MUSKEGON, MI – The possibility of the MATS bus system becoming independent from Muskegon County, and even combining with the Grand Haven area’s transit system, will be the focus of an upcoming study.
The study will look at the governance of the Muskegon Area Transit System (MATS) and Harbor Transit bus operations, and explore opportunities to collaborate and even consolidate their organizations.
MATS operates a fixed-route bus system in Muskegon County while Harbor Transit provides on-demand curb-to-curb transportation services in northern Ottawa County. Harbor Transit also operates summer trolleys and a “beach express” service.
The study comes on the heels of a route study for the financially strapped MATS that resulted in significant route changes and service reductions in September. Following that study, the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners agreed to explore the potential for changes to the governance of MATS as well as the possibility of the Harbor Transit Authority taking over operations.
Harbor Transit and MATS approached the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission for help investigating their governing structures, WMSRDC Executive Director Erin Kuhn told MLive. A $150,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation, funded with federal and state money, was received to conduct the study and facilitate conversations surrounding its eventual conclusions, Kuhn said.
WMSRDC will seek a third party to conduct the study, which is expected to be completed late next year, she said.
Related: Bus routes change, Saturday service ends in Muskegon soon
The earlier route study by FourSquare Integrated Transportation Planning compared the governance structure of MATS with eight “peer” transit systems. Of those, only one other is county-operated while five, including Harbor Transit, are operated by independent authorities. The other two are operated by cities.
One operational change could involve MATS becoming independent of the county and being run by a transit authority board that could include representatives of the communities the bus system serves, MATS Manager Jim Koens told MLive. Depending on how it is structured, an authority would have the ability to levy a tax to help support operations, as is the case with Harbor Transit.
Among the questions surrounding MATS is who should be making decisions on its operations: the county, which provides no direct funding, or other stakeholders, Koens said.
MATS currently receives no general fund revenue from the county, instead operating on state and federal grants, municipal contributions and fares, Koens said.
Funding has fallen short in recent years, including a $400,000 deficit in fiscal year 2019 that led to route changes, the elimination of Saturday service and the halt of the “Go-Bus” door-to-door service. A Go-Bus style dial-a-ride service is expected to be restored through a contract with a third-party vendor, though likely not Harbor Transit, Koens said.
MATS’ financial situation continues to be challenged in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has “affected the movement of people and their interest in getting out anywhere, let alone on public transit,” Koens said.
“The financial concerns we had were pre-COVID,” he said. “We were working on change prior to COVID. It just provided another curveball for us.”
The county board in January, prior to the pandemic, approved a motion seeking “exploration of various transportation authority (PTA) governance and Regional Harbor Transit Authority (RHTA) opportunity to operate the local transit program in the future.”
Even if the two transit systems remain separate entities, possibilities exist to coordinate services, Koens said. MATS service goes as far as Pontaluna Road, about a mile from the boundaries of the Harbor Transit service, he said.
“Those possibilities exist now if they were able to be funded,” Koens added.
Harbor Transit operates in Grand Haven city and township, Spring Lake village and township and Ferrysburg. It is overseen by a board of directors comprised of members representing those communities, including government officials, social agency representatives and passengers. It also has an advisory committee.
Scott Borg, director of Harbor Transit, could not be reached for comment.
Kuhn said that while the study will not look at service routes, it does make sense to look at how the two transit systems can coordinate. That is especially important since employees move back and forth between the two counties to get to work, she said.
“There’s employers on both sides, in both counties, while their employees live in the other county,” Kuhn said. “But public transit doesn’t cross the border.”
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