The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority secured a $6.6 million state grant to study bus rapid transit along Washtenaw County’s busiest transit corridor, connecting Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the funding Tuesday, Oct. 13, as part of $65 million in awards from the Michigan Department of Transportation's Infrastructure Projects Authority Fund (IPAF). The fund was created under Michigan's fiscal year 2026 budget and roads funding plan to support new and expanded transit projects statewide.

TheRide's grant will pay for a study of bus rapid transit, or BRT, on the Washtenaw Avenue-Huron Street-Jackson Avenue corridor. The proposed route would roughly follow the Interstate 94 Business Loop, The Michigan Daily reported. It would start on Jackson Avenue near Maple Road, continue through downtown Ann Arbor on Huron Street, then run along Washtenaw Avenue to U.S. 23 and end in downtown Ypsilanti.

The route largely tracks TheRide's Route 4. It is one of the system's highest-ridership lines.

Raymond Hess, a project developer at TheRide, told WEMU the corridor carries more riders than any other in the system.

"This corridor is our highest ridership corridor in the entire system," Hess said. "It transports a lot of people to and from the City of Ypsi to the City of Ann Arbor to Eastern Michigan University, University of Michigan and all the points in between."

Hess said the study should help determine what a BRT system on the corridor would include. The grant will fund data collection, public input, preliminary engineering and a push for federal approval of a BRT concept, according to a release from TheRide.

The Michigan Daily reported the study will explore features common to BRT systems. Those include queue jump lanes that let buses bypass traffic at stoplights, traffic signal priority that adjusts red-light cycles for buses and dedicated bus lanes.

TheRide's long-range plan, TheRide 2045, envisions buses arriving along the BRT corridor as often as every five minutes during peak hours. Stops would be spaced farther apart and could include arrival information displays, larger shelters and ticketing machines, according to The Michigan Daily’s account of the plan.

Matt Carpenter, CEO of TheRide, said in the press release that the funding marks a significant step toward the agency's long-term regional transit goals.

State Rep. Jason Morgan, D-Ann Arbor, said in a statement that investing in transit means investing in people's time. Morgan said no one should have to spend hours commuting because they lack reliable transportation.

TheRide's $6.6 million award was one of several IPAF grants statewide. The first round also included $10 million for Detroit's People Mover rail car project and nearly $14 million for two Genesee County transit projects.