Mike Eller for Ypsilanti City Council: Ward 3

Regarding the current budget difficulties: 

The burden of keeping the bus routes open should not be put on the shoulders of the already overtaxed citizens of Ypsilanti. 

If the AATA must have more money to keep the routes open, then there should be further negotiations to include Washtenaw Community College, EMU, St. Joe Hospital, and other large entities that benefit from the routes, to further assist with the costs.  More corporate donors and more advertising should be explored as well. 

AATA should also find ways to cut costs, and run its operation more efficiently (smaller, less costly vehicles for less populated routes; more direct routes) and as a last resort, if necessary, raise the rates.  Twenty five or fifty cents can go a long way.  Those of us who drive cars and pay at the pump are all paying substantially more, so why can’t those who ride the bus pay a little more?  In these tough economic times, we all must pull our own weight.  

Additionally, the bus service should find a way to get from Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor in less than an hour, then, it might have more riders, which produces a broader base of revenue, thereby reducing our need to tax residents even more.

Long term solution:

Privatize the bus system.  Mike Eller is a free market, private enterprise guy.  He believes with the proper amount of thought, time, and work, anything can be done, if approached, planned and executed correctly.   

E-mail:  mike@mikeellerforypsi.com