Results from the TMP Public Outreach Program

A Transit Master Plan or TMP is a comprehensive, 20-year plan that will guide the future development of The Rapid transit system. The following is a section pulled from the approved TMP. Download the full Transit Master Plan from The Rapid's TMP website.

What We Heard From the People

One of the most remarkable results of the Transit Master Plan (TMP) public outreach program was the commonality of the remarks, whether they came from a resident at a public meeting, a business leader at a Mobile Metro 2030 meeting or from an agency representative at the Technical Advisory Team (TAT) meeting. Participants shared a great sense of civic pride. They understood that transportation, and transit specifically, can help shape a place, and they generally wanted to use transit to help make greater Grand Rapids a vibrant, thriving place where their children would want to stay, work and live. The primary difference was which projects they felt could best help the community and which were most cost‐effective and feasible over a 20‐year planning horizon.

Regarding improvements to the local bus network, there was general consensus that The Rapid needed to provide evening, weekend and holiday services on most, if not all, of their routes. Certain parts of the service area, such as the Burton Street corridor, are inaccessible via transit during these periods. There was also general consensus that more frequent services should be provided particularly on routes that operate with 60-minute frequencies. Another issue that was shared among most participants was a need for improved downtown circulation. The Downtown Area Shuttle (DASH) is administered by the[EXLINK '501'] City of Grand Rapids Department of Parking Services[/EXLINK] but is operated by The Rapid and by design primarily serves parking lots in and around downtown Grand Rapids. It is also open to the public.

Any recommended improvements in the local bus service, such as expanded spans of service and holiday service, would also apply to GO!Bus. Programs that would make GO!Bus easier to use, such as a same day reservation program, were also discussed.

There was also broad support for new types of transit services, although participants expressed preferences for certain transit technologies over others. Most participants had been exposed previously to Bus Rapid Transit through the millage request effort for the Silver Line, were very supportive of the project and wanted to see it in included the TMP. Most thought BRT could be an effective transit option on other corridors in greater Grand Rapids. Most people also thought there was a need to bring people from communities outside the service area into downtown Grand Rapids using an express/commuter service. The modern streetcar, while generally supported as a transit technology, had the widest range of opinions. The opinions ranged from the circulator service provided by the streetcar being necessary but that it could be provided by rubber‐tired vehicles to people wanting streetcar or light rail connecting Grand Rapids to the airport, Lake Michigan, Kalamazoo and Lansing.

See the Full Master Transit Plan