Detroit's bus system still needs a lot of catching up, but this certainly rolls in the right direction.
Ten routes used by 60 percent of riders will feature 24/7 service and WiFi on buses with snazzy, dynamic graphics, starting in September. The new-look coaches - with exterior design by Lafayette American, a creative agency in Detroit's Core City neighborhood, eventually will run system-wide.
ConnectTen service, as it's called, will add 500 trips a week on the 10 routes (see map below), with buses every 15 minutes during peak hours -- 6-9 a.m. and 3-6 p.m. on weekdays. The routes will be renumbered 1-10.
“Every chance we get, we are going to keep improving transit so Detroiters can connect to jobs and other opportunities,” Mayor Mike Duggan says in a statement. “We have made significant strides in our service over the past few years and are going to keep moving in that direction until Detroiters have a world class public transportation system.”
Additionally, customers can get a $7 Lyft ride credit for rides to or from any ConnectTen route, outside downtown, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays.
Catch these early reactions on Twitter:
"These bus routes are gonna run every 15 mins! That’s a huge deal around here! — Bee (@grenadine)
"15 minutes and free WiFi?! Wow!" — Jen (@jenalaina)
"I gonna take the bus all the time." — Lemoncat (@bluucat)
These route numbers change soon, as illustrated below:
- 49 Vernor becomes 1 Vernor
- 37 Michigan becomes 2 Michigan
- 21 Grand River becomes 3 Grand River
- 48 Woodward becomes 4 Woodward
- 48 Van Dyke/Lafayette becomes 5 Van Dyke/Lafayette
- 34 Gratiot becomes 6 Gratiot
- 45 Seven Mile becomes 7 Seven Mile
- 14 Crosstown becomes 8 Warren
- 25 Jefferson becomes 9 Jefferson
- 22 Greenfield becomes 10 Greenfield
Because three of new numbers already exist, these changes also take effect next week:
- 7 Cadillac/Harper becomes 67 Cadillac/Harper
- 9 Chalmers becomes 68 Chalmers
- 10 Chene becomes 52 Chene
DDOT last week announced these proposed changes:
- Eliminating transfer fares, including additional transfer fares between DDOT and SMART.
- Reducing the number of passes from more than 25 choices to six options.
- Adding a mobile fare payment app and additional retail location for tickets.