Northwest Wayne News

Mayor Mike Duggan and officials from the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) gathered today to celebrate the graduation of 30 new bus operators, marking the largest class in years. These operators underwent extensive training before receiving their official operator badges. The ceremony was attended by Mayor Duggan, DDOT Interim Executive Director G. Michael Staley, and other members of DDOT's leadership and operator training teams.

The graduation ceremony comes on the heels of an announcement made by Mayor Duggan and DDOT officials to increase bus driver pay by $3 per hour and raise the potential good attendance bonus to a maximum of $6,000 per year. Mayor Duggan emphasized the importance of these bus operators in serving the residents of Detroit, stating, "We are so proud of these individuals who have chosen to serve our residents in such an important way, and the more we are able to hire, the more new service we can add."

This larger graduating class reflects the city's efforts to increase the number of drivers in DDOT. Currently, DDOT has around 400 operators, with approximately 100 receiving their official badges in 2023. The department continues to hire more operators with the goal of reaching 600 drivers. Another graduating class of nearly 60 new drivers is expected next month.

DDOT Interim Executive Director G. Michael Staley expressed his enthusiasm for the new operators, saying, "Any day we can welcome more operators to our workforce is a good day, especially a group of this size, which we have not seen in years." He further emphasized the crucial role that bus operators play in providing transportation to the City of Detroit.

The addition of these new operators will also result in improvements to service frequency on certain routes starting January 22. The 9-Jefferson route, which will become a Bus Rapid Transit pilot, will see an increase in daytime frequency to every 10 minutes on weekdays and 15 minutes on weekends. This improvement will be accompanied by temporary bus stop islands, bus stop consolidations, permanent boarding islands, and new/improved shelters at selected locations. Major transfer intersections will also be enhanced with "Connection Corners" improvements.

In addition to the 9-Jefferson route, increased bus frequency will be added to routes such as 16-Dexter and 18-Fenkell, and peak period runs will be added to several other routes, including 3-Grand River, 13-Conner, 15-Chicago/Davison, 19-Fort, 7-Seven Mile, 27-Joy, 60-Evergreen, and 67-Cadillac/Harper. The exact amount of additional service on these routes will be determined later this month.

The new graduates, who expressed their commitment to safety as their top priority, are eager to begin their work. With the addition of these operators and the upcoming improvements to service, DDOT is taking significant steps towards enhancing transportation for the residents of Detroit.

To find out more, go to this link: https://detroitmi.gov/news/mayor-ddot-officials-celebrate-graduation-30-new-drivers-spurring-service-improvements-some-routes