton to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, one of the 20 busiest airports in the US, stops at the Blake Transit Center. D2A2 is an hourly express service between Ann Arbor and Downtown Detroit. In 2023 it added late night summer buses from June to September, allowing Ann Arbor residents to leave Detroit near midnight.

The AAATA provides ten free Park and Ride locations, mostly around the outskirts of Ann Arbor. All park and ride lots receive frequent bus service at weekday rush hours, and some locations feature all day and weekend service.

TheRide currently operates a mix of Gillig Low Floor and Nova Bus LFS buses on its fixed routes. The system's buses run on B12 biodiesel, and many are diesel electric hybrid units. The AAATA has 55 hybrid electric buses in its fleet and, in 2007, became the first public transit operator in the Midwest to state its intention to convert to all hybrid electric buses, though these plans never came to fruition. In 2022, the AAATA began exploring a series of plans to replace its entire diesel powered fleet with battery electric or hydrogen fuel cell powered buses by 2035.

AAATA uses a fixed fare system. Full fare on fixed route buses is $1.50, payable by cash or tokens. Day passes are available for $3.00, and 31 day passes are $45.00. Mobile ticketing is available for IPhone and Android smartphone users through the EZfare app. Transfers are free, and are valid for unlimited connections to fixed route buses for 90 minutes. D2A2 tickets are $8, with discounts available for advance bookings, seniors, and customers with disabilities.

Throughout its existence, the AAATA has worked on projects with other government agencies within Washtenaw county in order to improve transit service.

The AAATA's current long term project plan, called TheRide 2045, sets a high level vision for how the AAATA plans to expand service. Goals include reducing travel times, addressing equity gaps, and improving environmental outcomes. The plan was created with assistance of a public advisory group and after an 18 month public engagement process. An early part of this plan is a new property tax for the AAATA service area starting in 2024 which, in addition to addressing a structural deficit, will increase hours, provide at least 30 minute headways on weekends, and add an express route between the Blake Transit Center and the Ypsilanti Transit Center. Information specialists began staffing the YTC on for the first time since the center opened.

In 1973, the city of Ann Arbor and the AATA agreed to a system that would provide a computerized traffic light system to provide buses with priority. As of 2018, Transit Signal Priority options were still being studied.

TheRide recommended to the AAATA board in October 2023 to pilot hydrogen fuel cell buses, with the AAATA contributing $1.1 1.5 million and federal grants paying an additional $4.4 6 million.