A group of young creatives has turned the Detroit People Mover into a rolling talk show as the long-maligned train undergoes a cultural and practical reevaluation. 

“PPL MOVIN” is a collaborative project between bandmates Layla McMurtrie, 24, and Deonte Bell, 29, and visual artist Nxkflix, 34, who met Bell at a fashion show. The idea for a talk show was floated casually in the band group chat but the pieces came together quickly. A few months later, dozens of interviews with local artists and changemakers are up on multiple social media platforms and the group is working on securing a filming permit in the new year. 

McMurtrie is a local arts and culture reporter and founder of The Vision Detroit, a nonprofit organization focused on fostering creative opportunities for emerging artists. She said the format for “PPL MOVIN” was inspired by “Subway Takes,” a popular internet talk show filmed on New York City’s subterranean railcar, but with a more motivational tone. 

Instead of airing divisive hot takes, “PPL MOVIN” focuses on what inspires people. Interview subjects alternate between complete strangers and fellow young creatives. The team says it’s all just for fun at the end of the day.

“It gave us a reason to talk to people and gave people a reason to talk to us, like break that fourth wall and break through that awkward tension of when people see each other and want to talk to each other but don’t know what to say,” Bell said. 

Each interview starts and ends with the same questions: “What’s moving you?” and “What’s your next stop?” Conversations have led to some surprising places in between.

One of their early videos was with a man heading to the liquor store, who later posted that he was celebrating three months of sobriety after the interview came out. A longtime valet reflected on how downtown has changed. Another rider, who was trying to collect spare change for a meal, said being interviewed showed him the compassion of strangers for the first time in a while. 

“I watched him and just felt like I was ready to take over the world,” Bell said. 

“It’s inspiring to know there’s so many people in Detroit that just do so many different random things,” he added. “We met a director, we met a hairdresser, just a bunch of people that actually say really motivating things … We’ve got everything from homeless men to young kids outside to (proctologists) from India. A lot of Canadians, too.” 

The show is another sign that the People Mover, low-key, is having a moment. Bell said there’s two main reasons for that: the train is free, and social media content is making it look good. 

The one-way elevated monorail had been widely viewed as a keystone of Detroit’s transit failures, albeit with its own charms. Increased attention on the People Mover comes as public officials recognize that reversing Michigan’s population slide requires attracting young people with cool places and reliable public transportation. The looping train is part of a downtown placemaking strategy as much as it helps get people to their destination. 

For now, “PPL MOVIN” is off the People Mover. The group was kicked off the train by police during a filming session and is now seeking permission to film from the Detroit Transportation Corporation.

DTC Communications Manager Erica Alexander said she’s a fan of the show and is working on a partnership that would allow the group to shoot content during agreed-upon times. McMurtrie said she sent Alexander a proposal after being connected through a mutual friend. 

“I was like, ‘This is going to be good for the city,’” McMurtrie said. “We’re having low-impact conversations with people, motivational stuff, and they were like ‘Oh, this sounds really cool.’ They want to go toward more community stuff, so (Alexander) is working on getting us a quarterly permit.”

In the meantime, the group is still recording. Recent episodes were shot at networking events, music festivals and out on the street. The group also has a backlog of interviews previously shot on the People Mover to release. Alexander said the Detroit Transportation Corporation expects to allow “PPL MOVIN” to record on the train again in 2026.

“What we’re hoping to do is create a framework for local podcasters to have the opportunity to be engaged with us on a regular basis,” Alexander said. “They can have access and opportunity to do that with our knowledge and understanding.”

Is the People Mover cool now? 

A lot has happened in the last few years to put the People Mover back on the map.

Nearly two-dozen used rail cars were bought from Toronto’s monorail system last year, with plans to replace the aging fleet and stock up on spare parts, potentially delaying the need to buy brand new cars for another decade. The city also commissioned new murals for five People Mover stations ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.

A corporate sponsorship was secured with Priority Waste to make all rides free in 2024 and 2025. Ridership crossed 1 million this year, the highest since the People Mover reopened after the COVID-19 pandemic but still down from 2.4 million in 2015.

A merch store dropped this month, and People Mover stations hosted summer art performances and exhibitions. City planners launched a study on potentially expanding the network, and an analysis identified investments needed to maintain aging systems. A public forum is being planned for January to announce next steps for the mobility study.

The People Mover has been a destination for other artistic projects, too. The Ethan Marc Band, a Detroit-based alternative rock group, filmed a music video inside the train earlier this year.

Michigan’s Growth Office, a state effort to attract new residents, brought its own talk show to the People Mover. Interviews featured Black Tech Saturdays Founder Johnnie Turnage and Detroit Pistons Brand Experience Manager Tianna-Marie Rosser.

The government’s People Mover show received a fraction of the online engagement “PPL MOVIN” has attracted. That may be in part due to a visual language that’s familiar to younger social media users and the chronically online consumers of short-form content.

“Clips run the world, man,” Bell said. “Everybody love clips.”

Videographer nxkflix recorded the first few interviews on a digital camera but later switched to his phone. Higher-quality photos of interview subjects sometimes eclipse views on the videos. He likes to experiment with rapid cuts and colorful filters. An occasional audio crackle from Bluetooth microphones is part of the charm, contributing to a bootstrapping, do-it-yourself vibe that’s common in Detroit artistic projects. 

“I like for stuff to be quick, I don’t like to focus on one shot too long and keep your eyes moving,” he said. 

So, is The People Mover cool again? Consider it a work in progress. 

“I would love for you to use that adjective to describe us,” said Alexander, the DTC official. “It is really cool to resonate with social media, and we have some really good compliments on the way our content has taken a turn to appeal to varieties of folks. It may be early.”

The trio behind “PPL MOVIN” has their own things that move them. 

Bell said he’s inspired to provide himself with freedom to explore interests in music, modeling, fashion and other creative endeavors. 

“I haven’t had a job for like two years, and I was just (a) straight starving artist,” Bell said. “I started working and losing sense of my passions. I’m trying to keep that creative side going. I’ve got kids too, so I don’t want to show them that you’ve got to go to work every day and that’s all there is to life. I’m trying to get the most out of life.” 

McMurtrie said the project pushes her outside her comfort zone, an important habit to build for any journalist. 

“It’s a cool thing to do, to hang out with cool people, get better and more confident in the stuff I’m doing,” McMurtrie said. “But I just love art for real, and the people in the city. It’s cool to spotlight everyday Detroiters and people who are moving the city in different ways.” 

Nxkflix said the project came along as he was trying to gain more experience with video content, and he recently filmed his first music video. 

“I like seeing people tell their story,” he said. “When I’m behind the camera, I’m an observer. My demeanor, my thought process has always been from observation; I like seeing people express themselves, and if I can be some sort of storyteller in the editing, I like to be.”