Paul S. Enns (@psenns.bsky.social)

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Happy Thursday, Detroit! I’ll be live-skeeting the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) Board Meeting today at 2:00 p.m. on behalf of Detroit Documenters. @detdocumenters.bsky.social.

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Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

This concludes my coverage of the October 22, 2026 SMART Board Meeting. For more meeting coverage, check out www.documenters.org

documenters.orgDocumenters.org: Making Local Government More AccountableAll the info you need on public meetings in your town, in one easy-to-search place. Get TRAINED and PAID to hold your local government accountable. Powered by City Bureau.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

CORRECTION: The Onboard App was installed on 20 buses, not 30. bsky.app/profile/psen...

Paul S. Enns@psenns.bsky.social

Onboard App puts a countdown clock for the driver to see. It includes times for stops. They were installed on 30 buses. The buses performed 9 points better than the other buses in on-time performance.

IMPORTANT: If you believe anything in the coverage today is inaccurate, please email us at documenters@outliermedia.org with "Correction Request" in the subject line.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

The next SMART Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 3, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. It will be held in the Buhl Building, located at 535 Griswold St. Suite 600, Detroit, MI 48226. Please see www.smartbus.org/About/Our-Or... for further information.

smartbus.org Board Meeting Schedule

Board Member Business. There is no Board Member Business. That leaves a motion to adjourn. The motion is approved.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Meeting adjourned at 2:58 p.m.

There is also a proposal to increase non-represented pay by 3%. It is passed.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Next is to approve a contract for Microsoft365, renewing and increasing the number of licenses. It will also include firewall protection. It is motioned, seconded, no discussion, and approved.

New Business. Request approval of a contract with union members. The union has voted in favor. 3% wage increase. The motion is approved.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

This is the first time that all 5 contracts were approved within one year of expiration.

Route training takes about 4 weeks. Onboard App's impact saved a week or more of route training, which would save the $230,000 mentioned earlier in training wages.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Gunter thanks the Swiftly team and those who installed the tablets in the buses. MDOT is providing the funding. More information will be at the next meeting.

Operators rated detour navigation a 4.4 out of 5 through the app. It provided a better way to know about detour directions.

A presentation on the SMART + Swiftly program will begin. It's an onboard app pilot program for dealing with detours and construction disrupting bus routes. On-time performance is about 62% for the last 5 years. It's improved to 71% over the last 10 months.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

The goal is 85%. The program is to provide turn-by-turn directions for drivers. The app is also supposed to reduce training time, saving about $230,000.

Shades of Pink, a breast-cancer awareness group, is presented with a check for $7,145 (and counting), donations from the people at SMART. They take a picture with the big check.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Gunter talks about the industry conference that she attended with some of the board members. She mentions all buses are now wi-fi equipped. It was completed about two weeks ago.

Jeffery Addison, a mechanic is first. Keith Hunter, central dispatcher "Mr. 10-4," is next. Cheryl Steele, paratransit, is third. Marcus Davenport, who's actually worked 30 years, is next.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Andrew Dote (sp?) has also worked 30 years. Brenda Reah-Smith has also worked 30 years. Alonzo Williams has actually worked 35 years. Gunter reads off the remaining list of those not present. Everyone gets a certificate of appreciation and those present get a photo taken.

Things are better this year, but they need to get even better.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

General Manager's Report is next. Tiffany Gunter starts with those who have worked for SMART 25 years.

There is no further in-person commentary and no online commenters.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Chairperson's Report is next. Cooper says it's a lot like the previous Chair because of all the thanks he has. He feels hurt by the commentator's comments about wait times and wants to do something about that, making SMART better.

Public participation begins. Brother Cunningham is first. He thanks the person who gave him passes. He asks about wi-fi for the bus stops and how helpful that would be.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Next person does not introduce herself. Disability issues are her concern. She relates a tale where someone was given transport but forced to wait 3 hours to connect between suburban and city transportation. She considers this unacceptable.

I missed something, the minutes are passed. The executive minutes are passed.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Nominations for new chair and vice-chair are handled. Cooper will become the Chair, Turfe the Vice-Chair. No other nominations. Moved, seconded, passed. The rest of the meeting will be chaired by Cooper.

Roll is called. All present. Minutes are passed.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Public commentary begins. They read out the rules first.

Audio has begun! Think they're about to start.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Meeting called to order at 2:03 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance is done.

For previous SMART Board Meetings, you can find documentation at detroit.documenters.org/reporting/?a....

detroit.documenters.orgReporting | Documenters.orgAll the info you need on public meetings in your town, in one easy-to-search place. Get TRAINED and PAID to hold your local government accountable. Powered by City Bureau.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

Meeting hasn't officially started yet. I can see people talking but can't hear anything. Tested audio on my end shows no issues.

Members: Mr. John Paul Rea, Chair Mr. Eli Cooper, Vice-Chair Ms. Sheila Cote Dr. Curtis Ivery Mr. Royce Maniko Ms. Diana McBroom Mr. Assad Turfe

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

More information about the Directors may be found at www.smartbus.org/About/Our-Or....

smartbus.org Board of Directors

You can also watch the meeting on YouTube at www.youtube.com/@MySMARTBus

youtube.comSMARTSMART is the “everywhere connection” for everyone in metro Detroit. We offer several different types of service to help you connect to work, to school, to wherever you need to be. For more informat...

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

There will be time allotted for public comment. Speakers will be limited to three minutes apiece. You can email comments to be read at the meeting to SMARTBoard@smartbus.org by 1 p.m., too late for this meeting.

In Person: The public is welcome to join the meeting at the Buhl Building, 535 Griswold St., Suite 600, Detroit, MI 48226. The public is also invited to join via Zoom or phone.

Paul S. Enns

@psenns.bsky.social

To join via Zoom or phone, visit www.smartbus.org/About/Our-Or... and download the Public Notice for the Oct. 22, 2026 meeting; instructions are in that document. That page is also where you can get the agenda for the meeting.

smartbus.org Board Meeting Schedule

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