Flint’s MTA proposes a downtown bus loop and changes to seven routes

FLINT, Mich. — Flint’s Mass Transportation Authority wants to add a bus loop around downtown and rework seven of its routes, and it is asking riders for feedback before its board votes, WNEM reported.

The new line, Route 14, would link Kettering University, the Flint Cultural Center, Mott Community College’s campus and the University of Michigan-Flint, MTA transit planner Ben Blazen told WNEM. The MTA says the loop would start at its Northrup-Abrams Transportation Center downtown, take about half an hour and run the same hours as its other routes, so buses would come every 30 minutes all day. ABC12 also reported the half-hour loop.

The plan touches Routes 2, 4, 6, 7, 7/6, 10 and 13, according to an MTA public notice. Route 6 would be cut. A 2024 route study recommended dropping it, and passenger counters the MTA put on its buses in the past year showed ridership doesn’t support a full route, the agency says. Parts of Route 6 would move to Routes 2, 7, 13 and the new 14, and the evening Route 7/6 would end along with it.

Route 4 would move up to Flushing Road to better serve the Hurley Medical Center campus, rather than duplicating the new loop on University Avenue. Route 10 would stop going into Courtland Center on its outbound trip from downtown, since Route 15 already serves stops in front of the mall, according to the MTA.

People in areas that lose fixed-route service can still use the MTA’s Your Ride service. “It’s just a different bus will be coming to get you, but someone will come get you still,” Clyde Barnett, the MTA’s supervisor of fixed route services, told WNEM.

Fares would not change, Blazen told the station. The MTA says no fare increase is planned.

Two open houses were held Thursday, Oct. 8, in the Mott Community Room at the Gloria Coles Flint Public Library, 1026 E. Kearsley St. The MTA’s notice listed them from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 6:30 p.m., with a free shuttle from the Northrup-Abrams Transportation Center during the sessions.

Riders can also try the loop before any vote. Free preview rides with a member of the MTA planning team began Monday, Oct. 12, and run again Monday, Oct. 19, at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., leaving the transportation center from a bus on Harrison Street, according to the MTA and ABC12.

Comments are accepted through Friday, Oct. 16, by mail, fax or email, or by phone through MTA customer service at (810) 767-0100. The board is to make its decision at its October meeting, according to the notice. If the changes pass, Blazen told WNEM, the MTA hopes to start them in November or December at the earliest.

Updated Oct. 12, 2026: The Oct. 8 open houses have passed, and the first day of preview rides was Oct. 12. The remaining preview rides are Oct. 19, and comments are still accepted through Oct. 16.

Updated Oct. 13, 2026: The summary was updated because the Oct. 8 open houses have taken place.

Sources:
James Felton, WNEM, “Flint MTA proposes route changes, new downtown loop,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://www.wnem.com/2026/10/05/flint-mta-proposes-route-changes-new-downtown-loop/
Kevin Craft, ABC12 (WJRT), “MTA offering route changes, including adding a new route,” Oct. 6, 2026, https://www.abc12.com/news/local/mta-offering-route-changes-including-adding-a-new-route/article_df328202-4abf-47a3-a062-c801ecc5c0fd.html
Mass Transportation Authority, “Public Open Houses on Primary Route Changes,” Sept. 4, 2026, https://www.mtaflint.org/wp-content/media/Public-Open-House-Notice-Primary-Route-Changes-2.pdf
Mass Transportation Authority, “Proposed Primary Route Changes” (FAQ), https://www.mtaflint.org/proposed-primary-route-changes/
Mass Transportation Authority, “New Route 14 Preview” ride-along flyer, https://www.mtaflint.org/wp-content/media/MTA-Route-14-Ride-Along-Flyer.pdf
Photo: Michael Barera, “Flint July 2018 29 (MTA Transit Center),” July 2018, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-corrected; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flint_July_2018_29_(MTA_Transit_Center).jpg

Flint

Tags: Flint · News · Roads and Transportation · Libraries