Detroit Public Transportation Crisis

Aleksandra Gryko, Chris Labadie, Dunia Oweis

PS1010 Beth Fowler

April 27, 2018

Background
 Detroit has never been known for having an amazing public transportation system. It is a

city that is composed of a highly populated downtown area, and home to densely packed suburbs

as well. However, the majority of the city’s jobs are located in the inner-city area. An efficient

public transit system is needed in order to connect the suburban area to the downtown region of

the city. The lack of effective public transportation can cost people jobs and leave them locked in

one area without the ability to find work in areas without public buses. Megan Ownes, the

executive director of Transportation Riders United, is quoted by saying this about Detroit public

transportation; "It's still sorely lacking compared to any other major city.” Detroit buses often run

late, if they even come at all. Considering the fact that over 26% of Detroiters don’t have cars,

many people rely on the bus systems to get to work or school (US Census Bureau). Detroit is a

unique city but it’s comparable to Chicago, a city with a good public transit system.

Chicago and New York are additional examples of complex cites. They share similarities

in size, population, and demographics with their neighbor, Detroit. Despite the short distance

between the two locations, Chicago’s Transit Administration manages to serve 35 suburbs, and

provide 81 percent of the public transit trips in the six-county Chicago metropolitan area with

direct or connecting service (Chicago Transit Authority). New York uses an efficient subway

system to transport individuals across its lively city. By examining the transit methods used on

Chicago and New York’s dense population, an increase in Detroit’s public transportation budget

can assist transit makers in adopting the same efficient modes for its population.

Considering the city of Metro Detroit is 142.9 square miles, it makes it very difficult for a

singular transportation system to service everyone. An Economic Impact Analysis by the

Michigan Department of Transportation found that investment in regional transit can support

67,800 jobs, add $6 billion in gross regional product, and $4.4 billion growth in personal income
(RTA Master Transit Plan). SEMCOG found that 92% of jobs are not accessible within a 60

minute trip on transit (SEMCOG). This makes it very difficult for those that live in the suburbs

to reach the job opportunities that they are looking for. The US Census Bureau found that 40% of

commuters cross county and city borders to get to work (US Census Bureau). With an efficient

public transportation system, these people would be connected to the downtown region of the

city, rather than being limited to the destinations they can reach with the current bus system.

History

In the 1880’s Electric streetcar services began in Detroit. In 1920, there were numerous

proposals for a subway system through Detroit. Although these proposals had massive public

support, the bond for an official subway system was vetoed by Mayor James Couzens. In 1929,

another subway proposal was rejected (Hanifin). This can be explained due to the lack of interest

in renewed public transportation systems from individuals that do not rely on the service. For

instance, white suburban home owners didn’t feel the need for the subway system. This lead to

representatives from Oakland county and Macomb county being against the proposal. Buses

don’t connect to the suburbs because suburbanites don’t feel the need for transit. However, the

subway system had massive support in the black urban communities who struggled to get to their

jobs (Felton).

Macomb and Oakland county representatives have not supported public transportation in

the past and currently. This is because the majority of richer, white people living in Detroit left

Detroit when cars became more popular and even more left after the riots in 1967. This caused

jobs to leave Detroit and go way out in the further suburbs, while some stayed in downtown

Detroit. White flight created housing bias in the further suburbs into Oakland and Macomb
county which caused many African Americans to stay locked in Detroit where there were no

accessible jobs. You need money to buy a car and then you can drive to your job, but when you

can’t afford a car how are you supposed to get to a job that is miles away? This was the problem

many African Americans faced in the past, creating a racial caste system within the city. Racial

biases throughout Detroit and the surrounding suburbs were deepened.

This justifies how political structures can work against certain groups. During the Great

Depression, more busses began to run in Detroit; causing streetcars to function less. The peak

usage of public transportation in Detroit was in 1945 (Hanifin). Later in 1956, The Highway Act

was signed. The automobile industry had a huge surge, allowing more people to leave the city.

Detroit had a better public transportation system in the 1950’s than it does today.

Today, there are several major transportation systems exist in an attempt to transport

civilians to these job locations. Among those include: the Q-line, People Mover, and the D-Dot

Bus system. Unfortunately, none of these systems are reliable or time efficient for Detroit riders.

Late buses, lack of bus stop benches and a crowded Q-line vehicle have created a gap between

suburban workers and inner-city employment (Steinberg). Civilians who reside in poor suburbs

outside of the city struggle to use inefficient buses to transport them to their occupations within

the inner city. The Metro Times of Detroit identifies this problem by raising the question, “Why

is it that someone who wants to get from downtown Detroit via DDOT to a job at, for example,

the Costco in Livonia, needs to budget two hours for the trip? When driving that route would

take a mere 15 to 20 minutes?” (Felton). Aside from individuals who are fortunate enough to

own a vehicle, others are forced to wait hours in advance to travel along multiple bus stops to

reach a single destination.

 In 1987, The People Mover was constructed, costing about $67 million per mile

(Hanifin). However, in 1996, an attempt by DDOT and SMART to establish bus passes and add

more routes to suburban areas was shut down. This proposal would have cost $2 million per mile

yet, was rejected for being too expensive. Historically, Detroit has neglected its public

transportation system because the funds were being sent somewhere else and the suburban

population usually rejects any sort of vote to make public transportation better. Here, agency is at

work because individuals voted against these plans, and individuals who don’t need these kinds

of services rejected them because they were not in their own self-interest.

There was, however, a beacon of hope for public transit: the Qline. This was supposed to

be a new system that would show other cities that Detroit was making a revival; it would be just

like it is in Portland where people walk everywhere and sidewalk businesses are booming. This

project was granted federal aid by the Obama administration (DeVito). The Qline is meant to

bring people into Detroit and not help the people that are already there. It’s meant to bring in

richer suburban people and give them a ‘safer’ way to travel around the city instead of taking

busses.

These two public transportation systems do function in transporting individuals.

However, it is evident that the type of people that are riding the Q-Line and People Mover

occasionally are not under the same circumstances as those who rely heavily on busses to

transport them to work daily. For some outer city residents, busses are the only method of

transportation available. Not everyone has the luxury of parking their car in a structure while

taking the Q-Line to a Piston’s game, so they do not have to worry about where to put their

vehicle. Efforts that have been made through these previous projects have not created an efficient

means of public transportation for individuals that actually need it. Instead, expansions have
been made with the intent of stimulating economic activity downtown; while the disconnection

between the suburbs and the city continues to exist. However, if car-less individuals had a way to

reach jobs downtown, more economic activity would be stimulated as well as a higher

employment rate.

Public Opinion

A study was done using public opinion polls to gauge how Americans feel about public

transportation in general. The majority of Americans think that public transportation has

economic benefits, environmental benefits, and that is reduces traffic congestion, also a strong

majority support general improvements to public transportation (Agrawal). So, if the majority of

people support public transportation and improvements to it, why do tax increases for the benefit

of public transportation meet such opposition?

Individuals that do not need the service clearly do not want to pay more for services they

do not use. About 40% of people taking these surveys do not ride public transportation

frequently. Also, these studies found that people who do ride the buses have lost faith in further

tax plans because none of the public transportation plans have seemed to actually fix anything.

The lack of attention that this issue receives only functions to increase the problem further.

Civic Sphere

A volunteer driven organization involved in making better transportation in southeast

Michigan is the Motor City Freedom Riders. The goals of this organization are: Quality DDOT

bus service in the city of Detroit; restored and expanded SMART bus service in the Detroit

suburbs; rapid and reliable regional transit throughout the metropolitan Detroit area, connecting

Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland, and Macomb Counties; and prioritization of public transit
expansion over highway widening in the region and state (“Mission”). This organization is

comprised of bus-riders and allies in southeast Michigan. The board of directors is comprised of

lawyers, social justice advocates, aspiring politicians, and community organizers.

The Motor City Freedom Riders is still very new in Detroit. Although it has only been

around for three years, it has already made a significant impact on Detroit. The MCFR has

organized protests against the Qline, put public transportation policies on the ballot, and made

DDOT accountable by petitioning the city of Detroit to make the bus performance public

information. The RTA ballot proposal would have increased the amount of DDOT routes and

increased the number of buses on routes decreasing wait time for buses (“RTA Win..”).

However, this proposal was not passed because of voters in Macomb and Oakland County. Since

this proposal failed in 2016, the Motor City Freedom Riders are trying to get it on the ballot

again in the 2018 midterm election. They will continue by engaging in community outreach and

informing the people of mainly Macomb County about the importance of public transportation.

This opposition is no surprise considering the history of public transportation in Southeast

Michigan. In the past, the vote has lost because of Macomb and Oakland county representatives

refusing to even put proposals on the ballot, and when they have, the proposals lost (Hanifin).

Government Shpere

Currently, there are four influential county leaders of the city, all of whom, have been

cold on public city transport for years. This includes: Oakland County Executive L. Brooks

Patterson, Macomb County Executive Mark Hackle, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans

and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (Martindale). The Executives that are responsible for making

decisions on behalf of their county act in favor of their people. Providing further public

transportation opportunities to citizens that are already exposed to the opportunities located in
the inner city ignores the bigger problem that exists outside of the city. At the same time,

effective regional transit systems have been shown over and over to provide a wide array of

benefits to all people of a region, regardless of their race, political party or economic means

(Hanifin).

There is a complexity is in any regional transit system due to the crossing of boundaries

of counties that have different views on what is important to them. For example, concepts such

as how things should be run and funded, what is the right form of development in the city and

region, how much can be spent on transit are debated among different counties (Hanifin). This

creates political, economic, racial and ethnic divides between these locations that are headed by

different government officials (Hanifin).

These policy makers are reluctant to spend millions of dollars on transportation that

doubles as a tourist attraction within the city but not towards efficient transportation that is

needed by the suburban population outside of downtown. Their general disinterest in the

outskirts of the Detroit area combined with the objection made by Republicans and voters within

the city to increase tax dollars toward a new transportation method results in the constant

dismissal of new proposed transit systems. Political divides between city and suburbs continue to

inhibit regional cooperation (Nelles).

Failed Policy

A possible solution to the transportation issue came with a proposal from the Regional

Transit Authority (RTA) in May of 2016. This proposal, the Regional Master Transit Plan, was

designed with the people of metro Detroit in mind. The policy proposed coordinating the service

between SMART and DDOT buses by coordinating bus schedules, increasing service levels, and
eliminating required transfers. It also proposed a unified bus fare card with a consistent fare and

a regional card, along with a centralized call center and the unified bus schedules. Surveys

conducted by the RTA found that people want reliability in the bus system and the call centers

would hold the bus services accountable. These unified schedules would decrease wait time and

increase reliability. The plan also focused heavily on mobility and increasing the reach of the

DDOT to shopping and employment centers. There would be new routes created to connect

people to key employment centers with service every thirty minutes every work day. (Regional

Master Transit Plan)

This policy failed to pass in November 2016. The failure of this policy would be

attributed to the 2016 presidential election which caused further political divides on an issue that

is primarily supported by Democrats. The Michigan Tax Payers Alliance did not support it

because the tax was too large and said that the failure of this policy was “a victory for taxpayers

and economic freedom.” Other opponents argued that it was an unnecessary tax hike for services

that were being supported by other taxes and that this plan would keep an outdated public

transportation system in the region (Lawrence).

Obstacles

A solution for the problem of a lack of an efficient public transit system needs to be

favored by both Democrats and Republicans in order for it to be successful. Democrats are

generally more in favor of tax increases in order to help populations of people that need new

transit systems. However, Republicans would not want their taxes going towards a service that

they do not use. This creates an obstacle in the solution making process: finding a way to please

both sides of the political spectrum in order to gain their support.

Advocacy Solution

A possible solution that would be favored by both Democrats and Republicans would be

to have a well-known figure representing the cause. A charismatic leader would make people

more enthusiastic about public transportation, and more willing to listen to the issue. Individuals

that are being affected by the lack of public transit into cities may have a hard time being able to

advocate for themselves considering the lack of connection between the city and the suburbs.

However, an advocate like Oprah, for example, is able to grab an audience’s attention more

effectively and could be the “face” of the problem, bringing more awareness to it. Conservatives

and Democrats would not be opposed to this solution because it is tax-free. However, this

advocate could be used to gain support for different plans and policy proposals down the line. A

leader like this would make people more enthusiastic about public transportation, and persuade

them to support the issue.

Advocacy plays a huge role in the solution, because it would help inform the people

about the issue and bring more awareness to it. This advocate could show the public that they do

not need to be directly affected by the problem of inefficient public transportation in order to

want to change it for the better. By exposing suburbanites to someone who feels passionately

about the issue, they could result in listening to the benefits a mass tranist system will create and

might be more open to the increased funding. An advocate that was supported by both liberals

and conservatives would lead to mutually beneficial solutions for both parties as well.

Tax Solution

A tax increase would help with service changes and route expansions, making it the most

direct form of help for Detroit’s transportation system. However, gaining public support for a tax
would be very difficult, and may not get the public support for the issue that is necessary.

The Connect Southeast Michigan plan (an updated version of the Regional Master Transit

Plan), put forth by Wayne county executive Warren Evans, will be a major step in the right

direction for public transportation in the metro Detroit area. The plan will cost 5.4 billion dollars

over the next 20 years, which will add a 1.5-million-dollar tax (Kraft). This plan is expected to

generate 170 million dollars in funding per year as well, making it more than likely to succeed.

The plan proposes 15 new bus routes that will cycle every 15 minutes to ensure

efficiency and punctuality (Kraft). The premium routes include Woodward, Gratiot, Michigan,

Grand River, and Mound. These routes will receive an additional 210 million dollars in

infrastructure funding, which will go towards improving traffic signals and adding dedicated

traffic lanes for transit (Kraft). The Grand River and Mound routes will go beyond city limits,

and into other counties for 24-hour service. 15 regional express routes will be added as well,

including express service from four counties to the Detroit Metro Airport. In addition, ten

upgraded cross-county routes running 20 hours a day, with stops every 15 minutes during rush

hours (Kraft). Three of these routes would run 24 hours a day.

Finally, a commuter rail will would be added from Detroit to Ann Arbor. Universal fare

cards would be implemented for this new system, making it that much easier for the citizens of

metro Detroit to access this new transportation. The DDOT, SMART, and RTA bus systems

would be consolidated, along with improvements to shelters and stations across metro Detroit

(Kraft). This proposal would help serve lower class families as well as the majority of

southeastern Michigan. The new routes in the city and would be available on a regular 15-minute

schedule all around metro Detroit (Kraft). While this proposal would benefit Michigan as a

whole, it would help the people struggling with transportation the most.
 In order for this policy to pass, voters in Oakland county would have to get behind it and

support it for the greater good of Metro Detroit. This county has historically blocked

transportation bills such as the 2016 Regional Transit Authority millage request (Colomer).

Suburbanites see no need for increased transportation when they themselves have all they could

ever need with their cars. These tend to be the more affluent families that do not depend on

public transportation, which is why it is difficult to get them to support the new plan. The 2016

plan failed 50.5% to 49.5%, with a majority of Oakland county voting against it (Colomer). It

remains the one true obstacle to passing a transportation bill, which shows that Detroit is on the

same page as a whole when it comes to the lack of transportation in the city.

This initiative would help southeastern Michigan a great deal and is necessary for

building a stronger community and connecting businesses. While it is expensive, this new idea

would make all of metro Detroit a far easier place to navigate and would give many without

personal transportation a reliable alternative to the struggling bus systems in place right now

(Nicquel).

Service Learning

During our service learning experience we saw how the community interacts with DDOT

and the Regional Transit Authority (RTA). One of the meetings we attended was a public forum

for a service change announcement. In the meeting, a Community Liaison spoke about the

service change that would be enacted and allowed the public to give their opinions and ask

questions afterward. A few people expressed their dissatisfaction with the service change and the

liaison informed them of different possible routes. She informed us that if the change was

opposed in the next public forum, it could not go into effect. This shows how important it is to
participate in local meetings because you could have an effect on the decisions being made that

affect you and your community.

After the meeting we spoke to the liaison and asked how funding for DDOT and the RTA

plans work. She informed us that DDOT is required in Detroit but SMART is an opt-in service

that different counties vote for the service and comes with a tax increase. This is why plans that

try to combine DDOT and SMART service come with tax. The service change that was being

proposed would not cost anything because it was just a change of routes. More extensive change

would require ost funding that the city funds alone couldn’t provide.

One of the people in attendance, George Burk, a local bus rider, was upset about the lack

of outreach from DDOT and the RTA because he was not aware of the service change to a route

he rides daily. He was informed of the public forum through one flyer that he found, by chance,

on the bus. Many people agreed with this sentiment and thought that the DDOT and the RTA

need better communication with the bus riders. For riders like George Burk, the elimination of a

single route could jeopardize his ability to make it to work each day.

This explains why the second part of our service learning was creating a Twitter page to

inform young people about buses and share their public opinions. Our twitter page,

@peoplenotmovin, consists of tweets and videos from bus riders that state their experiences on

the busses and express their feelings towards Detroit’s public transportation. We felt that

informing the public about the issues surrounding Detroit’s bus system was important. People

that don’t ride the buses regularly are not aware of their terrible state and need to be informed.

Being informed can lead to more people voting in support of improvements to public

transportation.

Conclusion
 Detroit’s public transportation problem has been going on for decades and stems from the

disconnect between people in the further suburbs and people living in Detroit. The growth of the

usage of cars lead white people out of Detroit and segregated Detroit and Oakland and Macomb

county. The past shaped the current demographic of Detroit, according to the 2010 Census

82.7% of people living in Detroit were African American and the median income was $25,787

(“Detroit Population..”). This shows how public transportation is a socioeconomic, racial, and

political issue.

During the process of policy making, it is common for individuals to disagree about what

should be done to solve a given problem. In the case of inefficient public transportation, not

everyone involved in the legislation agrees that the problem is severe enough to administer a

course of action to solve it. The process becomes strategic because “groups, individuals, and

government agencies deliberately and consciously fashion portrayals so as to promote their

favored course of action” (Kraft & Furlong). For instance, as discussed in class, although

Liberals might advocate for more government funding towards a new mass transit system that

assists minorities reach new employment opportunities; Conservatives would be against

government funding and might even blame car-less individuals altogether for not “working hard

enough” to acquire a vehicle, ignoring integrated root causes to this dilemma.

The best solution would bring people together so that there is more funding for new

routes, more buses, and a unified public transportation system. Through our service learning we

found that direct interaction with the people in charge of DDOT and the RTA is possible and that

anyone can make their voices heard. However, not everyone knows about the meetings or the

state of public transportation so more information needs to be spread throughout different outlets.
The Twitter page we created could be a good start but we need to have a better advocate for this

issue.

A charismatic advocate in favor of improvements to public transportation could lead to a

great amount of change. They would inform people of the issue and make people that do not use

the buses daily care about the bus system. A charismatic leader would bring together all types of

people to help solve this issue. Since public transportation improvements usually need some sort

of tax increase to go into effect, a charismatic leader could convince republicans and others that

do not support higher taxes to consider taxes as a solution.

This leader could advocate for the Connect Southeast Michigan plan and help gather

support for it. The Connect Southeast Michigan plan addresses the issues that people find the

most important concerning public transportation. An RTA survey found that people want transit

to prioritize reliability, mobility and job access, which this plan does by increasing the amount of

routes and how often buses make stops. Another RTA survey found that people mainly use

public transportation for shopping, work and appointments, so increased service during rush hour

would allow people to get to work and home from work in a timely manner (Regional Master

Transit Plan). If this proposal gets enough support it could mean huge improvements to regional

transit throughout southeast Michigan.

Detroit could join its neighboring major cities like Chicago and New York by

implementing one major transit system that would decrease the problems that arise from the

current public transportation methods being used. Investment in public transportation attracts

businesses, generates $6.6 billion in Gross Regional Product, and increases mobility for people

who don’t own cars (Connect Southeast Michigan). Detroit’s public transportation problem

doesn’t have to be a problem if enough people support this proposal in November.

 Works Cited

Peer Reviewed Source

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