Suburban Detroit Achieves Long-Awaited Bus Service Expansion

Novi and Bloomfield Hills in Southeast Michigan will have transit service for the first time in 28 years.

1 minute read

September 13, 2023, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


A sign for SMART Bus on a pole.

Davslens Photography / Adobe Stock

The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) launched a significant expansion of bus service in its Southeast Michigan service area earlier this week—totaling 68 new bus stops, route exchanges, and route changes.

Most of the changes are occurring in Novi, Wixom, and Bloomfield Hills, according to an article by Anne Runkle for the Oakland Press. “This marks the first time in 28 years that Novi and Bloomfield Hills will have transit services and the inaugural introduction of fixed route transit service in Wixom, the release said,” reports Runkle.

The source article, linked below, includes specific details of the route changes and new stops. Voters enabled the changes by approving a transit millage in November 2022. Regional transit has always struggled to gain political support in the Detroit area. A similar transit millage fell just short of approval in 2016, for example.

Tuesday, September 12, 2023 in The Oakland Press

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