September 24, 2019
Original E-Newsletter found here.
In partnership with Livingston County, Michigan Flyer—part of Indian Trails, Inc.—plans to extend its deluxe airport shuttle service to Brighton on October 1, offering frequent daily motorcoach runs to and from Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW).
The proposed new Michigan Flyer stop will be located at the Meijer store at 8650 W. Grand River Ave., just off highway I-96 near U.S. 23. We’ll pick up and drop off passengers at the south side of the Meijer parking lot, near Cross St. When our motorcoaches arrive at DTW, passengers will be picked up and dropped off at the doors of both the McNamara and North Terminals as usual.
“The new airport service was identified as the highest priority in Livingston County’s recently completed Transit Master Plan,” said Greg Kellogg, director of the Livingston Essential Transportation Service (LETS). “Our goal is to offer citizens more transportation options.”
The Livingston County Board of Commissioners approved the award of a three-year airport service contract to Indian Trails and Michigan Flyer on August 12, along with an option to renew for two more years.“We’re very grateful to Livingston County and LETS for entrusting us with the job of bringing inter-city bus service back to the area after an absence of decades,” said President Chad Cushman of Indian Trails. “Similar to the innovative public-private partnership through which we’ve operated the AirRide service for the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority since 2012, this will give residents a convenient, comfortable, and affordable option for getting to and from the Detroit airport.”
“We owe Meijer a big thank-you, too, for stepping up to provide the community with a great test location for Michigan Flyer, including space for our passengers who want to leave their cars in low-cost, long-term parking while flying to destinations outside of Michigan,” said Cushman.
We have plans in the works to establish a small ticket office/passenger waiting area in a temporary building at the Meijer site.
The adult fare to ride Michigan Flyer between Brighton and DTW will be $22 one way or $40 roundtrip. Per-person fares are even lower for couples or family members traveling together. Tickets are now available for advance purchase online at www.MichiganFlyer.com.
More East Lansing and Ann Arbor Service
Along with the launch of Brighton service on October 1, Michigan Flyer will add more daily roundtrips between the East Lansing Marriott and Detroit Metro Airport, as well as between Ann Arbor’s Blake Transit Center and DTW.
As a result, passengers will enjoy more frequent service to and from the airport, starting earlier in the morning and ending later at night than now. Our schedules are designed to maximize connections with departing and arriving flights at DTW.
The new Monday-Friday weekday schedule starting Oct. 1, 2019, offers 14 daily roundtrips each from East Lansing, Brighton, and Ann Arbor. Our weekend schedules for Saturday and Sunday include 12-14 roundtrips, depending on location. View the new schedules online here.
Another advantage is that the new schedules will make it possible for more people to commute between the cities we serve. Similar to how our current daily runs enable 30,000 people a year to commute between East Lansing and Ann Arbor, the new schedule will connect both East Lansing and Ann Arbor with Brighton.
This service may be especially useful to the 7,300 Livingston County residents who commute to Ann Arbor each month, mostly to visit or work at the University of Michigan Hospital. From Michigan Flyer’s stop at Ann Arbor’s Blake Transit Center, for instance, it’s about a 17-minute ride to the hospital on the AAATA’s bus #23.
The standard fares for travel between Brighton and either East Lansing or Ann Arbor will be $15 one way or $30 roundtrip.
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