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New TRU Report Card: DDOT Fail’s Riders

TRU has graded the on-time service of DDOT buses.
DDOT has earned a failing grade – an F.


DDOT has consistently failed to provide riders with reliable bus service according to its published schedules.  Observing 4,000 scheduled bus routes Oct 17-24, TRU volunteers noted that just 50% of the scheduled buses showed up on time.  Hundreds failed to to arrive at all, leaving riders stranded.  This is unacceptable!

 TRU’s Report Card details the magnitude of the problem and offers concrete solutions that Mayor Bing and the DDOT management should implement to substantially improve on-time performance, including:

  • Fix the buses!
    • DDOT must set clear standards of how long a repair should take and any mechanic that is consistently unable to meet it should be fired.
    • New union work rules must ensure mechanics to work when the buses need repaired.
  • Improve hiring practices
    • Bing’s HR bureaucracy continues to be a major barrier and must be expedited.
    • The new DDOT Director must have proven experience successfully running a large transit agency.
  • Prioritize on-time performance
    • Evaluate drivers, road supervisors, and managers based on on-time performance and hold them accountable to it.
  • Improve communications
    • Inform riders when buses are not coming, via email or text
    • Provide accurate and up-to-date statistics of on-time performance on the Detroit Performance Dashboard.
  • Work together for a long-term regional solution
    • To truly provide the reliable and effective transit options Detroiters need, this region must come together around a Regional Transit Authority and a dedicated transit tax, just like every other major metro area.

This is the first of biannual report cards that TRU will be producing on the quality of DDOT bus service.

TRU thanks the volunteers who did the research for this report, including Leah, Daniel, Donna, Tony, Karen, Mary, Russ, Nadine, Lara, Teddi and the Urban Politics students at U of M – Dearborn. We also would like to thank Patty Fedewa and Mike Whims for their much-appreciated guidance and Jeanean Bryant and Leah Yankee for video taping personal bus stories. We would also like to thank the many hard-working, dedicated DDOT employees, who despite challenging work conditions, endeavor to provide good bus service.