LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)– The Michigan Department of Transportation awarded the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA), a $1.7 million Mobility Challenge grant.
The grant is a part of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Equitable Mobility Challenge Solving Mobility Gaps program.
CATA officials say the funds will be used to provide micro-transit services for third-shift workers in Lansing, Delta Township, and an MSU-to-airport zone. The service is called CATA Rydz and an app will be launched Nov. 12, 2024.
“The necessity of this service emerges from the geographic dispersion of manufacturing and warehousing facilities,” said CATA CEO Bradley T. Funkhouser in a news release.
“Manufacturing jobs have been the backbone of the Greater Lansing regional economy, but these facilities have increasingly moved to rural areas outside of the urban core on parcels of undeveloped land, which do not have sufficient access to CATA’s existing fixed-route system. As a result, minority and low-income communities have long been excluded from opportunity and economic mobility within the region.”
“Overnight microtransit in the Greater Lansing region will ensure that third-shift, transit-dependent workers in the manufacturing and warehouse sectors have transportation to get home from work, improving equitable access to job opportunities in our region. Indeed, nearly 40% of residents living in the Greater Lansing region reside in single-car or no-car households, which inhibits their ability to commute to and from work,” said Lansing Mayor Andy Schor.
“Opportunities for those without access to a vehicle — primarily marginalized populations — to apply for good-paying jobs, obtain gainful employment and achieve upward mobility are far less prevalent. Microtransit will bring prosperity to underserved communities and aid CATA’s mission to enhance transportation options for an often-overlooked demographic,” said Schor.
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