Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Kilpatrick cuts bus lines to save $25 million

But Detroit mayor relents on proposal to shut down all early morning routes.

By David Josar / The Detroit News

End of the line DDOT routes that will be eliminated on April 23: • Downtown Red Loop: One-way loop serving the central business district west of Woodward between Fort and Fisher Freeway Service Drive and the Renaissance Center on Jefferson Avenue. • Cultural Attractions Trolley: Serves Woodward between Jefferson and Kirby and a one-way loop through the Museum District and Detroit Medical Center along Kirby, John R., St. Antoine and Mack. • Lafayette-Green: This route serves southwest and downtown Detroit and Capitol Park along Lafayette, Fort, Green, Gartner and Mandale. • John R: Serves central and downtown Detroit, Oakland Mall, Troy, Madison Heights, Hazel Park, along John R and Woodward. Route operates Saturday and Sunday only. • Meyers: Serves northwest Detroit along Meyers. • Woodrow Wilson: Operates in central Detroit and New Center along Rosa Parks, Woodrow Wilson and Grand Boulevard. • Lahser: Serves western Detroit, Henry Ford High School, Redford Township, Dearborn Heights and Pierson Loop along Evergreen, Pickford, Lahser, Burt, Plymouth and Warren. Error processing SSI file Error processing SSI file Comment on this story Send this story to a friend Get Home Delivery

DETROIT -- Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick backed down Tuesday on a plan to suspend early morning city bus service, saying the city will, instead, eliminate seven routes and increase waiting times on other lines.

The cutbacks, effective April 23, are aimed at saving Detroit $25 million by next summer.

"There is a lot of coverage to a lot of places," Kilpatrick said.

In January, Kilpatrick had proposed shutting down bus service in the early morning hours to save money. Those early morning buses -- along with hundreds of city jobs -- went on the chopping block as Kilpatrick's administration laid out its plan to cut costs in the face of a budget shortfall expected to hit $231 million next year.

But for Detroiters who rely on city services or city paychecks, the plans raised new fears of transportation headaches and lost jobs.

Kilpatrick and city transportation director Norman White said about 1 percent of the city's 110,000 daily riders will be affected by the changes announced Tuesday.

The eliminated routes will be the Downtown Red Loop, the Cultural Attractions Trolley, Lafayette-Green, and the weekend John R, Meyers, Woodrow Wilson and Lahser.

Round-the-clock service will continue on eight routes; six routes will be shut down from 2-4 a.m. Thirty-one other routes will run from 5 a.m. to midnight.

During the week, the number of routes will decline from 52 to 45.

Even with those changes, the farthest someone in the city will need to walk to reach a bus stop will be three-quarters of a mile, White said.

City residents seemed ready to accept the changes.

"You wish they wouldn't need to do it, but it's time for tough decisions," said Randy Reeger, an office clerk in downtown Detroit who rode the Woodward bus from Palmer Woods.

Flora Jones, waiting by the State Fair Grounds for a bus to the main branch of the Detroit Library, said she will cope with the new bus times.

"I may not like it, but I can get used to it," Jones said.

Some of the routes -- such as the Cultural Attraction Trolley, which shuttles along Woodward roughly between downtown and the Museum District -- only had an average of 251 riders a day, the largest ridership of any of the eliminated routes.

By comparison, the Woodward route, which goes up and down Woodward, has an average of 10,143 riders per day.

The changes will save $3 million by June 30, the end of the fiscal year, Kilpatrick said, plus $22 million next year.

The city's goal was to lay off 207 drivers, but due to retirements, voluntary quitting and dismissals of unprofessional drivers, that number is down to 67 workers.

To save additional money, buses will run less frequently on other routes, White said; but buses will be added to some more popular routes.

One remaining worry is many riders are not paying the full $1.50 fare, Kilpatrick said. He cited a city study that found 7 of 10 riders weren't paying the proper fare.

You can reach David Josar at or djosar@detnews.com.