Last Friday, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan appeared before City Council to outline his budget proposal for the coming fiscal year – and one of the biggest winners was Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) bus service.
The Mayor’s proposal would deliver a $20 million funding boost for DDOT, more than for any other single department: from $190 M to $210 M. The money would go towards hiring 63 more bus drivers and 24 more mechanics, to complement the new buses scheduled to join the DDOT fleet this summer and fall.
“Today, we are running 178 buses a day,” Duggan said. “By January [2026], we’re gonna be running 220. We will be running more bus service than we had before COVID hit.”
For the past several months, TRU and a coalition of 30 allied groups have been urging the City to increase funding for DDOT, putting the City on a path towards doubling bus service, as called for in the DDOT Reimagined plan released in 2024.
The Mayor’s proposed increase is short of the $36 million that our coalition has been seeking, but still represents major progress. It’s a sign that our ongoing advocacy with the Mayor and City Council is bearing fruit!
Our focus now shifts to City Council, which is responsible for reviewing and amending the Mayor’s budget proposal by April 7. Please call your Council members using the guide below, and urge them to support more funding for DDOT.
You’ll also want to mark your calendars for Monday, March 31 at 5 pm. That’s when City Council is holding its evening budget hearing: another important opportunity to raise our voices for transit.