A key component is transportation. We're doing it because employers need to know their employees can get back and forth to work. We're involved as a company because public transportation also relates to a more sophisticated city, a more mature city. David Sanders, vice president of the Metropolitan Affairs Coalition in Detroit, which has funded a rapid bus study, says it also makes a more competitive city. We are competing with other metro areas for jobs, business, tourism and conventions, and simply as a good place to live, work, and raise a family.
Business people are interested because it is a work force issue.
I listen to employers in Macomb and Oakland counties. They have jobs available. They can't link the jobs to the work pool. It's one of those areas where strong business concerns can get together with sprawl and growth and environmental interests. If the political types had to ride the bus for a day, you'd see changes pretty damn quick.