Transit Backer Talks About Getting Around Detroit Without a Car

September 21, 2017, 4:01 PM

Trisha White, Detroit Revitalization Fellow and public transit advocate, who has spent the last two years living without a car in Detroit, talks to Curbed Detroit's Robin Runyan about getting about town.

White talks about using various forms of transportation in Detroit, but in reality she isn't totally car-free. She admits to using Uber/Lyft, which are other people's cars. She's also not sold on the QLine, calling it "just a fancy shuttle for Tigers games."

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Deadline Detroit photo

She tells Curbed:

In my two years in Detroit, I have used every single manner of public transportation available: DDOT, SMART (both buses), Amtrak, QLine (streetcar), Uber/Lyft (ride-hailing services), cab, People Mover (elevated rail), MoGo (bike share), and Megabus (intercity bus).

But I bike or walk most of the time.

Asked which is the most effective transportation, she responds:

Since I live and work in Detroit, I can only speak for Detroit and not the ‘burbs.

If you have deep pockets, of course you can Uber everywhere. It’s effective but it gets expensive. The next most effective has to be DDOT. For all its shortcomings, it’s the only system we have that runs citywide.

People Mover and QLine might run on time, but that doesn’t help you if you need to get anywhere in the other 99.9 percent of the city.

As for what's least reliable, she says: 

Sadly, that title also goes to DDOT. It’s getting better but still has a lot of room for improvement. Some days, the transit gods smile on you, the bus shows up, you get a seat and you get to your destination on time. Other days, you wait in freezing rain for 45 minutes, the bus is packed like sardines and you show up wet and late. Stuff happens, but transit shouldn’t be a daily crap shoot.

Before Detroit, she spent 16 years car free in Washington D.C., which is a much easier experience. 

Read the full interview here.


Read more:  Curbed Detroit


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