Once summer strikes, city bus riders will see transformations poised to revamp their traveling experiences: more frequent bus pick-ups along some major roads and stops to chain grocery stores.
The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) previewed proposed service changes during a recent public hearing—an opportunity for folks to offer feedback before changes go into effect on June 23—at the Rosa Parks Transit Center in downtown Detroit last week.
The new service plan fulfills a slice of the vision mapped out in DDOT Reimagined, a blueprint to boost mass transit in the city, DDOT noted. Construction on the East Jefferson enhanced corridor project, which will add boarding platforms at 21 bus stops, is expected to begin this spring.
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At the hearing, some commenters showed strong support for the increases in bus frequency, although others characterized the realignments of “lifeline” routes as disruptive to their job commutes and their ability to travel to critical destinations.
Improving frequency, or how often a bus is scheduled to arrive at a stop along a specific route—which can determine wait times—is one of the primary demands of the city’s transit advocates to reform the system’s services, along with ensuring DDOT buses are reliable and on time.
Part of the advocates’ calculus to improve bus services includes a boost to DDOT’s funding. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has proposed a $209 million DDOT budget for the next fiscal year, which adds $20 million—a figure that falls short of advocates’ expectations. The extra bump in money would aid in increasing the number of active buses and pay for more bus drivers and mechanics.
Here are the nine proposed service changes, according to the city transit department’s presentation:
- 3-Grand River: Daytime frequency would improve to every 10 minutes during the weekdays and every 15 minutes on weekends.
- 9-Jefferson: The end of the line will now extend to Mack and Alter, where an ALDI supermarket is located, with routing via Alter, Charlevoix, Chalmers, and Mack. The route will no longer serve the SMART transfer point at Jefferson and Lakepointe.
- 16-Dexter: Improve frequency to every 15 minutes during the daytime on weekdays; Improve frequency to every 20 minutes during the daytime on Saturdays and Sundays; Extended via Outer Drive to Old Redford Meijer. Service on Greenfield to Northland Drive will be removed; 16-Dexter would also be rerouted to pass in front of the University of Detroit Mercy campus (Puritan-Livernois).
- 10-Greenfield: Improve frequency to every 15 minutes during the daytime on weekdays and every 20 minutes during the daytime on weekends
- 12-Conant: Will be replaced by 52-Chene at Jason Hargrove Transit Center; The northern end of 12-Conant would continue to a new end-of-line at Winchester and Conant via Nevada, Ryan and E. Outer Drive
- 32-McNichols: Will serve Mack and Moross transfer point at all times via existing nighttime extension; Buses would arrive every 30 minutes during the daytime on weekdays.
- 40-Russell: The northern end-of-line will be relocated to Conant and E. Winchester, no longer serving Outer Drive east of Ryan Rd.
- 52-Chene: Buses would arrive every 35 minutes during peak times on weekdays and every 45 minutes midday; Realigned to serve Jason Hargrove Transit Center via Conant, State Fair Avenue, and Woodward, removing service from Nevada and Van Dyke; Realigned between Milwaukee and Canfield to operate on Russell and serve the new Justice Center.
- 67-Cadillac/Harper: Buses would arrive every 35 minutes during peak times on weekdays and every 45 minutes at midday.
As people called in or grabbed the microphone to deliver their thoughts on the plan, transit business as usual rolled along outside the station: Beneath a dreary sky, DDOT buses exited their bays, and the Detroit People Mover rumbled with click-clack noises as the train charged ahead on the rail loop.
Stephen Boyle echoed concerns about eliminating part of the Dexter route’s northern reach.
“I was looking at possibly getting a night job in the suburbs, and it would have been my lifeline,” Boyle said. “I have to rule out being employed outside of Detroit.”
Taxi driver and transit activist Michael Cunningham described several aspects of the new service plan as signs of positive progress. “I love to see changes. I love to see things getting better,” he said.
But, the loss of service along one route would dramatically shrink Zander Byrd’s mobility choices. The 23-year-old Detroiter expressed the most emphatic opposition.
“I am disabled and have used the Russell line from where Outer Drive and Van Dyke meet as a lifeline for years to commute to work and access the wider east side community and Hamtramck,” they read aloud from a prepared, written speech. “This proposed change would make it much more difficult than it already is for me to access the parts of the city Russell would otherwise get me to without issue.”
Byrd said they know plenty of people rely on this stretch of service on Outer Drive: residents who travel to Joe Randazzo’s fruit market to buy fresh produce and Pershing High School students who visit the local recreation center.
And Byrd doesn’t have a car right now. Byrd said this change would hurt northeast Detroit and them.
“Driving is a difficult thing for me. It’s scary sometimes. The bus is a lifeline,” Byrd told a reporter after the hearing finished and the room emptied. “It’s either this or nothing.”
Public comment period is open
For those who didn’t attend the meeting, there’s still time to weigh in: Residents can email comments to DDOTcomments@detroitmi.gov or mail a physical copy to ATTN: June 2025 hearing, Detroit Department of Transportation, 100 Mack Ave. Detroit, MI 48201 by April 19.