TheRide 2045

TheRide has been an essential resource in the greater Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area for more than 50 years. It has grown incrementally based on community needs; providing fixed-route bus service, on-demand services like A-Ride and FlexRide, and commuter services like vanpooling and park-and-ride lots.

TheRide 2045 Long-Range Plan provides a vision for a long-term system plan and shorter-term implementation steps for public transit in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area. The plan focuses on improving social equity by increasing access to jobs and housing, while also contributing to a cleaner environment and a vibrant economy.

TheRide 2045 Long Range Plan logo

Public Engagement

The public engagement for TheRide 2045 plan development has ended. Future opportunities to provide input will be made at a later date.

Passengers boarding bus heading to airport
Student in wheelchair at library
Elder woman waiting at bus shelter

About the Long-Range Planning Process

TheRide 2045 Long-Range Plan was developed over four phases.

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Project Timeline

The first phase, Spring 2021, is centered around establishing the guiding principles that will be at the core of every decision we make for the rest of the plan.

  • Establish Public Advisory Group
  • Engage with Stakeholders and Public Advisory Group
  • What We Heard Report 1
  • Guiding Principles

In Phase 2, we take a detailed look at how TheRide operates now, and what projected challenges and opportunities are on the horizon for the year 2045. We will develop a long list of solutions and strategies, then work to refine that list into realistic, feasible ideas.

  • Present vs. future context analysis
  • Workshops with Stakeholders and Public Advisory Group
  • Long list of solutions and priorities

Phase 3 takes place in the Fall of 2021. This is when the solutions and strategies will be grouped into similar categories to show how they would be  applied in the greater Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area. The solutions and strategies will be consistent with the guiding principles established earlier. A high level of public engagement will be held during this phase.

  • Public Meeting 1
  • Online Survey
  • Workshops with Stakeholders and the Public Advisory Group
  • What We Heard Report 2
  • Draft solutions and network design
  • Public Meeting 2
  • What We Heard Report 3

During Phase 4 we will use what we heard and group ideas into specific, sequenced projects with budgets and timelines. Projects in 2025 will be more detailed than projects in 2045. This approach will allow us to stay on track over the next 25 years.

  • Recommended solutions and network design
  • Workshops with Stakeholders and the Public Advisory Group
  • Implementation staging
  • Financial Analysis
  • TheRide 2045 Long-Range Plan (Final Report)
  • Presentation to the Board of Directors

Once completed, TheRide 2045: Long-Range Plan will be adopted by TheRide and put into action.

Reports

Spring 2022: 

Fall 2021

Spring 2021

Group meeting in office building, woman in wheelchair
Man in business suit commuting on bike
Man wearing headphones in home office viewing laptop screen

Public Advisory Group

To guide us through the process, a Public Advisory Group consisting of a diverse group of customers and community members provided direct input. This Advisory Group matched the demographics of the service area and TheRide’s customers as closely as possible.

The Public Advisory Group provided ongoing input for the development of TheRide 2045 Long-Range Plan to ensure it met the community’s and customer’s vision for transit. While this is a non-voting group its purpose was to bring different perspectives into the long-range plan.

This group matched the demographics of the service area and TheRide’s customers as closely as possible. This includes race, geographic area, age, gender, employment and other characteristics that diversified the group.