Growth in ridership highlights Parking and Transportation presentation

More than five million passengers rode U-M buses last year, an 11 percent increase from 2004-05, Dave Miller, director of Parking and Transportation Services, told the Board of Regents in an annual update Nov. 17. Miller also noted five new parking structures are planned to open over the next five years.

Transportation options are viewed by University officials as part of the solution to increased parking demand, he said.

"Our intent is to provide mobility options and transportation choices, not just add parking," Miller explained. "We definitely need to increase parking capacity to meet University growth, but promoting other modes of commuting and travel is still vital to our strategic plan."

The popularity of the U-M bus system continues to grow, Miller noted, as the number of bus riders in September increased 8.6 percent from a year earlier. MRide, a program through the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority (AATA) in which U-M students, staff and faculty can ride any AATA fixed-route service for free, continues to grow as well.

"MRide has increased ridership 24 percent this fall," Miller said. "The program has helped increase AATA ridership almost 30 percent in two years."

Several U-M bus service improvements were implemented this year targeted for student riders.

"We extended ten-minute frequency until 9:45 pm Monday through Friday and 15-minute service from noon to midnight on weekends," he said. "Additionally we've added a Bursley Express service at peak times when the buses fill up at Baits."

Van pools now carry more than 330 U-M employees—triple the number in 2002. "This service is free for the riders," Miller said. "They just have to share the cost of fuel."

New parking structures on Ann Street and at the new Cardiovascular Center (CVC) currently are being constructed. The Ann Street structure is scheduled to open this summer with 535 spaces. The CVC structure, with 465 spaces, is slated to open in 2007.

A new 440-space structure is being planned for Division Street in 2008 as well as a 600-space structure on North Campus in 2009 and a 600-space structure on Wall Street in 2010, he said.

Miller also identified plans to address event parking at the Charles Walgreen Drama Center and Arthur Miller Theater. "We have 140 visitor parking spaces at Pierpont Commons which we'll control for theater events when the Arthur Miller Theater is completed in January 2007. After the auditorium project is done that summer, we'll expand the lot to the east and north to 250 spaces. Then the parking structure is planned for 2009."

Funding for the new structures is provided through parking permit fees. In 2004, regents approved parking permit rates for three years. Rates for next year will go up three percent for most permit categories—a lower percentage than the current year's increase of 4 to 4.3 percent. Rates for gold permits will continue to increase 10 percent.

"We also plan to increase the visitor hourly rates by ten cents next year," Miller explained.

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