Thank you for your interest in the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority's (AAATA/TheRide) Community Focus Groups! TheRide is currently undergoing a Market Segmentation Study which is a multistep process that will identify specific groups of transit riders based on a variety of characteristics such as socioeconomic variables, home and work locations, and travel behavior. This process will result in a detailed plan for marketing TheRide’s services, inform service planning recommendations, and identify future improvements for TheRide.
Each focus group meeting will include 8 to 10 participants and is intended to reach a different segment of the residential population of TheRide’s service area. While some participants may also work in the community, our focus is on community members/residents. Upcoming focus groups will inform TheRide’s future service recommendations - the goal of these meetings is to understand the specific transportation needs, challenges, and behaviors of key ridership groups and gain perspective on future opportunities from local residents and transit riders.
AAATA’s Market Segmentation Study and focus group facilitation is being supported by transportation planning consultant team, Nelson\Nygaard.
Focus Group Details
All in-person focus groups will be held at TheRide’s Blake Transit Center (328 S 5th Avenue Ann Arbor, MI) between Tuesday, March 3rd and Thursday, March 5th 2026.
If selected, TheRide will send additional details to the contact information provided including the scheduled date and time of your focus group. Please check your inboxes for an email from Gwen Griffin and/or Julia Spande (GGriffin@nelsonnygaard.com or JSpande@nelsonnygaard.com). To thank you for your time and input, you will receive a free day pass from TheRide at the end of the focus group session.
We look forward to speaking with you and hearing your thoughts on how TheRide can best meet your transportation needs!
