Detroit transit forum shows advocates who’s serious about bus system

by Malachi Barrett and Johnathan Shephard

Detroit mayoral candidates committed to increasing transit funding and bus driver wages at a voter education forum that lacked two of the highest-polling candidates and exposed the limits of candidates’ knowledge on transportation issues. 

The Wednesday forum was hosted by Transportation Riders United (TRU), a nonprofit advocacy organization that works to improve public transit systems in the Detroit region. Several attendees were frustrated with the absence of Council President Mary Sheffield and Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr., saying it was a missed opportunity to outline their stances on important questions.

Audience members also said the forum revealed some of the candidates weren’t prepared for a deep discussion on transit issues. 

“It was kind of obvious who did their homework and who didn’t,” said Amy Hemmeter, a Detroit engineer and transit activist. “(Fred) Durhal gave me the impression he’s been actually listening to us. Some people are running and they don’t even pay attention to the City Council.” 

Candidates who participated include businessman Jonathan Barlow, former Police Chief James Craig, City Council Member Fred Durhal III, businessman Joel Haashiim, former council president and nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins, Attorney Todd Perkins and businesswoman DaNetta Simpson.

Hemmeter said most candidates didn’t seem to understand a question about eliminating zoning rules that include minimum parking requirements, which advocates say would result in more housing and fewer parking lots in the city. 

“I would support eliminating parking minimums, because people park somewhere and  everywhere, and if you don’t keep that under control, you have people parking up in the grasses, blocking sidewalks and driveways,” Simpson said.

Simpson turned away from the audience at multiple points to look at the questions displayed on a large projector behind her and at times struggled to silence her phone while on stage. Simpson said she came “close, very close” to becoming mayor when she ran in 2021. She earned 476 votes in the primary. 

Craig avoided directly answering questions on parking minimums and expanding paratransit, asking the audience twice if he could “digress” and speak on improving safety on buses. 

Renard Monczunski, an activist with the Detroit People’s Platform, said candidates missed a chance to show they have an understanding of how the Detroit Department of Transportation, which manages the city bus system, operates.  He said the next mayor could restructure the organization to make decisions in collaboration with the community. 

Improving public transportation has become a growing concern in recent budget cycles as advocates demand more investment in a system that largely serves Black and low-income residents. Advocates say the bus system is a critical lifeline for Detroiters who face nationally high auto insurance rates. It’s also become a priority for leaders seeking to attract new young talent.

A 2023 ridership survey found most riders earn under $32,500 and half don’t have a driver’s license. The most common reason riders hop aboard is to get to work.

“The circle I’m around are poor, and they’re trying to rise, and you can’t rise when you can’t get to work on time,” said Michael Cunningham II, a leading transit activist.

Jenkins cited U.S. Census Bureau data showing the percentage of Detroit households that lack access to a car is twice the national rate, which means more residents rely on public transportation to get to work.

“As a city that says we want to put Detroiters to work and we want everybody who can get a job to have one, we have to have a way for them to get there,” Jenkins said.

Roughly half the in-person audience raised their hands to show they ride the bus regularly. Candidates said they haven’t had much experience with the bus system since using it to get to school in their youth. Candidates are getting reacquainted with the bus system, sometimes through ride-alongs facilitated by Cunningham.

City data shows on-time performance is steadily improving, reaching 81% on weekday morning hours and 73% in the afternoons. Increasing the number of transit operators, mechanics and buses is key to improving service frequency and reliability, DDOT officials said during budget conversations earlier this year. 

Schetrone Collier, president at Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26, said Mayor Mike Duggan committed to matching DDOT driver salaries with drivers working for the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation. The current labor contract for DDOT drivers expires at the end of June, Collier said. 

Collier said DDOT pays drivers between $19.36 and $26.30 per hour while SMART drivers make $25.80 to $32.34 per hour. Too many drivers leave the city for better wages after Detroit pays to train them, Collier said.

“A world-class city starts with a world-class transit system, and we’ve got to start investing in our people,” Durhal said. “We currently have 168 buses on the road, 220 slated by January. We’re going to need more drivers. We gotta retain more drivers. That starts with pay, and it starts with the investment from the city.” 

The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) expanded service on multiple routes earlier this year and is adding 45 new buses, hiring more than 60 drivers and improving shelters across the city. But TRU said it will take doubling the DDOT budget by 2030 to fully realize a transportation improvement plan the city released last year. 

All seven candidates said DDOT should be fully funded when asked if they support doubling the budget by 2030. Haashiim answered the question by saying he would double driver salaries.

Durhal said he’s making “significant steps” to add DDOT funding while serving on the City Council.

Durhal cited a TRU report that found Detroit is drastically underfunding its transit system compared to other cities. The report found Detroit spends $69 per person on public transit while Cleveland spends close to $300 per person and Chicago spends around $1,000. Dural said his experience will help him bring state dollars to Detroit, saying he’s the only candidate who served the city and in the state Legislature. 

“I will commit to doubling the DDOT budget,” Durhal said. “We are losing here, and so we will find the funding by working with regional partners and share that cost and advocate for more state funding to bring more dollars back here to this city to fund DDOT the way that it needs to be funded.”

Perkins agreed, but said finding the funding will be difficult. He suggested finding public-private partnerships to replace the loss of federal pandemic relief funding that will expire next year. He also warned against regional partnerships that would strip control from the city. 

“Oftentimes, as we’ve seen, when authorities are created, Detroiters lose power,” he said.

Haashiim said the state and federal government could be potential sources but the city needs to find ways to generate new revenue. Craig said he would work with President Donald Trump to bring dollars back to the city. 

“This is not about partisan politics,” Craig said. “This is what’s best for Detroit.”

Jenkins said the city must continue to invest in paratransit service for residents who have a disability and diversify its transit offerings. She recalled an “nightmare” experience where she struggled to navigate the city in a wheelchair as part of an exercise with Warriors on Wheels, another transportation advocacy group. 

Street safety and infrastructure was another major theme of Wednesdays’ forum. Haashiim said the city needs more one-way streets. Craig said he was shocked to see motorists blatantly violating traffic laws and disregarding pedestrians when he returned to Detroit in 2013. 

“The truth of the matter is, we have a lot of reckless driving,” Craig said. “I’ve not seen it to this degree anywhere else in other cities, and so there has to be a robust enforcement of all traffic laws.” 

Durhal said he recently heard concerns from residents in Indian Village on Detroit’s east side about street safety. He said more speed humps are needed to deter speeding. Durhal called fro stronger barriers to protect bike lanes, saying he’s seen pylons used to separate bike traffic along Livernois Avenue on the west side knocked down by cars. 

Perkins said sidewalks, bike lanes and other physical infrastructure need to be upgraded. He also said annual deaths from traffic crashes is a government failure. 

BridgeDetroit contacted Sheffield and Kinloch’s campaigns after the event to ask questions brought up during the forum. Both campaigns sent email responses on Thursday. 

Sheffield said she would phase-in improvements by incrementally increasing the budget every fiscal year using revenue surpluses and new taxes she hopes to implement. She supports wage parity between SMART and DDOT but also said she plans to offer new services to all city employees.

“This means that our drivers and their households will receive targeted housing, food and physical and mental health assistance and resources where they may need them,” Sheffield said in a statement. “I know that household stability impacts everything from on-the job performance to the ability to get to work at all, and so my administration will holistically support DDOT employees and their household needs, which includes but is not limited to simply increasing hourly wages.” 

Kinloch said he would jumpstart bus rapid transit on major corridors like Woodward, Gratiot, Grand River and Michigan Avenue. He also wants to align DDOT services with Detroit schools to help kids get to class safely and on time. The pastor also supports eliminating parking minimums. 

Sheffield said she supports “gradual elimination” of parking minimums and consolidating surface parking lots into multi-level parking garages. 

“If we want walkable, transit-oriented communities, we need to create an environment where resource density eventually takes precedence over parking,” she said in a statement. “We will need a phased-in approach to realistically address this. We should immediately explore what options exist besides traditional surface lot parking, and whether cost-sharing could be a way to reduce individual construction obligations where we replace surface lots.”

Sheffield wants to create “community anchor zones” around churches and other legacy businesses that would offer new developments and an accelerated authorization process. 

Kinloch said his administration would identify hotspots where pedestrian crashes occur and take action to expand the sidewalk and increase safe crosswalks. He said any discussion of transit for elderly and disabled residents should include a serious look at the paratransit system. 

He also shared responses to a questionnaire sent by TRU. Kinloch committed to match DDOT wages with SMART wages. On the topic of doubling DDOT funding, Kinloch said he needs more information. 

“I am open to considering increasing funding, but it would be unrealistic for me to commit until I understand the real financial impact of such a decision,” Kinloch said in the survey response. “I am interested in seeing the results of the increase in service model being introduced by the department to see how service levels are impacted, and the revenue impact of such an approach.” 

Questions were posed by representatives of TRU, Detroit Disability Power, the Detroit People’s Platform and Warriors on Wheels.