DETROIT (WWJ) — The Detroit People Mover on Wednesday reached a major milestone, celebrating its one millionth rider of 2024.
The People Mover held a contest Wednesday morning, with Lanetta Hinton of Detroit emerging as the lucky winner as she passed through the faregate at the Grand Circus Park station.
Hinton received a VIP — “very important passenger” — prize package that included a People Mover art book, umbrella, t-shirt, gift cards and “a lot of goodies.”
Hinton told WWJ Newsradio 950’s Jon Hewett she plans to celebrate by bringing her grandkids downtown to ride the People Mover.
“I’m famous now. I need a billboard, right?” she joked.
The one millionth ride of the year comes just a week after the People Mover reopened ahead of Thanksgiving festivities following an 11-week closure to replace sections of original track from 1987.
There were just over 650,000 riders in 2023. The People Mover saw a surge in ridership this year, thanks in large part to the NFL Draft drawing a crowd of more than 700,000 people in April.
A Los Angeles Chargers fan visiting Detroit told WWJ’s Kyle Beery he was impressed with the DPM.
"First off, the transportation is wonderful. The People Pusher (sic) is great. You can go from the hotel to the bars to get around easily. It would be better than the draft being in LA, because the buses over there just don't work as smoothly as Detroit," said Cole Abbene.
The DPM has introduced new permanent hours, opening earlier and closing later on weekdays and Sundays:
• Monday-Friday: 6:30 a.m. – Midnight
• Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – Midnight
• Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Full details on schedules, stations and directories of what to do near each station can be found on the People Mover website or its social media channels.