[subterranean]

I'm totally for more efficient bus service in Eaton County, but I don't quite understand an extension of CATA to "Marketplace". There are nothing but big box stores out there, mostly selling large items for the home, e.g. furniture and home improvement stores, with barely any housing in the vicinity. The only destination I see typical bus riders accessing on that extension would be Walmart. You certainly can't fit a couch on a CATA bus.

If it's part of a larger plan to connect the two systems, then maybe it makes sense. But would there be the ridership? And I don't quite understand connecting Charlotte to Lansing. Who the heck rides a bus from Charlotte to Lansing, especially if it's a connection from other parts of the county? I would guess it would take nearly an hour and a half to get from Eaton Rapids to "Marketplace", and then another 30-45 minutes to downtown Lansing, if one were so inclined.

My philosophy: live where you work, work where you live. Eaton County is rural small towns and Lansing sprawl. This is one case where I think countywide transit is just plain stupid. We should be doing a better job of desnsifying our corridors with housing in a land use pattern that makes sense for transit. Otherwise, we're just putting a band-aid on a gaping wound.