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Detroit Department of Transportation
The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) (pronounced DEE-dot) is the primary public transportation operator serving Detroit, Michigan. In existence since 1922, DDOT is a division of the city government, headed by a director appointed by the mayor. Primarily serving Detroit and its enclaves, DDOT is supplemented by suburban service from the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART). In 2024, the system had a ridership of 14,785,400, or about 48,500 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2025.
The DDOT began its life as the Department of Street Railways (DSR) in 1922 after the municipalization of the privately owned Detroit United Railway (DUR), which had controlled much of Detroit's mass transit operations since its incorporation in 1901. The DSR added bus service when it created the Motorbus Division in 1925. At the height of its operation in 1941, the DSR operated 20 streetcar lines with 910 streetcars. By 1952, only four streetcar lines remained: Woodward, Gratiot, Michigan and Jefferson. Streetcar services was discontinued in April 1956 with the decommissioning of the Woodward line. The DSR formally became the DDOT in 1974 under the Detroit City Charter.
Between 2009 and 2012, the system's seven remaining limited and express bus routes (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, and 78) were discontinued.
Starting January 1, 2012, management of DDOT was contracted out to Parsons Brinckerhoff, an engineering and management firm. The firm subsequently subcontracted the management of the system to Envisurage, LLC a consultancy run by the former CEO of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. On March 3, 2012, 24-hour service was discontinued, and other weekday and weekend routes and services were pared down, or eliminated entirely, in an attempt to produce savings for the department. In August 2013, management of DDOT was contracted out to MV Transportation under the direction of Paul Toliver until September 2014. Dan Dirks was appointed director of the department by mayor Mike Duggan on January 9, 2014, for the duration of MV Transportation's contract. MV Transportation's contract was extended for another two years on August 12, 2014.
On January 23, 2016, DDOT reintroduced 24-hour service on three principal routes along with other smaller service changes.
On September 1, 2018, the system's ten most popular routes were branded as "ConnectTen" and renumbered as routes 1-10, and received 24/7 service among other changes. The existing routes numbered 7, 9, and 10 were given higher route numbers to avoid conflict.
In November 2021, the Detroit City Council approved plans to construct a new State Fair Transit Center, housed inside the disused Dairy Cattle Building, one of the last remaining structures from the State Fairgrounds. The Council rejected a prior plan, which called for the historic building's demolition. The original State Fair Transit Center, dating back to the streetcar era, closed permanently on November 6, 2022, and was promptly demolished; a temporary transit center was constructed in the former State Fair parking lot, 500 feet to the north, entering service the next day. Construction began on the new permanent transit center in May 2023.
The new State Fair Transit Center is dedicated to the memory of DDOT bus driver Jason Hargrove, who advocated for better protections for DDOT drivers during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hargrove died in April 2020 from COVID-19, and the transit center was dedicated in his memory in March 2024. The Jason Hargrove Transit Center opened on May 11, 2024.
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Detroit Department of Transportation
The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) (pronounced DEE-dot) is the primary public transportation operator serving Detroit, Michigan. In existence since 1922, DDOT is a division of the city government, headed by a director appointed by the mayor. Primarily serving Detroit and its enclaves, DDOT is supplemented by suburban service from the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART). In 2024, the system had a ridership of 14,785,400, or about 48,500 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2025.
The DDOT began its life as the Department of Street Railways (DSR) in 1922 after the municipalization of the privately owned Detroit United Railway (DUR), which had controlled much of Detroit's mass transit operations since its incorporation in 1901. The DSR added bus service when it created the Motorbus Division in 1925. At the height of its operation in 1941, the DSR operated 20 streetcar lines with 910 streetcars. By 1952, only four streetcar lines remained: Woodward, Gratiot, Michigan and Jefferson. Streetcar services was discontinued in April 1956 with the decommissioning of the Woodward line. The DSR formally became the DDOT in 1974 under the Detroit City Charter.
Between 2009 and 2012, the system's seven remaining limited and express bus routes (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, and 78) were discontinued.
Starting January 1, 2012, management of DDOT was contracted out to Parsons Brinckerhoff, an engineering and management firm. The firm subsequently subcontracted the management of the system to Envisurage, LLC a consultancy run by the former CEO of the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority. On March 3, 2012, 24-hour service was discontinued, and other weekday and weekend routes and services were pared down, or eliminated entirely, in an attempt to produce savings for the department. In August 2013, management of DDOT was contracted out to MV Transportation under the direction of Paul Toliver until September 2014. Dan Dirks was appointed director of the department by mayor Mike Duggan on January 9, 2014, for the duration of MV Transportation's contract. MV Transportation's contract was extended for another two years on August 12, 2014.
On January 23, 2016, DDOT reintroduced 24-hour service on three principal routes along with other smaller service changes.
On September 1, 2018, the system's ten most popular routes were branded as "ConnectTen" and renumbered as routes 1-10, and received 24/7 service among other changes. The existing routes numbered 7, 9, and 10 were given higher route numbers to avoid conflict.
In November 2021, the Detroit City Council approved plans to construct a new State Fair Transit Center, housed inside the disused Dairy Cattle Building, one of the last remaining structures from the State Fairgrounds. The Council rejected a prior plan, which called for the historic building's demolition. The original State Fair Transit Center, dating back to the streetcar era, closed permanently on November 6, 2022, and was promptly demolished; a temporary transit center was constructed in the former State Fair parking lot, 500 feet to the north, entering service the next day. Construction began on the new permanent transit center in May 2023.
The new State Fair Transit Center is dedicated to the memory of DDOT bus driver Jason Hargrove, who advocated for better protections for DDOT drivers during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hargrove died in April 2020 from COVID-19, and the transit center was dedicated in his memory in March 2024. The Jason Hargrove Transit Center opened on May 11, 2024.
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