In Detroit, a city where cars rule and transportation issues are paramount, having a well-oiled transportation system is essential to everyone’s quality of life.

To that end, the city of Detroit under Mayor Mike Duggan has worked over the past few years to update and expand its bus services. Starting Monday, Detroiters will be seeing the second major bus service expansion in the past six months with the addition of three more 24-hour routes, three more express routes from city neighborhoods to major job centers and added bus frequency to several more key bus lines.

This phase of DDOT’s service expansion is adding 650 trips per week to its schedule and brings to 1,300 the number of new trips added since September, the city said during a Monday press conference. A smaller expansion planned for April will add another new route, 200 more weekly trips, bringing the full service expansion to 1,500 added since September.

“Every chance we get, we are going to keep expanding our bus service so Detroiters can connect to jobs and other opportunities,” Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement. “We have made significant strides in our service over the past few years and are going to moving in that direction until Detroiters have a world class public transportation system.”

During this 2nd phase of DDOT’s major service expansion, which went into full effect today, three more routes will be added to the 24-hour lineup:

• #25 Jefferson
• #37 Michigan
• #48 Van Dyke/Lafayette

Just over a year ago, there were no 24-hour DDOT routes. As of today, there are nine.

DDOT also introduced three new direct and express routes that will connect more city neighborhoods to major activity centers and riders will see their job commute time cut by up to 30 minutes in each direction.

Those routes will include:

• #80 Villages Direct will connect neighborhoods along E. Jefferson, Kercheval and E. Lafayette to major employers in Midtown and New Center
• #89 Southwest Direct will connect neighborhoods along W. Vernor and other areas of Soutwest Detroit to major employers in Midtown and New Center.
• #92 Rosedale Express will connect residents in the densely populated Grandmont Rosedale area of the city to Downtown.

Adding Frequency, Expanding Hours

Customers using several other routes in this service expansion will see more buses and longer hours. Rider who use the Michigan Avenue, E. Jefferson and Greenfield lines will see significant bus frequency and expanded hours of operation. Michigan Avenue riders, for example, will see the time between scheduled buses reduced from one every 40 minutes to one every 20 minutes. Passengers using the McNichols line also will be able to catch a bus earlier in the morning and later at night.

“Our customers are our Number One priority and we always do our best to tailor our routes to meet their needs,” said DDOT Director Dan Dirks. “We frequently solicit direct feedback and work closely with our partners in the transit advocacy community. Their input has been critical to our improvements.”

August expansion was first major step

The Phase One expansion in August was similar in its approach and reach. It also was the first major expansion of DDOT service in more than a decade. It included adding 24-hour service to three major routes, #14 Crosstown, #16 Dexter and #45 Seven Mile, as well as the addition of two new express routes, the #95 Ryan Express and the #96 Joy Express which connects residential neighborhoods to the Downtown area. DDOT also began a new Saturday-only nonstop round-trip service to Detroit’s Eastern Market from every City Council District called the Fresh Wagon.

Thanks to DDOT’s partnership with the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) and SMART, DDOT added express service on Woodward from downtown to Somerset Mall via the #498 refleX Woodward, and SMART provides the same express service via the #598 refleX Gratiot. This express service does not replace DDOT’s existing Woodward route.

“If you look at a map of just the service improvements we have made in the past six months, even just the 24-hour routes, you can see that we are reaching nearly every major area of the city,” Dirks said.

January 2017 Service Change Details
New 24-hour routes & frequency improvements
#37 Michigan
24-hour service on ALL DAYS

Significant frequency improvements on ALL DAYS
#48 Van Dyke/Lafayette

Minor evening frequency improvements on WEEKDAYS
#25 Jefferson
24-hour service on ALL DAYS
More frequent morning and mid-day service on WEEKDAYS

New Express Routes
#80 Villages Direct
New route from East Jefferson, East Lafayette neighborhoods directly to DMC, Wayne State, New Center and Henry Ford Hospital
Operates Weekday Peak Hours

#89 Southwest Direct
New route from various Southwest neighborhoods directly to Wayne State, New Center and Henry Ford Hospital
Operates Weekday Peak Hours

#92 Rosedale Express
New route from various Northwest neighborhoods to Downtown via I-96
Expanded hours and frequency

#22 Greenfield
Earlier morning and later night service on ALL DAYS
More frequent evening service on WEEKDAYS

#32 McNichols
Earlier morning service westbound and later night service eastbound on WEEKDAYS

  bus service, buses, Dan Dirks, DDOT, detroit, Mayor Mike Duggan