White Lake Township: Welcome to Oakland Transit!
Route 759 will provide service to Oakland County International Airport (KPTK).
At the May 23, 2024 SMART Board of Directors meeting, the next quarterly service change was formally announced which includes the launch of Route 759, Highland Road.
Visit SMART's website for the official service change bulletin and announcement. (SMART removes service bulletins from its website after a period of time, so I’ve copied the relevant information into this post.)
New Routes
Route 759: Highland Road
Route 759, Highland Road, will connect Auburn Hills and Pontiac to Waterford and White Lake Township. Buses will travel from Oakland University to the Phoenix Center along Walton and Perry Road, then travel along Highland Road to White Lake Meijer (Bogie Lake Road).
New destinations served include Pontiac Lake and Bogie Lake Meijer, Waterford Plaza Shopping Center (Aldi and Kroger), Lakeland Arena, Michigan Works! Waterford, MJR Waterford Cinema 16, Zap Zone Waterford Fun Center, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Walmart.
Route Description
Westbound: Depart Oakland University traffic circle shelter, follow existing Route 796 alignment to the Phoenix Center (Right University, right Squirrel, around-then-right onto westbound Walton, left Perry, right Huron, left Saginaw, left Water), stop at Phoenix Center shelter, left Perry, left Huron, continue through Waterford and White Lake Township, end route on Huron past Bogie Lake Road outside White Lake Meijer.
Eastbound: Pick up from White Lake Meijer westbound stop, left first turnback onto eastbound Highland Road, continue through White Lake Township and Waterford to Pontiac, right Saginaw, left Water, stop at Phoenix Center shelter, follow existing Route 796 alignment to Oakland University Main Campus (left Perry, right Walton, right Squirrel, around-then-right onto eastbound University, stop at Oakland University traffic circle shelter).
Eastbound travelers from White Lake Meijer should not attempt to cross Highland Road to board a bus. Eastbound buses will begin the route from the westbound stop outside the Meijer Express gas station.
Route Schedule
Note that service is approximately every 50 minutes. Route 759 does not have a clockface schedule, so be sure to double check your departure time and plan connections to other routes accordingly.
Monday through Friday: Service will operate from 6:00am to 10:00pm. Buses depart Oakland University traveling toward White Lake Meijer (Bogie Lake Road) at 5:45am, 6:35am, 7:25am, and continue to depart every 50 minutes until 7:55pm, 8:45pm, and 9:35pm. Buses depart White Lake Meijer (Bogie Lake Road) traveling toward Oakland University at 6:25am, 7:11am, 8:01am, and continue to depart approximately every 50 minutes until 9:04pm, 9:49pm, and 10:39pm.
Saturdays: Service will operate from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Buses depart Oakland University traveling toward White Lake Meijer (Bogie Lake Road) at 8:15am, 9:05am, 10:15am, and continue to depart every 50 minutes until 3:45pm, 4:35pm, and 5:10pm. Buses depart White Lake Meijer (Bogie Lake) traveling toward Oakland University at 9:11am, 9:42am, 10:32am, and continue to depart approximately every 50 minutes until 4:09pm, 5:00pm, and 5:46pm.
Service will not operate on Sundays.
Travel time from Oakland University Main Campus to Downtown Pontiac (Phoenix Center) is approximately 20 minutes. Downtown Pontiac to Telegraph and Huron is another 8 minutes. Telegraph and Huron to White Lake Meijer is another 25 to 35 minutes.
Travel time along the entire route from Oakland University to White Lake Meijer is 50-60 minutes.
For complete timetables, use the Transit App, Google Maps, Apple Maps, or the SMART schedule page .
Route Changes
Route 710: Nine Mile
Service to Jefferson will be discontinued. Buses will now travel along Greater Mack to Mack and Moross. Ascension St. John Hospital will be the new eastern terminus with transfers available to DDOT Routes 7, 8, 17, 31, 32, and 67.
Route 790: Pontiac Crosstown
The service pattern in Downtown Auburn Hills has been clarified. Buses will no longer travel along Squirrel Court to serve the old downtown stop pair on Auburn. The new stops are located outside the Twist ‘N Dip (Eastbound) and before College Drive (Westbound).
Signage at the old westbound stop has been removed. Signage at the old eastbound stop will be removed upon completion of construction in the area.
Important: Due to this service change, there is no longer an accessible fixed-route stop in downtown Auburn Hills for westbound travelers. Plans are underway to address this; in the meantime, riders have the option of booking a Flex van or Connector bus to Oakland University Main Campus or another nearby accessible stop to continue their trip.
The new Downtown Auburn Hills westbound stop on Route 790. Work is in progress to address accessibility.
Jason Hargrove Transit Center
Local SMART routes (405, 450, 460, 492, 494, and 495) will enter and exit via Eight Mile / Ralston.
Southbound FAST Woodward buses (461/462) will enter via Eight Mile / Ralston. Northbound trips will enter off Woodward via Remington.
FAST trips may still use the Woodward bridge over Eight Mile to reach the transit center rather than the service drive, at operator discretion.
Schedule Changes
Minor time changes will go into in effect on Monday, June 24th for Routes 250, 255, 261 (FAST Michigan), 280, 415, 420, 525, 530, 550, 562 (FAST Gratiot WSU), and 635. See the SMART schedule page for details.
