“Double DDOT,” TRU and Allies Urge City Leaders

In mid-December, TRU and 15 allied organizations sent a letter to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and City Council with a bold ask: “Double DDOT.”

It’s been nearly a year since the City released the final “DDOT Reimagined” plan – a great plan to run many bus routes every ten minutes and no bus less than every 30 minutes – roughly doubling bus service throughout the city over a period of years. But that proposal will require more buses, more drivers, and ultimately, a lot more money.

TRU and our allies (below) want the City to formally commit to implementing the plan, starting with another boost to DDOT funding in next year’s city budget. Last year, the city gave DDOT a boost with an additional $21.6 million dollars to its total budget, and a total of $114 million from the city’s General Fund. For fiscal year 2026, we’re calling for $150 million.

Better bus service is vital to Detroit for so many reasons. The cost of car ownership is a tremendous burden on many Detroiters, not to mention those who can’t afford a car at all, or aren’t able to drive due to disability or age. Increasing bus service would make using public transit far more convenient. It would also help to decrease air pollution in a city with one of the highest asthma rates in the country.

Graph titled Detroit invests less $$$ for transit than our peer cities with six organizational logos at the bottom.

Here’s a list of the organizations that have signed the letter so far. Do you know another organization that should be on the list? Email joel@detroittransit.org.

  • AFSCME Local 312 (DDOT mechanics)
  • AFSCME Local 214 (DDOT road supervisors and clerical staff)
  • ATU Local 26 (DDOT operators)
  • Brother Cunningham, at-large transit activist
  • Detroit Disability Power
  • Detroit Greenways Coalition
  • Detroit Jews for Justice
  • Detroit People’s Platform
  • Eastside Community Network
  • Great Lakes Environmental Law Center
  • Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES)
  • Michigan Climate Action Network
  • Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition
  • Michigan League for Public Policy
  • Sierra Club 
  • Transportation Riders United
  • Warriors on Wheels of Metropolitan Detroit