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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
AMBER TOWNSHIP — The Amber Township Board of Trustees may consider increasing the township’s contribution to Ludington Mass Transit Authority (LMTA) in order to continue service and lower per-rider costs along the US 10 corridor.
Since April 2022, Amber Township has contributed $10,000 a year to allow public transportation to businesses between the Pere Marquette Township line (Meyers Road) and the Scottville city limits (east of the US 31 bypass). That contribution has allowed for people who live within the authority’s funded service areas to utilize the service to the US 10 areas that are not funded.
LMTA is mostly funded by 1.1975 mill paid by taxpayers in the cities of Ludington and Scottville along with federal and state reimbursements. The millage collects about $480,000 annually. It also contracts with Pere Marquette Township, which is billed per user through a township-funded rate of .2 mil ($170,000) along with some local agencies/entities such as West Shore Community College and West Michigan Community Mental Health and some senior care facilities.
A pilot program was offered to the Amber Township US 10 corridor from April 2022 until December 2024. The majority of businesses and property owners along the corridor failed to express interest in forming a special tax assessment district. As a result, LMTA needed to raise rates, according to Paul Keson, director of LMTA.
While Amber Township continued to pay a yearly contribution, the cost per rider along the corridor is considerably higher. Fares for riders traveling within the authority’s tax-funded zones (Ludington, Scottville and Pere Marquette Township) pay one-way fares of $2 for adults and $1 per child or senior. Riders traveling to and from the corridor pay one-way fares of $8 per adult and $4 per child/senior.
“Those people are the ones who really need it,” Keson said during the regular monthly meeting of the Amber Township Board of Trustees Monday, Feb. 24. “It eats up their checks.”
Keson said often people will get dropped off at the Pere Marquette Township line and then seek alternative transportation — or walk — to areas in Amber Township.
Since the rate increase, LMTA has seen a drop in ridership into the Amber corridor. During the pilot program with over 7,500 people riding in a year. In 2024, the number dropped to 4,600. However, ridership into the corridor still accounts for 3.5 percent of LMTA’s total ridership.
LMTA’s annual expenses are $2.5 million, 3.5 percent of that is $87,315. But, LMTA receives 34.5 percent reimbursement from the state government and 18% reimbursement from the federal government. If Amber Township were to contribute fully, which would allow passengers to pay the $2/$1 rates, it would need to contribute $34,472 annually.
Keson presented some options for the township board to consider. The full contribution was the first option. The second option would include Amber Township contributing $27,475 which would drop rates to $4/$2. The third option, $20,477, would drop rates to $6/$3.
LMTA’s current millage for Ludington and Scottville will expire the end of this year. Keson said LMTA’s board of directors, which include representatives from the cities of Ludington and Scottville, is expected to approve placing a new request of 1.1975 mill on the November ballot.
Amber Township Supervisor Tom Alway said the township board will be discussing its options as it prepares for its annual budget. The township’s fiscal year begins April 1.
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