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A $570,000,000 tax to fund empty buses with blacked out windows.  The average bus has only 3.88 riders, and it costs SMART $3.70 to move one passenger one mile.  VOTE NO.

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Less than 1% of the tax funds go toward senior transportation.  Only $550,000 of $57,000,000 is shared with local communities.  VOTE NO.

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Buses add more traffic (3x as long as a car), create more potholes (6x as heavy as a car), and emit more smog (6-10x the emissions of a car).  VOTE NO.

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SMART lied in 2022 about bus lines.  They promised routes to Clarkston, Oxford and through the Western Lakes.  Four years later, none of those exist.  VOTE NO.

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The Detroit News Says "Vote No on Smart"

Read full "Vote No" Endorsement here.  Excerpt below.

"The language of the Wayne County ballot proposal describes it as replacing a previous millage, but that's only true for the communities currently in SMART. For the 17 opt-out communities, tax bills will go up significantly.

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Another way SMART and its backers are greasing the proposal's path to passage is by putting it on Aug. 4 primary ballot, when voter turnout is much lower than in the fall general election and tax measures have a better chance of gaining approval.

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We generally don't support primary ballot tax requests. Tax hikes should be presented to voters in elections with the highest participation levels to ensure maximum community input and support.

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We see no reason to make an exception for the SMART proposal. There's no urgency for its passage; it could have waited until November.

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We also find the tax-your-neighbors mechanism of this proposal unsavory.

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SMART was designed as a voluntary authority. Yet now communities are being forced to join, even if they don't feel a need for the service.

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The only way for voters to hold SMART to its original promise is vote no on the transit authority proposal."

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Another wasteful tax is Not SMART!

ATTENTION WAYNE COUNTY RESIDENTS:

 

Wayne County, through its Transit Authority, is looking to impose A NEW TAX on over one million residents, including a double tax on the City of Detroit.

 

This tax, totaling at least a HALF A BILLION DOLLARS, will continue to waste money on the wildly inefficient and wasteful system that is the Southeast Michigan Authority for Regional Transit, or SMART.  This tax increase is a bad idea, and we want taxpayers to know it is Not SMART.

 

Complete this form to join our movement to fight off this ridiculous tax!

 

Read more below to find out how your money is wasted, how their promises aren’t kept, and how they are hiding their poor performance.

Thanks for submitting!

New Bus Tax
Presentation

Get Involved

Not SMART is a group of citizens organizing to reduce costs and return money to the pockets of Wayne County voters. For some municipalities, this effort is a message to the inefficient SMART system that we will not be pumping more money into their poorly-run program. And for others, this effort rejects the idea that our citizens should pay for a service that residents don’t want or need.

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The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transit, or SMART, is the regional provider of fixed-line bus services in Wayne County outside of Detroit. Detroit has its own system called DDOT.  Since 1994, cities and townships in Wayne County have had the right to opt-out of the fixed-line service. But in 2024, the right of much of Wayne County to opt-out was removed by the State Legislature.

In 2026, SMART will be putting a new tax for the communities not previously covered, and a renewal for those already paying, on the ballot. It’s a bad idea for taxpayers.  because:

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  • Bus fares contribute only 3% of revenue.

  • The average bus has just 3.88 riders.

  • SMART pension fund has a $72M dollar hole.

  • Taxpayers already subsidize 97% of SMART cost.

  • No local control

  • Service not tied to contribution

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