If you’ve been following this Blog for a while, you know that I am not fond of these newfangled Ride Sharing services such as Uber and Lift, especially those that encourage Drivers to utilize their own, personal vehicles for these newfangled Ride Sharing services.

It appears that The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART), formerly the Southeastern Michigan Transportation Authority (SEMTA) from 1967-1989; the operator and facilitator of Public Transit services throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area in Michigan, has jumped on the Ride Sharing bandwagon, with their Microtransit service that SMART bills as their “Flex” service; and SMART’s Microtransit service consisting of RU Chrysler Pacifica Domesticated Minivans, and XL40 Toyota Siennas (a Domesticated Minivan that the Toyota Motor Corporation’s North American business arm has designed for, and built in the North American market).

I, personally would rather that SMART stuck with their Dial-A-Ride service, and their fleet for their Dial-A-Ride service consisting of Commercial Buses built on the GM Full-Size Van and Ford Econoline Cutaway Chassis; which SMART refers to as their “Connector” and “Community Transit” services.

Below is a photograph of one of the XL40 Toyota Siennas in SMART’s Microtransit fleet picking up someone at a Restaurant in the Detroit suburb of Clawson, Michigan:

Below are photographs of a of the Commercial Buses on the GM Full-Size Van and Ford Econoline Cutaway Chassis in SMART’s Dial-A-Ride fleet that they bill as their “Connector” and “Community Transit” services: