World offers Detroit examples of good urban transit

freep.com : "“You could go from one end of the Ruhr to the other on public transport. You’re moving through different communities but you wouldn’t know it. And if you get off the train, it doesn’t matter, you can just get on another.”

Nor were bicycle and walking paths neglected.

“Everywhere you went the first thing you saw was a big map beside the bus station or the train station, where the pathways was as highly noticeable on the map as the roads, as clear, so you could work out how to walk everywhere you went. We could walk literally everywhere,” he said.

In Melbourne, he found much the same, including a downtown tram network that was free to ride. Like the systems in Germany, it provided a reliable, safe and inexpensive alternative to the automobile."

Voters in Kalamazoo, Saginaw back public transit taxes

seattlepi.com: "KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Voters in Kalamazoo and Saginaw backed taxes for public transportation.

The Kalamazoo Gazette reports voters in communities served by Kalamazoo Metro Transit approved a tax Tuesday allowing more frequent runs and late-night service on some routes, plus expanded service from six days a week to seven. Unofficial results say the margin was almost 2-to-1.

The Saginaw News reports voters renewed a millage that helped support Saginaw's public transportation for the past 20 years. According to unofficial results, more than 75 percent backed the Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Services tax."