With the advent of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration, many residents and legislators from Detroit and surrounding communities are calling for the reconsideration of a bill which would create an organization called the Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority.

"It's a huge city and there's no transportation there now ... as far as going out of the city or to the city," said LSA sophomore Lindsay Whalen.

The bill would unify two existing bus systems, the Detroit Department of Transportation, which services Metro Detroit, and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, which services Detroit's suburbs. The new system would serve Wayne, Macomb, Washtenaw, Oakland and Monroe counties.

"Right now, if you want to go to the suburbs from the city, you have to take two bus systems that don't work together," said Dennis Denno, spokesman for state Sen. Buz Thomas (D-Detroit). "It's an arduous process."

The bill, which was first introduced to the state Legislature in early 2001, was vetoed by former Gov. John Engler in one of his last acts in office.

"We were very disappointed," said Jamaine Dickens, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Engler's veto "took us back 30 years - that's how long its taken to get this on the table."

The bill still has popular support in the Legislature, and Granholm has indicated that she supports it, not only for its practical applications, but also for its economic potentialpotential.

"More effective transportation in southeast Michigan would move people from their homes to their jobs, to entertainment venues and students to their schools," said Mary Bettloff, deputy press secretary to Gov. Granholm.

"If the bill comes to her, she will sign it."

Some residents feel that their tax dollars would be spent on a transportation system they would not use.

"Some of us believe public transportation won't work - that it's another level of bureaucracy," Denno said.

But many feel that Detroit must have a good transportation system, if for no other reason than Detroit's status as a respected metropolis.

"In order to be a world-class city we have to be able to effectively move residents around," Dickens said.

"It's something that's critical to Detroit and southeast Michigan."