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Gotta love a bunch of wealthy "philanthropists" who contribute tax-free dollars to a community foundation for the sole purpose of rebuilding Woodward Ave. through midtown and downtown Detroit in order to prop up real estate values of properties they own.

And, of course, part of that Woodward Ave. rebuild entailed installation of a railway - flush with the road surface - down the middle of the street embedded with vehicular traffic.

Dummies at the Detroit Free Press and blowhards like WXYZ's General Manager, Mike Murri, and the Managing Editor of Crain's Detroit praised the advent of the QLine as if it were the best thing since sliced bread.

I, on the other hand, predicted this:
- Low ridership
- Large operating losses
- Unreliable or at best inefficient service to get from 'Point A' to 'Point B'.

Instead of using foundation dollars to improve public transit options for EVERYONE (as opposed to a few miles of Woodward Ave), rebuild some of Detroit's crumbling public schools, or fund activities for disadvantaged youth - *this* is how those monies were spent. OK, fine. The benefactors are wealthy and can spend their money as they please.

However, what's always bothered me is the fact (a) some state and federal grants *did* go toward this white elephant of a project, and (b) the long-term plan was to have taxpayer dollars subsidize the operations of this total dog and roll it into some sort of broader regional transit framework.

Well, it just so happens the Detroit Free Press offered a first-hand account of someone who uses the service frequently, was rooting for it to succeed, and is a fan of public transit in general.

Let's just say this person's review of the Q-Line isn't exactly glowing!

https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/201 ... 238726002/

Headline: Get serious about fixing the QLINE or admit that it's just for show

You can walk to your destination in less time than using the clunky QLine. It is there solely for local and national media attention, so they can say Detroit is having a “renaissance”. It isn’t. Have you been to Brightmoor lately?

fuzzpower wrote: ↑

Fri Nov 22, 2019 6:08 am

You can walk to your destination in less time than using the clunky QLine. It is there solely for local and national media attention, so they can say Detroit is having a “renaissance”. It isn’t. Have you been to Brightmoor lately?

Why do you think I call it Blightpoor?

Downtown and nearby areas ARE resurging. Corktown, New Center, areas near the Aretha Franklin Music theatre are seeing new construction and people moving back in.
BUT...
The outer neighborhoods are worse than ever. John R from Highland Park to 8 Mile is a ghost town. The streets immediately north of Hamtramck are desolate. Telegraph has never looked so worn out. Areas off E. warren look like a hurricane zone that never got rebuilt.
I think the strategy is to re-populate downtown and slowly spread the growth outward. Ive seen new construction homes in devastated neighborhoods. Areas near State Fair and Woodward, for example, have a few newer homes. But theres no demand for those neighborhoods. They havent fixed the problems that drove people away and caused the abandonment in the first place. And they arent located close enough to entertainment, or Wayne State, to be viable.

a year and a half ago on the Sunday before Memorial day I made my mass transit rip from my house in Ann Arbor to a daughter in law in Grosse Pointe Farms.
1. AAATA bus...ran on time clean and the AC worked. Maybe only 6-10 riders max during the ride. On and off at various stops.
2. Greyhound got in to Detroit 5 minutes early and the AC worked.
3. Q-Line as others described....Chronically late, the audio "next stop" voice was broken. On the upside a friendly on board employee helped me pay as I had a problem understanding the system. Also a fellow rider told me when my stop was coming up.
4. DDOT....disaster that day. A 2:05 bus never showed. One finally came about 3:15. The bus was very nearly full, the AC was broken, the driver was surly, the brakes squealed God awfully loud and my transfer slip form the Q-Line had expired I guess. The drive did let me sit without paying.

Last summer we were downtown for a wedding and we (wife and I) took the People Mover from the wedding to the reception , then back to the hotel after. That was a splendid experience IMO. It was on time it was only 75 cents and it got us within 2 blocks of our destination both times. It was a busy Saturday night in Detroit and I was surprised the People Mover was as empty as it was. I suppose many of the stops don't line up well with nightlife but for my purposes it did.

Comedy. Why not just drive?

It's 52 miles and takes 51 minutes. For me, it would take one gallon of diesel or $3.93 each way.

audiophile wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:08 am

Comedy. Why not just drive?

It was an experiment. I was curious how it would go.
Plus my wife was already there from the night before and we didn't need two cars there.
I enjoyed the experience and don't regret it. The most fascinating part was sitting at that DDOT bus stop on Mack@Woodward for almost an hour and half observing and interacting with 4-5 Detroit residents who seemed not the least bit surprised or frustrated. I could have ordered an Uber and left them behind but I wanted to see how it all "ended". I would have had an eventual limit when I would have ordered a ride.

audiophile wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:08 am

It's 52 miles and takes 51 minutes. For me, it would take one gallon of diesel or $3.93 each way.

Don't forget wear and tear aka depreciation that 102 miles represents. It's why lots of rideshare drivers aren't making anywhere near what they think they are.

You rode the People Mover and didn’t get mugged? Looks like they are making some progress!

craig11152 wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 23, 2019 2:59 pm

audiophile wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:08 am

Comedy. Why not just drive?

It was an experiment. I was curious how it would go.
Plus my wife was already there from the night before and we didn't need two cars there.
I enjoyed the experience and don't regret it. The most fascinating part was sitting at that DDOT bus stop on Mack@Woodward for almost an hour and half observing and interacting with 4-5 Detroit residents who seemed not the least bit surprised or frustrated. I could have ordered an Uber and left them behind but I wanted to see how it all "ended". I would have had an eventual limit when I would have ordered a ride.

audiophile wrote: ↑

Sat Nov 23, 2019 9:08 am

It's 52 miles and takes 51 minutes. For me, it would take one gallon of diesel or $3.93 each way.

Don't forget wear and tear aka depreciation that 102 miles represents. It's why lots of rideshare drivers aren't making anywhere near what they think they are.

My previous car has 430,000 miles on it. I only replaced belts, wipers, water pump, rear shocks, brakes, tires and changed oil. That all came to $0.0075 per mile. Per 102 miles that would be 76 cents.

I guess it was ok for an experiment. Glad you were not mugged.

Mugged in broad daylight on the day before Memorial day among hundreds if not thousands of folks in the streets was highly unlikely.

I suppose the Saturday night on the People Mover may have been slightly more likely but that was a different event.

Any takers for the QLine?

They are shutting it down due to Covid-19.

Public transportation is not a good idea, mugging and disease. Welcome aboard!

LOL - ain't that the truth!

No way would I ride a nearly empty People Mover and walk through People Mover stations in the dark of night. Security is lax to nonexistent.

Middle of the day? You're fine and it is indeed a good way to get around downtown Detroit if you have multiple stops and don't wish to walk.

Are muggings a significant problem, or is that just some hayseed preconceptions?

They are indeed a major problem in Greektown after dark.

https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/ar ... wn-detroit

The automobile, dependable, controllable, relatively safe and fast, personal transportation, and the post WW II boom it fueled were what made America what it was.
,
Walking, bicycling, and mass transportation are filled with many problems. Naive Renaissancers don't realize that they are the prey for numerous predators, who rob, beat up, rape, and murder people. Walking and bicycling aren't fast enough to get away from predators. Mass transit puts the prey in a situation where they are locked up with the predators and can't escape easily. Now we realize that mass transportation of all kinds, air, ground, and water, are also an easy place for spreading communicable disease. You really can't "social distance" on mass transportation without severe inefficency and high fares.

Car pooling with your co-workers is a good idea, but public transport is not.