Transportation

A123 Systems goes public with IPO

One of Ann Arbor's biggest employers for engineering and R&D talent is going public. A123 Systems issued an initial public offering last week of 28,180,501 shares of its common stock at $13.50 per share.An IPO is a sign of not only that a company has arrived but expects significant growth in the near term. The Massachusetts-based firm bought Ann Arbor's T/J Technologies in 2006 and is maintaining its presence in the city. That equals out to 300 of its 1,000 employees in Ann Arbor, and both numbers are expected to grow. A123 Systems specializes in hybrid and high power lithium technology that goes in the next generation of cars, like the Chevrolet Volt. It plans to build a lithium-ion battery factory in Novi after receiving a $69 million investment fro General Electric. A123 Systems is one of the main beneficiaries of the billions of dollars of federal money being invested into electric- and hybrid-car development. The federal government is making these huge investments with the idea of putting 5 million hybrid or plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2013.Source: A123 SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Downtown Ann Arbor, U-M expand Zipcar fleets

Ann Arbor's Zipcar fleets continue to rise in the downtown/university area of the college town.The downtown fleet plans to add two more (six total) this fall. That's on top of the two Ford Escapes that are about to be delivered to the University of Michigan's fleet, which will total 15 by the end of the month. About 1,400 students, faculty and staff at the university utilizing its Zipcar fleet. The fleet has a 45 percentage utilization rate over a 24-7 basis, which is considered ideal because it makes sure a car is always available."More and more people are taking advantage of it," says Nancy Shore, director of Ann Arbor's getDowntown program that oversees the downtown Zipcar fleet.Also up is the number of go!passes being ordered in downtown Ann Arbor. About 5,195 go!passes had been order at this time last year. So far that number is up almost 300 with 5,455 ordered. The go!pass is part of Ann Arbor's getDowntown program. The pass allows free unlimited usage of Ann Arbor Transportation Authority's buses to employees located downtown, except U-M employees. Businesses can purchase these for $5 per employee as long as it buys one for every full-time employee. For information on go!pass or Zipcar contact Shore at (734) 214-0100 or at nancy@annarborchamber.org. Source: Nancy Shore, director of getDowntownWriter: Jon Zemke

Detroit ‘amazed’ by service that lets drivers borrow a car whenever they want

Even Detroit is starting to discover the magical community car called Zipcar in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:Drivers like Al McWilliams increasingly concern the auto industry.McWilliams is part of a growing community of people who don't own a car and don't want to. He has no monthly car payment. He doesn't pay for insurance or gas or parking fees.But for $125 a year and less than $10 an hour, McWilliams still has all the wheels he needs and the gas to fuel them. He just whips out his ZipCard and heads for one of two lots in downtown Ann Arbor to use a Toyota Matrix or Scion xD."I'm saving $5,000 a year easy, plus gas," said the single 29-year-old founder of Quack Media, a multimedia marketing service based in the college town.Read the rest of the story here.

WCC answers parking problem with alt transportation

Washtenaw Community College is dealing with its highest enrollment ever, which means the commuter campus is experiencing its greatest demand for parking (and lack of supply) ever.Most other Midwest institutions would conclude they need to build more parking. Well Washtenaw Community College is dealing with the acute parking shortage by asking its students to take the vehicle less traveled to – alternative transportation."We still have a parking problem but we're redoubling efforts to alleviate the problem," says Janet Hawkins, director of public relations and marketing for Washtenaw Community College.Those efforts include encouraging more bicycling to class, car pooling and bus service. The college has sold 1,100 $10 bus passes to students and faculty. The passes allow them to park at a parking lot near Eastern Michigan University's Rynerson Stadium and bus to the college's campus between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti.College officials are also trying to reschedule some classes to alleviate the student traffic at peak times of the day between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. They are also reminding students that the college is hooked into the Border to Border Trail and the campus features numerous bike racks."Bicycling is a wonderful alternative because we have great paths," Hawkins says.Source: Janet Hawkins, director of public relations and marketing for Washtenaw Community CollegeWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor continues hybrid bus expansion with 7 new buses

Input sought on Ann Arbor’s new Fuller train station concept

What's planned for the proposed Fuller Road transit station and what people want to see there will be at the center of a public meeting scheduled for next Thursday, Sept. 17.The city and University of Michigan are spending nearly $500,000 to create conceptual plans for a new railroad-centric mass transit center on Fuller Road near University of Michigan Hospital. The new station would facilitate everything from bicycles and pedestrians to buses and rail lines.The Fuller Road transit station would replace surface parking lots at the intersection of Fuller and Maiden Lane. It would connect the Border-to-Border Trail, AATA buses, the proposed Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line, Chicago-Detroit high-speed rail line and bus rapid transit/streetcar line to downtown.This project is part of the Ann Arbor Connector Feasibility Study - a study that would call for creating a crescent moon-shaped line for either streetcars or bus rapid transit system or enhance bus service.The city is holding the informational meeting at 3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. in the City Council chambers of the City Hall, 100 N Fifth St. For information, contact Cooper at ecooper@a2gov.com or (734) 794-6000, ext. 43710.Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

New study shows strong support for WALLY rail line

Support continues to climb for the proposed Washtenaw-Livingston Line (WALLY) for commuter trains. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority says that in a polling of 100 residents of Washtenaw County, 75 percent are in favor of the line, while 80 percent of 101 residents of Livingston County are in favor of it. Bellevue, Washington-based Illium Associates conducted the study.It also found that 61 percent  of respondents from Livingston County would be interested in using WALLY for their daily commute. Other statistics show 79 percent of Livingston County and 92 percent of Washtenaw County respondents, respectively, believe that public transit services are important to the local economy.   The study is not a scientific one. Instead, it focused on collecting the opinions of residents 18 years and older from phone interviews. The respondents live along the proposed route, which includes the townships of Ann Arbor, Northfield, Green Oak, Hamburg, Genoa, Marion and Howell, along with the cities of Ann Arbor, Brighton and Howell."It's the equivalent of having 10 focus groups in each county," says Mary Stasiak, spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority.The authority is gearing up for a more comprehensive study to be conducted early this fall. Stasiak says this will give a more accurate picture of where the proposal stands.WALLY calls for creating a commuter rail line between Ann Arbor and Howell along the constantly congested stretch of U-23. Stops would include the north side of Ann Arbor, Green Oak Township, Hamburg Township, Genoa Township, and downtown Howell. Although proponents of the project have been fighting for it for years, they have not been able to nail down the several million dollars needed to upgrade the tracks and fund the service initially.Source: Mary Stasiak, spokeswoman for the Ann Arbor Transportation AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

Mass transit round-up in Ann Arbor area

Mass transit advocates won one and lost one in Ann Arbor this month. Welcome the Canton Express commuter bus. Say goodbye to The Link bus loop through downtown.The Canton Express began operation earlier this week, connecting commuters from the Plymouth/Canton area to downtown Ann Arbor. The bus makes two trips from Canton's Independence Park in the morning and returns twice in the afternoon. It makes stops at the University of Michigan, U-M Hospital and downtown.The Canton Express is run on the same concept as an identical line between Chelsea and Ann Arbor. The Chelsea line started last year and has built a steady ridership. The idea is to help downtown and U-M workers make their daily commute more efficiently, allowing more people to use downtown without having to find homes for their cars.Gone is The Link downtown bus. The little purple busses connected downtown and far reaches of U-M's campus with a number of stops in between, similar to how The People Mover works in downtown Detroit. The Link, which has been around for most of this decade, never lived up to ridership expectations and was cut so the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority could maintain other bus services.Source: Ann Arbor Transportation AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M Zipcar fleets adds 2 cars, expands fleet to 15

The University of Michigan's Zipcar fleet has grown beyond a baker's dozen and can now barely be counted on three hands.The university just received two new vehicles, rounding out the Zipcar fleet to a total of 15 automobiles. Those cars range from Ford Focuses to Honda hybrids to Mini Coopers."We have a wide variety of fuel efficient vehicles," says Grant Winston, an associate director with the university's Parking & Transportation Services Dept, which oversees the Zipcar fleet.Zipcar is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm that specializes in providing European-style car sharing in urban centers. Users pay a small annual fee to be able to rent a car on an hourly basis, which is often cheaper than renting a car for a day from car-rental company. About 1,400 students, faculty and staff at the university utilize its Zipcar fleet. The fleet has a 45 percentage utilization rate over a 24-7 basis, which is considered ideal because it makes sure a car is always available. Downtown Ann Arbor also started its own Zipcar fleet, which now consists of four vehicles."We have a growing portion of our membership among students," Winston says. "Undergraduate students aren't allowed to have a car on campus so this gives them wheels when they need them."Source: Grant Winston, associate director at the University of Michigan's Parking & Transportation Services DeptWriter: Jon Zemke