Detroit residents urge council to increase DDOT funding, fix bus shelters and improve accessibility

Speakers at a Detroit City Council budget hearing pressed elected officials to preserve and expand proposed budget amendments that riders and advocates say would improve Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) service, make bus stops accessible to people with disabilities and seniors, and direct more funds to home modifications.

Those concerns threaded through public comment from transit advocates, regular DDOT riders and neighborhood residents during the council’s public-comment period. Many speakers praised specific council amendments introduced that day and asked the council to keep them intact as the budget moves through executive session.

"We appreciate the progress that DIAT has been able to make in improving service reliability and frequency, but there's still a lot more work to be done," said Lucas Lasecki, engagement specialist at Transportation Riders United. He specifically thanked "Council Member Durhall and Council Member Santiago Romero" for amendments to increase budget allocations and said the changes could speed accessibility and facility improvements. "These allocations will go a long way to doing so," he added.

Robert Plosky, who identified himself as a regular DDOT rider and transit advocate, also praised the amendments and pushed for larger investments to raise service frequency and accessibility. Plosky cited the "DDOT Reimagined" plan’s goal to double service by 2030 and said advocates had been seeking nearly $150,000,000 to expand routes, add benches and shelters and increase frequencies. "We are truly grateful for all of the budget amendments that have been proposed here today," he said.

Several callers described on-the-ground problems they want the budget to address. Cindy Dara urged the council to pilot a free-month fare program to boost ridership and asked for better data collection about riders and route-level boarding counts. She said many shelters are too shallow to block wind and suggested installing larger shelters with solar panels and phone chargers.

Marvin Clark asked who decides where bus stops and benches go and urged the council to set clear siting standards to keep stops away from unsafe vacant properties and roadway curves. "Who are the individuals who say, 'hey, this is where [a stop] is at'" he asked, describing long-standing stops in District 3 that lack benches or safe placement.

Other callers focused on equity and seniors. Betty Varner asked the council to allocate funding for a Detroit Home Accessibility program and a senior accessibility program that would cover features such as walk-in showers; she also asked for support to help community groups secure 501(c)(3) status to compete for grants. A separate caller suggested making the Detroit PeopleMover free for residents and using sponsorships or hotel/restaurant partnerships for visitor passes.

Budget priorities drew debate among commenters. One caller questioned proposed spending on electric-vehicle chargers and replacing bus seats, and urged redirecting some money to senior accessibility programs. Another suggested dedicating long buses at night to shuttle people from transit hubs such as the Rosa Parks Transit Center to shelters.

Speakers also highlighted neighborhood-level needs: requests for more shelters and benches in District 7 and on the Southwest Side; a call for a direct DDOT connection between Lincoln Park and downtown Detroit; and repeated requests for low-income and senior fare relief.

Council staff said the Port Authority reports would be circulated to council members that evening and reminded the public that budget hearings continue: the council will return to budget hearings Wednesday at 10 a.m. No formal vote on the amendments was recorded during the public-comment period; the meeting then moved on and was adjourned.

The public comment period included a mix of transit-focused requests — increased DDOT funding, more and larger shelters, benches, targeted accessibility upgrades, free or subsidized fares for seniors and retirees, and improved coordination between DDOT and other transit services — plus a smaller set of unrelated or non-transit remarks during the commenters' two-minute slots.