Study Shows Majority Support Proposed Ann Arbor – Howell Rail

The survey, conducted by Illium and Associates of Bellevue, Washington, interviewed 100 Washtenaw County residents and 101 Livingston County residents within the areas along the proposed WALLY commuter rail line to gauge the public’s interest in a commuter rail service.

According to the research report, 75 percent of Washtenaw County and 80 percent of Livingston County residents surveyed support the idea of a Washtenaw-Livingston county commuter rail service. Within Livingston County, the study found that 61 percent of respondents would be interested using WALLY for their daily commute.

“We still have a lot of work ahead of us to make sure WALLY can move forward,” said AATA CEO Michael Ford. “But the findings in this survey are very encouraging.”

The survey also found that a majority of Livingston and Washtenaw county respondents believe that public transit services are important to the economy. Seventy-nine percent of Livingston county respondents and 92 percent of Washtenaw County respondents said that public transportation is important to the local economy.

“It’s clear that area residents can see the benefits of commuter rail and believe that WALLY would be an economic boost to the area,” said Ford. “Our next steps will be to continue the planning process to ensure that WALLY is a viable north-south transportation solution.”

The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority is a member of the WALLY Coalition, a broad-based group of community organizations seeking to determine the feasibility of a north-south commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Howell. In addition to AATA, the WALLY Coalition includes representatives from the cities of Ann Arbor and Howell, Washtenaw and Livingston counties, the University of Michigan, Washtenaw Area Transportation Study, the Michigan Department of Transportation, Northfield and Hamburg townships, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, Washtenaw Community College, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, local Chambers of Commerce, and other interested groups and individuals from throughout the WALLY proposed service area.

To view the full WALLY survey reports, please visit www.theride.org/wally.asp

The latest information on AATA routes, schedules and detours is available at 734.996.0400 and on the AATA Routes and Schedules page.