With many agencies and services available, public transit continues to be a viable option for communters throughout Southwest Michigan. The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission's role in public transit is to provide technical assistance and planning to the transit agencies.
For more information on public transit click on the county of interest:
Berrien County
Cass County
Van Buren County
In 2005, the SWMPC completed a transit study and implementation handbook for Van Buren Public Transit. This study looked at all aspects of the agency from ridership, to expenses, to vehicles, staff, and needs. The SWMPC assisted Van Buren County with an application to the Govenor's office (Centers for Regional Excellence grant program) to purchase and implement new technology for Van Buren Public Transit and human service providers.
In July, 2007, the SWMPC received funding to complete a coordination plan for Berrien County. This study will focus on the coordination of the multiple transit and human service agencies to increase customer satisfaction for transit users and to increase efficiencies for the public transit agencies.
In 2008, SWMPC's grant proposal was one of eight selected for funding by the National Center for Senior Transportation (NCST). The grant funds are being used to purchase web-based software for public transit agencies in southwest Michigan to improve customer satisfaction, increase effeciency and lessen staff time spent on generating reports.
