DETROIT (WWJ) -- New bus routes from the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) go into effect on Monday.
Some routes are being cut temporarily, while the frequency of others will be restructured or shortened.
City officials say ridership declined by around 50% during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the routes being cut or curtailed are ones that haven’t been getting much use.
Mikel Oglesby, DDOT Executive Director, tells WWJ that they have also been dealing with a worker shortage, and are looking to hire 90 bus drivers and 50 mechanics.
“We’re going to analyze and see how the service is doing, and hopefully as we get more operators on board, we’ll be able to go back to a normal service,” Oglesby said.
The current changes are expected to remain in effect until early 2022.
These routes are temporarily suspended:
-11 Clairmount
-26 Junction
-47 Tireman
These routes will have segments that will no longer operate:
-38 Plymouth: Service will not operate east of French & Gratiot.
-43 Schoolcraft: Service will not operate east of Manchester & Woodward. Frequency will be reduced from 50 to 60 minutes all week.
For a complete list of active and canceled bus routes, plus frequency changes, visit DetroitMI.gov/DDOT.
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