Ann Arbor connects to Canton with commuter bus

Ann Arbor continues its slow march to bring more people into the center of its city with fewer cars thanks to a $495,000 federal grant.The money will establish a commuter bus between Ann Arbor and Canton. The bus will make two trips in the morning and two more in the evening between Independence Park in Canton and downtown Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan’s Central Campus and Hospital.”This service will mirror the same service we have in Chelsea,” says Mary Stasiak, a spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. AATA used a similar federal grant to set up the same type of service between Chelsea and Ann Arbor’s downtown area. This and the Canton bus are targeting downtown workers and employees at the University of Michigan. The university estimates it has about 3,000 employees who live in the Canton area.The Canton commuter bus is expected to begin service sometime between the end of July and the end of August. The grant is expected to pay for that service for at least a couple of years as it establishes itself.Source: Mary Stasiak, a spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor Transportation AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke