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Riders and advocates urge Detroit to sharply increase DDOT funding, citing late buses and service gaps
Summary
Advocates, riders and community groups urged the Detroit City Council to boost Detroit Department of Transportation funding—some suggested $200 million from the general fund—to improve on-time performance and service; speakers also pressed for meetings with incoming DDOT leadership.
Several callers used public comment to press the council for a substantial increase in transit funding and oversight, saying DDOT buses are frequently late and service is unreliable.
“It's really cold, and I noticed that folks don't have much money after Christmas and the buses are still not on time—better than 69 percent? It's been stagnant,” said Cunningham, an organizer who distributes bus tickets and basic winter supplies. Cunningham and other callers asked the council to consider pickets, litigation, and regular rider ride-alongs to highlight daily service problems.
Transit advocates asked the council to restore funding levels once provided and proposed a significant general-fund contribution. “City council should require and only approve a budget for $200,000,000 out of the general fund” for DDOT, Larry Donald Burse said, arguing that flat funding over time has reduced service effectiveness. Renard Roshonsky of Detroit People's Platform thanked the council for recent transparency reports and urged an infusion of investment, saying past general-fund support—once the equivalent of $80 million—now requires an inflation-adjusted amount closer to $200 million to achieve a target on-time performance above 70%.
Why it matters: callers framed the funding ask as a necessary investment in transit reliability, riders’ daily mobility and public safety. Several speakers linked service reliability to economic opportunity for riders and urged the council to ensure DDOT has sufficient operational funding as a policy priority.
Council engagement: callers asked for recurring meetings with the DDOT director and signaled support for the incoming director’s efforts. No formal motion to change the DDOT budget was made at the session; council members encouraged public groups to continue meeting with staff and to supply written recommendations.
Ending note: advocates and rider organizations said they will continue to press the council and to meet with incoming DDOT leadership to shape a 2025 budget that supporters say will restore on-time performance and service reliability.
