Detroit Department of Transportation drivers are expected to get a $6 an hour wage boost under an agreement announced Thursday.
The contract for the Amalgamated Transit Unit Local 26, which represents more than 500 DDOT bus operators, was ratified Wednesday with support from 98% of voting members. It will take effect upon the approval of Detroit’s City Council.
The increase will bring the starting and maximum base wages in line with other area transit agencies, city officials said. The shift will bring starting pay for drivers up from $19.56 to $25.38. In comparison, SMART drivers start at $25.87. Lansing drivers earn a starting pay of $26.44 and entry pay in Ann Arbor is $28.09.
Under the agreement, maximum hourly pay for DDOT drivers will go from $26.18 to $32.18 – which is also in line with top hourly pay for SMART ($32.34), Lansing ($33.05) and Ann Arbor ($33.05). The hourly wage is a departure from the less than $15 per hour drivers in Detroit earned a decade ago, Mayor Mike Duggan noted Thursday.
Additional performance incentives for attendance and safety give DDOT drivers the opportunity to take home more than their regional transit counterparts.
“Over the past 12 years, we have steadily increased the amount DDOT drivers are paid but continue to lose a lot of our drivers to SMART because it traditionally has paid more,” said Duggan, who is departing his post with Detroit at the close of the year and pursuing a 2026 campaign for governor. “With this new contract, for the first time, bus drivers can take home more if they work for DDOT and meet their performance marks.”
The city for years has worked for years to improve its transportation services, bus driver retention and address safety concerns of riders and drivers alike.
Under the existing contract, drivers can earn quarterly bonuses based on attendance. That benefit has carried over into the new contract, which also factors in quarterly bonuses based on driver safety records. The policy allows attendance incentives for drivers who have no more than one unplanned absence per quarter, while safety incentives are provided for drivers with no preventable accidents in a quarter.
In addition, drivers will receive an annual cost-of-living increase each July 1 during the contract.
ATU Local 26 President Schetrone Collier said drivers are pleased with the new contract and appreciate the value placed on their essential work. The passing of ATU Local 26’s new contract represents progress for members and the entire community, he said.
“We, for so very long, have fought for parity,” Collier said during a Thursday news conference. “Members are ecstatic. It’s well-deserved.”
The approved contract will be submitted to the City Council for approval in November before the end of the year.
“One of our largest hurdles in overcoming long wait times and improving reliability within our transportation system has been retaining our DDOT drivers,” said City Council President and Mayor-elect, Mary Sheffield.
“This wage increase will help us keep skilled drivers on the road and raise our service standards, while also providing competitive pay and incentives to enhance both service and safety on our streets,” she said. “This increase signals to our drivers that we value their service and are committed to investing in the people who keep Detroit moving.”
The wage increases will be paid for partially from additional revenue the city will be receiving from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recently approved transportation funding bill. The added cost will also be partially defrayed by lower training costs, since officials say they expect the more competitive wages to reduce the number of trainees who leave the department for better pay elsewhere.
DDOT Director Robert Cramer said the department just began a class to train 56 new drivers a few weeks ago and is targeting 70 drivers for training in December.
“We’re confident that this new contract will certainly be a big boost to recruiting,” he said.
Longtime Detroit transit advocate Michael Cunningham participated in Thursday’s news conference, reiterating the ongoing fight to get drivers the pay that they deserve.
“We fought together,” he said. “We got it done. We just kept on sticking to it and God makes a way out of no way.”