The Michigan Daily-Thursday, September 4, 1980-Page 7-C

Local transit system
meets increased demand

By LEE KATTERMAN
What did you pay for the first gallon
of gasoline you ever purchased? Even if
you don't remember, you can befit was
well under today's prices and probably
a good bit less than a dollar a gallon.
The rising cost of gas, beside
throwing the auto industry into a fit and
increasing the number of tiny'imported
cars on the road, has rekindled public
interest in mass transportation.
Locally, the Ann Arbor Transportation
Authority, or simply AATA, has the
primary responsibility for moving the
masses from place to place within the
city limits.
MOST OF AATA's busfleet is painted
purple and yellow, which makes for
quite a sight when the buses gather at.
the downtown Ann Arbor transfer point.
At 15 minutes before and after the hour,
13 "distinctively" colored vehicles
ongregate on Fourth Avenue between
William and Liberty Streets.
The Fourth Ave. rendezvous begins
at 6:45 a.m. daily, with 13 routes in Ann
Arbor and two in Ypsilanti running un-
til 6:45 p.m. The exact times and routes
are found in a packet of maps and
schedules available on every bus and at
the AATA Information Center at 331 S.
Fourth Ave. Specific questions about
routes and times can be answered by
alling 996-0400.
The fare is 50 cents, or one token, with
transfers free. Packets of 20 tokens are
sold for $7.00 (35scents per ride) at a
number of locations around the city, in-
cluding the Fourth and William Infor-
mation Center. Unfortunately, the
closet token outlet to campus is Aura
Sounde, a record shop at 540 E. Liberty.
EVENING SERVICE is also
available, although a little more plan-
ning is required to use the system ef-
ficiently. Starting at 6:45 p.m., and
very hour thereafter until 10:45 p.m.,
the State-Ellsworth bustleaves Fourth
and William for Briarwood and Ar-
borland shopping centers. Return trips
leave Briarwood on the half hour, while
Arborland shoppers can catch the bus
at quarter past the hour. The last trip
downtown leaves the malls at 10:30
p.m. and 19:15 p.m., respectively.
All routes on Saturdays operate
similar to weekdays except that
operating hours are reduced. Sunday
service is only Dial-A-Ride' between
8:25 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
IF YOU'RE NEW to Ann Arbor, but
have ridden buses elsewhere, you will
find AATA to be similar to most other
mass transit operations. However, if
you've lived in Ann Arbor for a few

Daily Photo
AS RIDERSHIP HAS increased steadily in recent years, the AATA has improved

its services, including the installment of
buses.
years but haven't used the system in a
while, remember that AATA has un-
dergone some major changes in, the
past 12 months.
On October 1, 1979, AATA instituted
an entirely new transportation system
which relied on fixed route buses. This
change was undertaken after lengthy
reevaluation of AATA's door-to-door
service, first dubbed TelTran, but later
known as Dial-A-Ride (DAR).
It's been less than a year since the
new system began and ridership has
been steadily increasing. Last April,
AATA provided just over. 200,000 rides
to Ann Arborites, an increase of 17.8 per,
cent since October. Average weekday
ridership is 8,600, up nearly 2,000 during
the first seven months of the new
operation.
But Dial-A-Ride has not been com-
pletely abandoned. Evening and Sun-
day service still utilize DAR, and

lifts for handicapped citizens on some
elderly and handicapped can call for
DAR during all AATA operating hours.
Of course, buses aren't the only
means of transportation for those
without cars. Ann Arbor is served by
two taxi companies, Yelldw & Checker
Cab Co. and Veterans Cabs. Fares are
regulated and the current price is 80
cents per mile plus a $1.00 base fee.
To reach points beyond Ann Arbor,
private bus companies run to Detroit,
Lansing, Chicago and a number of
other points. Most buses stop at the
Michigan Union; where bus schedules
are posted. Tickets can be purchased in
the Union lobby. A limousine service
also runs from the Michigan Union to
Metro Airport.
Finally, Amtrak runs four trains
daily between Detroit and Chicago
which stop in Ann Arbor. The Amtrak
station is located at the north end of
State Street at 401 Depot.


RICHARD TUTTLE (left) is the owner
of the Saguaro Plant Shop. During the
past decade, the popularity of indoor
foliage has taken off both nationally
and locally. So Tuttle, a plant lover
from childhood, got his botany degree
from the University and established his
plant store in Ann Arbor.
t/

Daily Photo by JIM KRUZ

Plant business thrives
in Old West Side store

" By DANIEL WOODS
According to Richard Tuttle, "The
art of having a plant store is being able'
to buy the healthiest plants." Tuttle,
owner of the Saguaro Plant Shop (207 S.
Ashley), has been using this formula as
he has graduallly built his firm into an
Ann Arbor institution. With the great
demand for plants from students and
nther local residents. comnetition has

selling succulents and other foliage
plants out of a laundarymat."
"FROM THOSE cramped quarters
Tuttle moved his store to a more
spacious second-story office on William
St., and finally, to his present location
on the west side of town.
Tuttle grows about ten per cent of the
plants he sells in his store. He plans to
build a solar-powered greenhouse with

IN ADDITION to selling plants, Tut-
tle also operates a plant maintenance
business. An establishment can either
buy or lease plants from Saguaro and,
for a modest fee, Tuttle-will keep them
as healthy and green as the day they
were sold. He now employs two full-
time maintenance personnel who nurse
the plants in the many offices and
restaurants Saguaro has furnished with