Transportation in Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor moves on the AATA's TheRide buses, which blanket the city and the University of Michigan campus on 30-plus routes that generally run every 15-30 minutes, six days a week (no Sunday service on most lines). The Blue and Yellow routes are the visitor work-horses: Blue runs State-Stadium-Main, Yellow links downtown to Central Campus. If you memorize those two you can reach most hotels, restaurants, and the Michigan Theater without a transfer. A 1-day pass is $1.50 (≈ $1.50) and works on every fixed route, tap the U-Pass reader or pay exact change. Drivers don't make change and fareboxes reject bills. From Detroit Metro (DTW), skip the rental-car counter at rush hour: the Michigan Flyer motorcoach departs each baggage-claim curb hourly, drops at Blake Transit Center (downtown) in 45-50 min, and you can book a through-ticket that includes unlimited local TheRide transfers for the day. Once in town, don't wait on campus "Commuter" buses if you're going anywhere other than North Campus, they look tempting but run limited loops and will add 20 min to a crosstown trip. After midnight, use the NightRide vans (call or tap the app); regular buses stop around midnight and Uber/Lyft can increase 2× when the Big House empties.