This just in:

MEMORIAL DAY TRANSIT SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED

ANN ARBOR, MI - The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority will not operate regular fixed-route bus service, A-Ride paratransit, or Good As Gold senior taxi services on Monday, May 26, 2008 in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.  Regular bus, paratransit and senior taxi services will resume on Tuesday, May 27.

Passengers may take advantage of AATA’s Holiday Ride shared-ride taxi service on Monday for just $5 a person.  Seniors and persons with disabilities with an AATA identification card may ride for $2.50.

The Holiday Ride taxi service operates only within the city limits of Ann Arbor.  To schedule a Holiday Ride trip, call 734.528.5432.

AATA will close its offices at 2700 South Industrial Highway and the Blake and Ypsilanti Transit Centers on Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day.

The three facilities will re-open for business on Tuesday, May 27.

Bus route and schedule information is available at 734.996.0400 and on AATA’s Web Site at www.TheRide.org.

When gas hits $4.00 a gallon, people start to change their behavior.

And yes, it can even happen in the Motor City, as this Detroit News article reports.

According to the article:

• SMART, Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, which transports riders throughout Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties, saw a 10 percent increase in customers this April compared to last, from an average daily ridership of 40,000 to 44,000. That’s the highest average since the bus system started in 1967. Year-to-date, SMART ridership is up 6.5 percent over the same period last year.

• Detroit city buses transported 7.7 percent more riders from July 2007 through March 2008 than it did the same period a year ago. Average daily ridership went from 130,000 to 140,000.

• The number boarding Amtrak trains between Pontiac, Detroit and Chicago from October 2007 to April 2008 increased 5.2 percent over the same period a year ago, to 260,000 riders.

• The number of passengers nationwide taking the 2-year-old Megabus — which has a route from Detroit to Chicago — more than doubled from 2006 to 2007, to 650,000 riders last year. The service expects to exceed that this year.

FYI, the Megabus stops at State Street in Ann Arbor. More info here.

• Carpooling also is attracting converts. The RideShare carpool program sponsored by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments had 3,456 riders in its database last year. This year, it’s grown to 3,657.

FYI the AATA just created some awesome new carpool software. More info here.

I am working on getting some stats from the AATA. I’ll post them if and when I get them.

Last week the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority began running the A2 Chelsea Express

This is an awesome service, because they are using Coach Buses, with nice padded seats and the bus goes on the highway, so it doesn’t take that long.

This Commuter Bus service departs the Arctic Coliseum (501 Coliseum Dr.) in Chelsea at 6:14 and 7:11am and arrives in downtown Ann Arbor around 6:30 and 7:30am.  The service leaves downtown Ann Arbor at around 3:50 and 5:19pm and gets back to Chelsea at 4:15 and 5:44pm.  View the schedule here.

The service costs just $125 a month, which is cheaper than paying for gas for the same distance!

And the bus has a guaranteed ride home program, so if you need to get home or somewhere else in a emergency, AATA will pay to get you there.

Don’t believe it’s cheaper?  Take the MDOT Cost Calculator and see for yourself.   I plugged into the calculator that I:

• work full time (21 days a month)
• commute 32 miles roundtrip daily (the distance from Chelsea to A2)
• pay $3.49 a gallon for gas (which is cheap these days)
• my car gets 30 miles to the gallon
• and I am not paying for parking

With just those numbers, the calculator estimates my cost for driving at $367.14 a month!

So consider taking this bus so you can save money on gas and parking.

Learn more about the A2 Chelsea Bus by clicking here