SMART Passing Detroiters In The Cold

The lines are sadly drawn by law - SMART doesn't pickup passengers in Detroit unless it is during the very limited rush hour window of time, and destinations are supposed to be outside city limits. We stand and wait for DDOT buses caught in bus bunching. There are five buses assigned on the major routes - Woodward, Grand River, Gratiot, Michigan. From about 3pm until 6pm those buses become focused on the shuttle of people out of the city - the exodus at the end of the work day.

The Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation is under pressure to support changing its boarding policy in the city limits to help ease the burden on Detroit residents who sometimes wait for hours, especially in bad weather. 

SMART officials say they can't stop for stranded riders, citing a 50-year-old ordinance that prohibits them from picking up passengers within the city limits. 

"I don't like the policy at all. (The bus) should stop, you know," said Murdock, 28, of Detroit, while he waited for a Detroit Department of Transportation bus. "It should stop for everybody who lives in Detroit. But it just goes right past."

--- Detroit News, January 11, 2015

Service Denied

SMART buses aren't allowed to pickup passengers that commute within Detroit city limits and the route hours headed into Detroit for pickup are limited to hours from 5am-8am and 3pm-6pm. It is hard to watch Detroit residents stand in the cold, with few shelters in the city, waiting for bunched up rush hour commutes to be unsnarled with personal passenger vehicles. SMART buses on their rush hour routes into/out of the city passing by, leaving a warm trail of exhaust in the bitter cold.

Is the flow being monitored centrally through tracking GPS broadcast signals from the buses or on the street by supervisors? DDOT would say both apply. However those on the ground waiting wonder why the pattern of disservice hasn't been met with additional buses launched on segments experiencing need. There are times it happens, but it also seems far too many times it doesn't.

The Citizens Advisory Committee commissioned by the Regional Transit Authority recently called on SMART to work with DDOT to find ways to change the ordinance and update its policy, especially since drivers have selectively picked up passengers. SMART transports riders into the city from the suburbs and then from designated locations downtown back to the suburbs.

Note: The RTA CAC will hold it's first meeting of 2015 on January 26 @4pm at SEMCOG offices, 1001 Woodward, Suite 1400, Detroit. The public is welcome to attend. Focus subcommittee opportunities will be available. An agenda for the meeting can be found through [ this link ].

DDOT buses break down, because every one that is capable of running is sent out each day with little pause in service for preventive maintenance. On a good day a few might be kept on hold to handle extra service, but there's a gamble as to which route, where, and when will the extra buses be needed.

Transfers Between Systems

For those needing to transfer between systems the rules, costs, processes differ. SMART has an FAQ section for reference.

	DDOT to SMART	SMART to DDOT
Base fare	$1.50	$2.00
Transfer fee	$0.25, if 2 SMART destinations add $0.25 when boarding SMART	$0.25
Regional pass transfer fee	$0.50	$0.50
Duration transfer valid	4 hours	3 hours

If transferring through SMART's flexible service, Dial-A-Ride, and Connector service it is best to check the FAQ for your situation as there are many potential situations.

SMART Isn't For Detroit Residents

If the ordinance changed, "we could probably pick up a few people" but wouldn't be able to meet the large demand. Detroiters are not covered by the SMART millage.

"We also realize that our first responsibility is to the people who are paying our bills," Hertel said. "No one has ever said that if the ordinance changed that we wouldn't pick people up. If I have to make a choice between providing service to someone who has paid for that service and providing service for someone who hasn't, I have to provide it to the person who's paid for it first. That doesn't mean that if I've got the ability I won't also do the other. "

It really all gets down to servicing those whom have had tax dollars put into the system. When money matters more than people's needs, service is generally denied, even on a public mass transit system.

"It's very difficult," Murdock said of the boarding policy. "It's real cold and you're ready to get on the bus to go home and they just pass you right up. And you've got to wait for the DDOT bus to come. And they're always late."

New & Repaired Buses

December 2013 Detroit was awarded $52 million for improvements on 60 vehicles, purchasing security equipment, improving facilities and installing bus shelters. Therefore, an April 2014, RFP 48223 for Mid-life Overhaul of DDOT buses was sent out by DDOT. You can view the RFP and Detailed Price List through the links here. The service life for buses (according to FTA) in DDOT's system most likely hits the 500,000 mile threshold before 12-15 years. As far as improving facilities / installing bus shelters... let's ask some questions for Dan Dirks. (See below for the questions being sent in.) 

Seven buses in the allocation of 80 through a grant from the FTA were put into service this week, the remainder to be in service by Memorial Day.

Mlive reports:

Funds to purchase the buses at a cost of nearly $500,000 each come from a $13 million federal air quality grant and $25 million in Federal Transit Authority monies.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is matching 20 percent of those grants.

Seventy of the New Flyer buses are slated to be 40-foot clean-diesel coaches; 10, costing about $715,000 each, will be 60-foot buses intended to service the high-demand routes.

Two of the buses are electric hybrids.

Each will be equipped with GPS devices and seven surveillance cameras. The camera configuration includes two external cameras, one looking forward from the windshield and another recording passengers as they enter and exit; and five on-board cameras.

The addition of cameras is expected to yield fewer crashes, on-board assaults and frivolous lawsuits, said DDOT Director Dan Dirks, the former head of the suburban SMART bus system

The buses usually take 2.5 years to order, however DDOT was able to jump forward in the line of deliveries based on FTA requirements for implementation on grant funds. These buses have a lot of surveillance but with the length of service there are few embracing green renewable energy.

How to Embrace Green Energy

One of the proposals we would like to make is harnessing the wind and possibly solar encountered through travel and storing it into a bank of batteries. Why can't the fleet be generating energy as it is being consumed? Think of a few turbines such as this StormBlade (technology from 2006) mounted close to the roof on buses that aren't passing beneath low-clearance bridges. The onboard battery bank could be used on the bus or discharged once at the terminal for maintenance.

New Smart Phone App - "DDOT Bus App"

If you have an Android or iPhone there is a new app available - search for "DDOT Bus App" and you can install the app. 

   

Since this is a new app I haven't yet had a chance to see how well it tracks real arrival times or scheduled arrival times. Today I'll get a chance to test it out further.

Text-My-Bus

For those without a "smart phone", if your phone is able to text - you can send a message to 5-0464 or 313-499-0937. Simply send the cross streets you desire and you'll get back a list of routes serving that location to select from, then a list of next arrival times as calculated. One thing to note ... if a bus is broken down the time to arrival will not change. So it might be a good idea to check a couple times if waiting for a bus to make sure that one you're waiting for is still moving.

Shortcuts - each intersection and route servicing it has a number which can be entered. That saves going through a couple screens of selection. On the example shown 163 is the shortcut code.

Note the short span of times between these arrival times shown on the example screen... this is an indicator that bus bunching is happening or a bus has broken down still transmitting.

Ditched By DDOT

Recently the people at Ditched By DDOT indicate Dan Dirks would take questions from them. They have in turn offered to submit questions from the public. Ditched By DDOT has a voicemail taking in calls and posting them online. Their phone number is 810-882-1302. When you call speak clearly with little background noise, so the transcription service Google offers gives the best possible result. 

Questions for DDOT (Dan Dirks)

 If you have a question you can send it through DitchedByDDOT@gmail.com. These are the questions we're sending in:

• The FTA lists the life expectancy for a 40 foot bus as a minimum of 500,000 miles or 12 years. Since Detroit covers a lot of distance, what is the average life span within our current fleet? Which two systems are the most common to contribute to retiring a bus?
• The Mid-Life Overhaul was to include improving facilities and installation of bus shelters, how was this achieved? Does DDOT have a list of bus shelters and their status, along with those which are planned?
• Are there hybrid buses in the fleet? Since these have different systems is maintenance on them more or less difficult and are these preferred over traditional diesel power?
• New Flyer offers full electric buses through the Xcelsior line - when do you anticipate DDOT would purchase these? What conditions would be needed?
• Will there be any changes with bicycle racks on the buses? Most seem to have racks now, but a few don't. Do you get reports on how frequently bikes are loaded to the buses?
• What sort of metrics are being published for the public to see and where would they find them? Do you think there could be a link to that information from the new smart phone app?
• Any chance of hooking up wind or solar power collectors to the buses with a storage battery bank?
• Finally our perennial question - 24 hour service needs to be restored, what is it going to take? This will enable job opportunities for Detroit residents working odd-shift jobs. Today, most basic employment jobs take place outside the traditional hours of work. 

Dan Dirks as New DDOT Director

February 16, 2014 Mayor Duggan brought in a former working partner from his days at SMART as the new director for the Detroit Department of Transportation. The press conference acknowledged things aren't working well with DDOT. Dirks related waiting 35-40 minutes for a Woodward bus, which according to schedule should be every 15 minutes. Detroit is going through bitter cold temperatures with wind chills 30 degrees below freezing - since the bus shelters have been removed in so many places those waiting are quite upset and its let to violence against several bus drivers in the past few weeks. ATU 26 held a rally around the Coleman A Young Municipal Center requesting safe working conditions for its drivers and assistance for the riders.

Things to do as soon as possible:

• Take care of uploading scheduling information to Google, Bing, Mapquest and other mapping services. This ensures riders can plot a ride route that likely is to include connecting between buses and estimated times for travel and waiting.
• Maintenance contracts and parts suppliers need to be paid and orders change from delayed to expedited.
• Hire more mechanics or bring those laid off back if still available.
• Check on supervisors to ensure their job of regulating the flow of buses to serve rider needs is being performed.
• Calibrate GPS tracking systems on buses so we don't have invisible buses or ghosts tracked early or late through Text-My-Bus
• Make sure Text-My-Bus is available not only through the dial code 50464, also make it a local phone number for cell phone service providers that haven't linked up the code or don't offer dial codes.
• Ensure public notices of meetings are very visible on all buses at least a week in advance, so riders can schedule attending.
• Stop any planned removal of bus shelters and go back to INSTALLING rather than removing. Funding for shelters is available through State and Federal funding - reference FTA SAFETEA-LU Discretionary Grants (5309)

Eligible capital projects include the purchasing of buses for fleet and service expansion, bus maintenance and administrative facilities, transfer facilities, bus malls, transportation centers, intermodal terminals, park-and-ride stations, acquisition of replacement vehicles, bus rebuilds, bus preventive maintenance, passenger amenities such as passenger shelters and bus stop signs, accessory and miscellaneous equipment such as mobile radio units, supervisory vehicles, fare boxes, computers and shop and garage equipment.

Additional press:

• "New DDOT Director: Dan Dirks", Transit Riders United
• "Building on the Heart and Soul of Detroit", Model D / Real Detroit Weekly, February 27, 2014
• "We've got to get the buses running on time", Detroit Free Press, April 13, 2014
• "Transit officers start riding Detroit buses, targeting violence and disorder", The Detroit News, May 7, 2014

!Rare! Bus Shelters in Detroit

Wayne State University / Cultural Center seems to be the only area with bus shelters at this time.

This location - Woodward & John R - once had bus shelters at the stop. They have been removed.

There was a time when bus shelters were seen along the major routes of DDOT (Detroit Department Of Transportation) within Detroit. They weren't prolific, but when you're standing in the cold with snow and/or rain falling around you they can be vital in those long waits for the bus to arrive. What DDOT has been missing that SMART's suburban service does have are TIMETABLES for the route posted at the stops.

The Federal Transit Authority has funding to ensure bus shelters are present for riders, especially in those areas of low-income at need. The table below lists the grants offered through the FTA since 2009 to Detroit Transportation Corporation, source: ProRepublica Stmulus Tracking for Wayne County Michigan.

Recipient	Amount	Description	Federal Dept./Agency	Date
DETROIT TRANSPORTATION CORPORATION	$56,325	Federal Transit_Capital Investment Grants Invest in public transportation by upgrading a heat, ventilation. & air conditioning (HVAC) system and lighting system in our maintenance and control facility (MCF) that is twenty-four year old. This spending item is part of a $133,125 allocation. See details	Federal Transit Administration	8/21/2009
DETROIT, CITY OF	$37,550,020	Federal Transit_Formula Grants Invest in public transportation by performing preventive maintenance on existing buses, purchasing and implementing a facility management system and asset management system, purchasing new hybrid non-revenue service support vehicles, rehabilitating bus te See details	Federal Transit Administration	3/03/2010

Emergency Management through Created Crisis

What we are encountering in Detroit is a created crisis through the placement of Emergency Management by the State of Michigan. Just as they shut down power to the Coleman A Young Municipal Center on September 11, 2013 - to show the people that they carried the ability to do so. The removal of services and creation of an uncomfortable climate for low-income is the agenda of the EM's team.

Scheduled times for service have grown longer between buses, and supervisors directing the frequency of buses appear to have grown sleepy sitting in their service vehicles along the routes. "Bus Bunching" happens frequently during rush hour traffic along the maor thoroughfares such as Woodward Ave.

Why Fareboxes Aren't Working

Tuesday I was headed out the door in Northend headed to Michigan and Trumbull for a meeting. I walked over to the bus stop at Woodward and Grand Blvd to wait for a bus. About 5 minutes after standing there I saw two buses bunched headed northbound up Woodward. Another 10 minutes later another headed northbound. I was running late for the meeting so I was grumbling a bit about the "415 Plan" to provide buses every 15 minutes along four major routes: Woodward, Dexter, Gratiot, and Grand River.

Late night at Rosa Parks Transit Center...
getting quieter with fewer buses

I checked at the corner to see if a Dexter bus was coming and there was nothing. Its an interesting spot to catch a bus because two of those routes are within a block from each other from Grand Blvd headed nearly all the way downtown. Waiting grew longer, SMART buses kept driving up dropping off passengers and continuing on their way - they can't pickup in the city until after 6pm and only at select locations (which Woodward and Grand is one, but 6pm had not yet arrived).

One of the people waiting saw a Dexter bus pulling up and started running to catch it. Another person took off running as well. I noticed them headed over and started running as well, but I was carrying a loaded backpack and couldn't make time and ensure my equipment in the bag wasn't damaged. The two of them got on the bus and I was at the corner across the street as the bus resumed its path, leaving me behind.

I headed over to Woodward for more waiting and quickly grew tired of it, started walking down Woodward. Another northbound Woodward bus went by. I got down to the stop across from Mr Mike's in Techtown and two buses were pulling up. Likely the ones I'd seen headed northbound at least 30 minutes earlier. I hopped on and found the farebox was working. I remarked "there must be five buses running on Woodward now". The driver couldn't or wouldn't acknowledge that. I also remarked "the fareboxes are not working on many of the buses so ridership isn't being counted - this is an effort to show minimal ridership so service can be cut again or changed." I said that loud enough for half the bus to hear it. A few people heard it and I saw the expression on their faces change. They connected their "good fortune" with a future catastrophic result - the loss of ridership count foretells loss of service.

Why Break the Fareboxes?

When DDOT measures ridership broken fareboxes don't gauge, they have one other sensing mechanism but I doubt that is enabled either. Its been said 15-20% of revenue to run the buses comes from fareboxes. So if 50% of fareboxes are broken it affects the system greatly. I'm not exaggerating about the number not working - that's been what I've encountered in the past two months, half the boxes are disabled.

Citizens around the city have to stand up at meeting with our public officials present and demand accountability. We also have to attend the DDOT customer meetings that happen on 3rd Thursdays at DDOT headquarters, 1301 East Warren. The meeting starts at 5pm and runs roughly 2 hours depending on number of people attending and topics to be covered. These customer meetings are the time to demand accountability and request written documented responses. Get these posted online because proof of how the system is operating needs to be demonstrated.

Some of the press prints the known lie saying DDOT is working GREAT - that's usually from the Mayor's perspective, fabricated based on numerical analysis. Have you seen him or his staff on the buses? Demand accountability and challenge him & staff to ride for a few days. Include the Emergency Manager in that invitation because it seems Mayor Bing has simply become an adviser to the EM and abdicated power months ago. Ethics complaints are appropriate for elected officials that fail to serve and protect the public, its in their oath of office and shown in the introduction to the City Charter. [Ethics ordinance and charter provisions]

Keep looking to alternative press that is watching City of Detroit and DDOT.

• Voice of Detroit
• Michigan Citizen
• Motor City Muckraker
• Metro Times
• Transit Riders United
• more could be listed, but many get weird on coverage as if receiving contributions not to report the truth.

Link to current article on DDOT Disservice in Voice of Detroit.

January 26 DDOT Service Changes

DDOT will be making adjustments in several routes beginning January 26, 2013. Please copy, print, and circulate the above graphic. You can download this as a PDF from the RideDetroitTransit.com site.

Monthly Meetings

LAC Meeting

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

DDOT Administration Bldg, 1301 E. Warren Ave., Rm. 107

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Customer Information Meeting

Thursday, January 17, 2013

DDOT Administration Bldg, 1301 E. Warren Ave., Rm. 107

5 p.m. - 7 p.m.

Bing Can't Find The Community Meeting Tonight

The mapping service on Facebook that is preferred is Bing, a mapping service by Microsoft. Bing doesn't know how to get from the State Fairgrounds to the community meeting tonight.

For a public service that you find to be such a significant achievement, this is a big missing. Will we be missing you at the meeting tonight?

By the way, you can use the location link on this post to get the map to the meeting.

Driving Excellence Through Nojay's No Show Leadership

There is little doubt that the 415 plan came from DDOT's COO Bill Nojay. After all as the Chief Operating Officer it would be part of the overall plan to keep things moving, marketed, and measured. It stinks of marketing through performance indicators. A solution that would come from a person who is watching numbers, instead of riding on the buses to know how they are working. Mr Nojay didn't ride the buses. He was busy in one of these ways:

• At home in New York state working on details for his radio show
• Making public appearances in preparation for his run for state representative in New York's 133rd District, (which was declared May 13 2012)
• If in Detroit at his desk Mr Nojay would be going through the performance measures, creating scenarios for change based on those measures, meeting with City of Detroit COO Chris Brown, or Beau Taylor (Chris Brown's assistant handling transportation and public lighting), and perhaps making a visit to the bus terminals to consult with Ryan Gallivan (another Envisurage/TransPro employee contracted to DDOT's executive management team).

At several April Detroit City Council sessions Stephen Boyle asked if they knew Bill Nojay was holding a job in Avon, New York as a Tea Party radio host through WSYL. The information came as a surprise, but was followed up on.

When Bill Nojay was asked at a May 9, 2012 Detroit City Council meeting to be accountable in his position the response was clearly not commitment to the job. The following is from The Michigan Citizen:

Councilmember Ken Cockrel, Jr. asked DDOT Chief Operating Officer Bill Nojay whether he could effectively serve DDOT when he’s only in Michigan part-time.

“Only time will tell,” Nojay, who’s employed by Envisurage, replied. 

The conflict of holding the DDOT position was evident before he was even considered for the position. By his principals as a staunch right-wing Tea Party radio host and public presenter he represents a set of interests in system that is clearly against the people of Detroit. The Tea Party agenda of minimal government and advocating free markets is basically the underpinning of being an anarchist. In such a system those that have a defined need for social services (more of a socialist approach) would be diametrically opposed in belief of how a system such as public transportation would operate. The mere fact he is considered involved in public transportation seems problematic, because his belief system would further the direction to privatize social services such as public transportation and place it in the hands of the free market (aka privatization, sold into corporate hands).

Bill Nojay is one of Envisurage CEO Mark Aesch's proteges as it began in May 2011. Mark Aesch wrote a book about using performance measurements to turn around public transportation, called Driving Excellence. The book has had questionable reviews, yet Mr Aesch continues to gain speaking engagements as a self-proclaimed transportation expert. Each engagement offering additional support to future engagements. From the text of Driving Excellence the management delivered at DDOT seems to be very contradictory. The first steps being the elimination of transportation for anyone with need from midnight to 5am on major routes, and 8pm until 7am on secondary routes.

Split Shift with Kansas

The investigations into Envisurage, which has changed its handle to TransPro needs to be continued. September 13 at the Mayor's District 4 Community Meeting

Stephen Boyle asked the Mayor's administration to justify the lack of investigation into those hired through Envisurage to manage DDOT. He stated "The $2 million dollar contract could balloon to over $4.6 million dollars at completion".

In response COO Chris Brown stated, "The bonuses for Envisurage have not been paid, they will be at the end of the contract."

Getting to know Envisurage thoroughly hasn't been an easy investigation, but  additional findings are showing up. I've been looking for an accounting of exactly who are the "5 executive management" contractors assigned through the Envisurage work order brought into the Parsons Brinckerhoff contract.

Contracted To KDOT Too?

I suppose there was little wonder why Mark Aesch was looking over at Stephen Boyle during the Detroit Financial Advisory Board meeting in September with a bit of apprehension, considering Bill Nojay the COO assigned to DDOT was removed pending a Hatch Act investigation. It seems the slippery slope runs in multiple directions.

Ryan Gallivan is one of the people Envisurage brought in to manage maintenance for DDOT's services. I am just beginning to uncover stories that Mr Gallivan has also been working with Kansas Department of Transportation's investigation for Regional Transit Authority in Southeast Kansas, covering 23 counties. 

KDOT arranged a meeting February 14, 2012 bringing TeamTech's Kathleen Hornish-Doucet and Joel Wright, along with Ryan Gallivan to meet with Finney County Transit Board.

A subsequent meeting was held March 6, 2012 between KDOT with TeamTech/Envisurage staff was held to discuss serving the growing southeast KDOT RTA communities.

Ryan Gallivan with Florida-based Envisurage, LLC, which is being sub-contracted through Olathe-based TeamTech, Inc., to work on the regional transportation issue, shared some of the findings from the regional study.

Having experience with implementing regional public transportation in Rochester, N.Y., Gallivan said that there were some key differences between there and southwest Kansas. One key difference was that Rochester's area was united under a single transportation entity, while southwest Kansas involves entities that are all separate. He also said that there is a difference between the rural areas he worked with previously and the rural areas of Kansas currently being analyzed.

"One thing I discovered about traveling in Kansas is that there's rural and then there's frontier," Gallivan said.

{Read more}

It seems Envisurage is getting more in the field experience as it places Mark Aesch's transportation team of affiliates through Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA). His staff have started with feeder system experience bringing commuters from locations outside the core of metropolitan cities in, but Detroit is the only interior serving metropolitan system they have worked with yet. One that is difficult because of the dispersed population of the area spanned. 

Measuring Performance for Detroit

Here are a few questions worth asking for measurement:

• How do you achieve ridership performance measures when riders are scattered around the city? 
• Are you truly serving the potential rider who would ride if the bus was easier to access? 
• Are the routes connecting to the feeder system(s) outside the city at significant times? (such as end of extended work hours, end of sporting events, early morning starting hours, airport & train commuting connections)
• How about measuring job retention and growth that results from bringing people to their desired destination? 
• Can you measure attendance at recreation events, and clarity for visitors to the city in using their preferred mode of transit - public transportation. 

Public transportation is provided for more than core-hour working commutes. People take care of tasks at all hours of the day, including medical visits, laundry, grocery shopping, and visiting friends & relatives across the city.

Rosa Parks Arrest Vigil and DDOT update

Saturday, December 1 at 3 pm a candle light vigil will be held at the Rosa Parks Transit Center. The event commemorates 57 years since Rosa Parks was arrested for failing to sacrifice her seat on a Birmingham Alabama bus to a white passenger. We need to bring awareness up of the history to present of the fight for Human Rights.

The 2nd floor lobby will have the vigil and recognition, awareness on the street at the transit center needs to be increased. This isn't a time for peaceful recognition of a key moment in the struggle. It is time to show there is still progress to be made.

DDOT Update

Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) has been routinely discussed as a public service that Mayor Bing's administration believes should be privatized. The people spoke up at the November 19 and 20 City Council sessions. We questioned the wisdom of entering into five contracts spanning five years for $58 million to provide "engineering services" which morphed into management services last year through closed door meetings of the Mayor's administration and a turnaround team.

The vote on November 20 turned down the contracts and requested an emergency interim contract be drawn not to exceed nine months for critical engineering services. This leaves DDOT without a senior management team as the Envisurage/TransPro contract fizzles out today, November 30. An audit of service provided by the contracting firm needs to be conducted by the Auditor General prior to payment of bonuses that are part of the contract.

"Reform Agenda" To Remove Detroit Department of Transportation

Can we shake free of the "Reform Agenda" put forth through the Financial Stability Agreement. Since Public Act 4 and 72 were repealed November 6 this agreement and operations under its guise need to be halted. In the plans according to the September 2012 Financial Advisory Board meeting:

• Create a new governance model by January 2013 to overcome challenges such as:
  • Collective bargaining agreements
  • Civil service bumping rights
  • Financial information systems
  • Divided responsibility and authority
• Timeline of outsourcing operations and management
  • Feb 2013 - Release of RFP
  • Mar 2013 - Formation of new authority
  • Jul 2013 - Outsource management vendor selected
  • Sep 2013 - New authority board approves selected vendor
  • Jan 2014 - New vendor begins management of DDOT

These plans would remove public transportation and replace it with privatized public service. Do you believe the public will be better served by a private entity? What manner of public discourse will they be required to have?

The next Financial Advisory Board meeting is scheduled for December 10, 2012 starting 2:00 pm at McGregor Conference Center on Wayne State University Ferry Mall, across from the Law Library. The State of Michigan needs to stop holding meetings and advancing an agenda that is not supported by law. Likewise City of Detroit administration (Mayor Bing, et al) need to step forward and assume responsibility to provide service to protect the people as their oath of office requires.

State & Region Transportation Update

November 27 the State Senate passed legislation (SB909, SB911, SB967) to create a regional transportation authority for South East Michigan. Additionally SB912 was passed regarding zoning of land for use by the regional transportation authority. The pressure was on from the Federal Transportation Authority as US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has promised $25 million for construction of the M-1 Light Rail project provided a regional transportation authority was created.

These bills are to be discussed at the State Transportation Committee meeting on December 5, 2012 at 10:30 am in Room 307 of the House Office Building in Lansing. Once approved through the House the bills would go to Governor Snyder for approval into law.

Troy Transit Center Underway

The Troy Transit Center (partially in Birmingham as well) began ground breaking on Tuesday November 28. Opposition was from the now-recalled former Mayor Janice Daniels. 

The 28,000 sq-ft center replaces an old Amtrak station on a 2.4-acre site at Maple Road and Coolidge Highway.

Transportation Advisory Commission

Applications are being accepted by the Mayor's Appointee Division from residents interested in serving their district's transit needs.

At this time it is known that...

• The contact person is Eunice Hayes in the Executive Department of the Mayor
• You will have two weeks to return the application with the following included:
• Resume
• Copy of photo ID
• Two letters of recommendation

Districts of the city are shown in the map below.

City of Detroit Boards & Commissions

Individuals interested in seeking an appointment to a City of Detroit Board or Commission shall comply with the Appointment Process. Boards and Commissions may be created a number of ways, such as by federal, state, or local laws, by action of Council, or by the Mayor. The applicant should consult the enabling document that created the Board or Commission in which the applicant is interested, to obtain the terms and conditions for the appointment. Please review the following information regarding the application process and meeting procedure for Boards and Commissions.

Application

An application is required to be submitted prior to appointment to a board or commission. The form may be obtained from the Office of the Mayor. Attach copies of your resume and/or letters of recommendation, and your Drivers License and Voters Registration Card. Please complete the form in its entirety as incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Background Review / Verification

Information submitted on the application may be subject to verification by staff as determined by the Mayor and/or at the request of the appointing authority.

Residency Requirement

City residency may be required to serve on a particular Board or Commission.

Submission of Application

Completed and signed application packets are to be submitted to the Appointments Division.

DDOT Google Maps Service Unavailable

I was just checking bus directions via Google Maps today and the only buses listed were those from SMART. It isn't the first time this year I've found DDOT missing from the system. I've found it usually coincides with pending changes or even recently past changes in scheduling. Around the time of the April changes access through Google Maps was down  for 3-4 days.

Insight Leads To Pending Schedule Changes

SEPTEMBER 29, 2012  SCHEDULING CHANGES

As mentioned above system changes tend to be the instigator of Google Maps integration being unavailable. A quick check of the DDOT website and there are a few announcements that I've missed.

I am wondering if there were public hearings about the changes or if these are simply being made without consideration of that legal requirement. Public Service Announcements have been very poor out of Mayor Bing's administration. The good news is the information was *found* earlier than normal (being about 1-2 weeks prior). Click here to view the announcement at right to view larger and for print.

DDOT's Usual Monthly Meetings

The next DDOT Local Advisory Council Meeting is September 18 from 10am-12pm at DDOT Administration, 1301 E Warren, Room 107, Detroit - between I-75 and Russell St.

The next DDOT Customer Information Meeting is on September 20 from 5-7pm at DDOT Administration, 1301 E Warren, Room 107, Detroit - between I-75 and Russell St.

Keep Quiet and It Will All Change (for the worst)

We Have Been Too Quiet

Detroit Department of Transportation held eight public bus hearings in four locations around Detroit between August 24-27, 2009. This video is a compilation from over 60 video clips. The people were given 3 minutes to speak, not 90 seconds. The locations were well placed in areas served well by buses to enable people to attend. There were over 200 people that gathered at Rosa Parks Transit Center on the evening of August 25, 2009. Coverage by the mainstream media was extremely limited, the People cried out.

The direction DDOT was looking at going into this meeting was to:

• Eliminate four routes
• Eliminate weekend service between Saturday 6pm to Monday 5am - wiping out Sunday service
• Eliminate night service on many routes between midnight and 5am.

Resolved after the meeting was to retain Sunday bus service on many lines, but runs times were extended offering perhaps half the service that was previously available. Night buses were also reduced but not eliminated.

Recent Bus Hearings

February's hearings were announced without much notice by the mainstream press. The Mayor's Press Secretary and Chief Operating Officer would rather not have many people at public hearings. Meeting the bare necessities on timing, number of meetings, and format for the meetings ensures limited involvement by the public -- which works well when the agenda is to privatize public transportation.

Meetings were scheduled at the Northwest Activity Center, and Wayne County Community College East campus. Neither of these routes is well served by buses, and two meetings were scheduled at the same time on the same date to take care of all the meetings in a single day.

The hearings had little if any impact on the route changes - literature was clearly marked as changed service. There was nothing "proposed" about the changes going into the meetings. Public meetings are used to find areas that changes proposed may need adjusting.

Printed materials following the meetings was very limited. Occupy Detroit has footage showing a single desk copy of March service changes in the office at Rosa Parks Transit Center. Offering material in Spanish and Arabic, both large population groups in the city was not available for months. Updates to schedule tables on Google Maps were incorrect for a week, and changes since have been sporadic.

Mayor Dave Bing

Source: NY Times (Sept 2009)

What kept DDOT from executing the original plan? Many say it was the election campaign for Mayor Dave Bing. Things have changed in 2012. The Mayor is approaching the end of his term and looking at running for another term as Mayor. His platform of change is evident through the campaign branding of videos on the City's YouTube channel MyDetroitCable. The branding of videos in this manner is a violation of Detroit City Charter

DDOT Gets AVL Working

Response to Detroit bus system uses tracking for smoother operations, Detroit News, 06/17/2012
Opinion by Stephen Boyle

Tracking technology has been corroding on the buses, signals broadcast waiting to be heard. When buses arrive into the fleet they come with AVL equipment. DDOT has gone through maintenance to resurrect units to get them back online.

The elimination of buses and elongating of service times for route times outside "core hours" has wiped out jobs, placed people on dark streets walking miles home, and it isn't like they can call a taxi - doing that wipes out any income from a job.

The article mentions creating a phone app to know when the next bus is coming. This is great news - for those that have a smart phone! Phone technology when you have a basic job or searching for one isn't likely able to run Android/iPhone apps. It has to get down to text messages to serve basic needs foremost. Some still have a limit in number of text messages they can receive in a month. If you keep meeting a bar set too high you'll continue to claim to hit a mark, but fail to hear from those you missed.

The FTA requires filing an Equity Analysis before making major service changes or raising fares. Detroit Department of Transportation did NOT file an Equity Analysis BEFORE making changes. These changes were pushed on the people with a 10 day notice (receiving no fanfare by the press, this is NORMAL for the Detroit Press Secretary - they want nobody to know, nobody to show!). Public transportation is an area the City of Detroit has been getting a black eye in for decades. During these same years elected officials have used the law as a guide rather than the framework for how to operate, choosing to ignore the law when it doesn't fit their master plan created in closed door sessions with corporate executives. The people have largely not stepped up and filed ethics complaints, this has to stop now and people need to hold elected officials to an ethical standard that serves the PEOPLE, not the corporate interests intent on enslaving the people.

If all DDOT can serve is core hours then you serve those whom are working - you missed a segment of your target audience for Federal grant funding [Job Access / Reverse Commute Programs (Section 3037)]. Maybe if DDOT focused on abiding by the federal & state programs they would have more operating capital. The feds don't want to offer it because DDOT hasn't delivered in the programs as requested. Getting the AVL working is a REQUIREMENT for federal funding - there are MORE REQUIREMENTS.

Work on the basics please!!! The Envisurage contract was illegally created behind closed doors as a way for the Mayor to sell-out the city assets. The goal since last year was to move public transportation into privatized hands, which creates a question - will a private firm service the public needs - NOOO!!  The Detroit Bus Company is an example, that fledgling bus system serves party people on the weekends, it isn't out to serve working people.

Once the people are out of the way city officials can interpret the rule of law as they would like and subject the people to that interpretation. This is how some of our law enforcement happens - the officer says "you can't do that", and most people comply with the request. Some people know their rights and question that authority knowing full well the officer is bluffing and expecting compliance.

From the preamble of the City Charter...

The people have a right to expect city government to provide for its residents, decent housing; job opportunities; reliable, convenient and comfortable transportation; recreational facilities and activities; cultural enrichment, including libraries and art and historical museums; clean air and waterways, safe drinking water and a sanitary, environmentally sound city.

DCPE for Transit Stakeholders

Detroit Department of Transportation

Public Announcement

May 18, 2012
ATTENTION: STAKEHOLDERS OF ELDERLY, DISABLED, AND LOWER-INCOME TRANSPORTATION SERVICES.
REGARDING: 2012 – DM1 FEEDBACK PACKET – FEDERAL GRANT FUNDING AVAILABILITY

On May 18, 2012, the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) hosted its annual Detroit’s Coordination Planning Event (DCPE) to gather with area stakeholders to discuss service improvements it has planned for Detroit’s elderly, disabled, and lower- income riders (target-riders). DCPE was DDOT’s opportunity to present the programs it proposes to achieve a customer-focused, high-quality, and cost-effective transit service; and to obtain feedback from stakeholders on ways to continue improving area services.

Moving forward, target-riders services will be coordinated through DDOT’s new Detroit Mobility 1st (DM1) service, which is funded by multiple funding sources. In an effort to secure grant funding from the Federal Transit Administration’s Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities (5310), Job Access / Reverse Commute (5316), and New Freedom (5317) grant programs to assist with improving target-rider services, DDOT is seeking the following:

• Additional feedback from area stakeholders on that which was proposed as the most effective alternative for satisfying area rider’s needs: and/or
• The presentation of grant proposals that enhance, extend or replace existing programs/services.

If you are interested in assisting in these efforts, please obtain a 2012 DM1 Feedback Packet, which includes DDOT’s proposal and the required feedback survey, by downloading it from DDOT’s website at: www.RideDetroitTransit.com; or by calling DM1’s Customer Care office at (313) 933-1300 and selecting options “2” and “3” to request a mailed copy.

For assistance with completing the survey, or grant proposal, please feel free to contact DM1’s Mobility Center at: (313) 833-0477. Completed surveys and grant proposals must be submitted to DDOT by June 18, 2012.

We look forward to your anticipated assistance with securing funding for area riders.

Sincerely,
DDOT's Grant Facilitator


Click here to view and download the DM1 2012 Feedback Packet

NEWCC Press Conference

Today, May 9 at 2pm Northend Woodward Community Coalition (NEWCC) will be holding a press conference and asking riders who feel comfortable speaking on camera of their experiences with public transit are present.

 The focus of our complaint is on the procedural violations of the public hearings in their scheduling, lack of services/advertising provided for Spanish and Arabic speaking attendees, and decision to make cuts that disproportionately affect low income and minority population without first considering an alternative that would mitigate some of the impacts felt after service has been eliminated.

Location: Saint Matthew's and Saint Joseph's Episcopal Church, 8850 Woodward Avenue  Detroit, MI 48202

DDOT Budget Hearing May 9

The Detroit City Council has scheduled the DDOT budget hearing for tomorrow - Wednesday, May 9 at 10:00 am at the Coleman A. Young Municipal Building, 13th Floor. TRU opposes the Bing Administration's cut to the DDOT subsidy by $10 million until DDOT resolves issues regarding timeliness and providing enough bus service to meet riders' needs.  See our testimony which is attached.

In the meantime, TRU is considering filing a Title VI complaint because DDOT violated federal guidelines with the March service cuts. Also we are working with community mental health agencies and consumers to develop an action plan to improve transportation services for people with physical and mental disabilities and people in receovery. Lastly, we are thankful for our summer interns who will be helping TRU with community engagement activities, our Faces of Transit video projects, social media and much more. Our focus will be on bus service, regional transit, rapid transit, and a Transit Bill of Rights.

If you want to know more about TRU's work, visit our website and sign up for our e-newsletter or contact me.

Ruth Johnson
Organizer & Assistant Director
Transportation Riders United
office: 313.963.8872
fax: 313-963-8876

The 415 Plan

We've been sold provided the 415 Plan - four routes that are providing 15 minute service between buses along them. The routes are: 16 - Dexter, 21 - Grand River, 34 - Gratiot, and 53 - Woodward.

This means service during core business hours will work well... in theory. Bus bunching is the norm as routes reach half way down their path. A stop isn't just I'm there and gone, riders scramble for fare, handicapped need space cleared, ramp service, and securing. This can move the time for a stop outside the scheduled time.

DDOT Follow-Up to April 5 Meetings - TONIGHT

This is from the Detroit Department of Transportation page:

DDOT has scheduled a follow-up meeting for the public hearings that were held on Thursday, April 5, 2012. The meeting will be held Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at the DDOT Main Office - 1301 E. Warren Ave, Room 107 for 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

We advise the public to request copies of the slideshow presentations, request written copies of responses as they are provided. Document how DDOT is responding - it is our right to understand how public transportation is being impacted.

For those who have not seen the Envisurage contract with the City of Detroit - download it here. 

DDOT April 5, 2012 Service Changes

The following is from the Detroit Department of Transportation website - under Public Notices:

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Detroit Department of Transportation has scheduled public hearings for proposed service changes, effective Saturday, April 28, 2012.  

We'd like to note that the date of these public hearings isn't indicated on the notice... is this a bit odd? Actually these public hearings are a requirement and DDOT would rather just slide these changes in without involving the public. After all, we're told the city has no money.

April 5th is the date - which is Tigers Opening Day, and this didn't elude those planning the meeting. Intentionally the date was set to avoid mass media coverage. We advise everyone present to document what is happening - if your camera or cell phone records video/audio - please do that. Make sure any conversation you have is recorded, and posted online and shared.

Locations	Morning	Evening
WCCCD	10:00am-noon	6:00-8:00pm
NW Activity Center	10:00am-noon	6:00-8:00pm

Locations listed:

• WCCCD - 5901 Conner St, Detroit MI 48213
• Northwest Activity Center - 18100 Meyers Rd, Detroit MI 48235

Document Links

[link to DDOT site with PDF]
[link outside DDOT to PDF] - things have a way of disappearing when they are observed closely