SMART service, FAST routes

Eli Cooper likes he to say he was “born to ride.” He grew up taking buses and subways in The Bronx. Now, as Oakland County’s transit manager, he helps the residents, workers and visitors of Michigan’s second-most-populous county get to where they want or need to go.

Hired after citizens voted to expand transit in all Oakland communities, he and the system operators—SMART and WOTA and NOTA and more—have made it the easiest it’s ever been to travel within and past the county. But they’ve never strayed away from their, as Eli says, ‘bread and butter’: fixed-route buses.

Eli and host Beau Brockett have more.

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You can also find and subscribe to Common Groundwater on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Podcast Index, and Spotify

Learn more about the transit services offered in Oakland County by going to oakgov.com/community/oakland-transit.

Common Groundwater is hosted by the Michigan Environmental Council and Beau Brockett Jr.

Our music is “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, arranged by Derek Zhang and performed by Taj Wallace.

Our series is sponsored by Kalsec, a global ingredient company headquartered in Kalamazoo that meets the highest recognized social and environmental standards through its B Corps certification.