Council committee advances DDOT code-of-conduct ordinance after public hearing; department to draft enforcement rules

Detroit City Council members and DDOT officials on Wednesday advanced an ordinance to define prohibited conduct on city buses and authorize DDOT to adopt procedural rules for enforcement.

The ordinance amends Chapter 47 (Transportation for Hire) to add a “prohibited conduct subject to removal” policy for city buses. Sponsor Council member Scott Benson said the measure lists items “that shouldn’t be a question,” including lighting incendiary devices, using counterfeit fare media and intentionally depositing bodily discharges on a bus. DDOT Deputy Director Jenny Whitfield said the draft originally included 28 items but that one line—distribution of materials—was removed after public feedback, leaving 27 prohibited items.

The law department told the committee the ordinance would set substantive prohibitions and…