Get Involved with TRU Today!

/ Advocacy, community engagement, intern, Macomb County, volunteer

As transit needs and opportunities grow, TRU invites more people to get involved with Team Transit as an intern, partner, or volunteer!!

There are lots of ways to get involved, with more information about each below:

  • Join our email list and take online actions
  • Donate!
  • Apply for an internship
  • Join our Volunteer Team
  • Join Friends of Transit (for organizations)
  • Talk up transit and TRU on social media and with friends

Get Email Updates

First, make sure you’re on TRU’s email list to get our monthly newsletter and other updates, events, and opportunities.

And take advantage of online action alerts TRU creates:

Please Contribute

TRU’s work is not possible without financial contributions from transit supporter like you. Please donate today to help make all this great work possible:

Donate to Support Transit advocacy!

Internships open in digital media, storytelling, and community engagement

TRU is seeking smart, enthusiastic students and other community members to get involved in improving public transit throughout greater Detroit!

Andre, who started as a TRU intern, interviewed leaders of May Mobility and SPIN about new mobility on “Tapping Into Transit”

Positions vary depending on current projects and priorities and may include the following:

  • Social Media Video Intern
    • Help shape and implement TRU’s communications strategies to most effectively build public support for investments in transit improvements and promote action. Improve TRU’s website and utilize Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media to share compelling videos, interesting stories, powerful facts, and meaningful action opportunities to better educate and engage people in improving Detroit area transit. We are especially seeking interns with experience creating compelling short-form video.
  • Community Engagement Intern
    • The success of transit improvement efforts depend on an educated and supportive community taking meaningful actions. Build transit understanding and support throughout southeast Michigan by helping arrange and manage community engagement events and talking transit with diverse audiences at community fairs, festivals, fireworks, and farmers markets.
TRU staff and interns may interview and engage with bus riders to understand their needs and get them involved
  • Transit Impact Storytelling Intern
    • Transit is so much more than buses and trains – it’s about people. While data helps, to build support for transit, we need to effectively and compellingly tell the stories about how transit impacts our metro Detroit neighbors. Storytelling interns will help improve support for transit by telling the personal stories of transit riders and supporters through compelling videos, pictures, stories, and more. Tasks involve contacting, interviewing, writing, editing, and more.

Internships require 10-25 hours a week for at least ten weeks and are modestly paid, receive a bus pass and possibly course credit, in addition to excellent in-depth experience making hands-on social changes with a fun team. To apply, send a resume and cover letter explaining your interest and dates of intern interest to info@DetroitTransit.org.

Volunteer meetings and opportunities

Ready to get involved in the fight for great transit but only have a few hours a month for it?

Our TRU Volunteer Team meets virtually every month to discuss top transit news, TRU campaigns, and to plan ways each person can take meaningful action to improve and expand transit.

Involvement opportunities may include contacting legislators, surveying bus stops, sharing social media posts, interviewing bus riders, helping at TRU events and more.

Interested? Email info@DetroitTransit.org to get meeting schedules and other ways you can get involved!

Organizations, Institutions and Businesses can join Friends of Transit

If you’re the leader of an organization, institution, or business that supports transit, sign your group up for our Friends of Transit network.

Friends of Transit groups officially state they agree that:

  • Metro Detroit needs more and better public transit and
  • Public transit is worth public investment!

We are compiling a list of organizations, businesses, and institutions that agree that transit is worth taxpayer investment. We’ll keep these supporters updated with regular newsletters and occasional invitations to events or to take action to support transit.

Not the leader of an organization, but part of one? Talk with the leader about joining Friends of Transit.