Drew is a lifelong resident of Metro Detroit, living and working throughout all three counties. He has relied on transit in tough times, and now rides the bus with his kids. Drew has even begun volunteering with TRU as a result of his experiences riding SMART.
“I had to sell my car for rent money – and figure out how to get to work. I was able to Google how to get to work with the bus.”
Drew’s story is not too different from many Metro Detroiters. After his car broke down in 2010, he had to sell it for rent money. This left Drew scrambling to figure out how to get to work from his Mt. Clemens home.
“[Transit] allowed me to continue to work out in Sterling Heights. It would have been untenable to walk there at that time. “I took the Gratiot bus to 15 Mile. I was working at 14 Mile and Van Dyke. It made more sense to walk from 15 Mile to 14 Mile.”
Like many other Metro Detroit residents, Drew suffered because of the gaps in the region’s transportation system. He pointed to one particular incident in 2012 where a lack of bus service in Livonia forced him to wait for hours in the dark.
“I picked up some side work installing computers at Bank of America locations. That was when I still didn’t have a car. So, I had to get out to a bank on Plymouth Road and it took me like five transfers to get there. I got out of work at 3 AM. I had to keep on walking until about 5 AM when I started seeing buses. I ended up walking 20 miles.”
“I had to keep on walking until about 5 AM when I started seeing buses. I ended up walking 20 miles.”
The gaps in our transit system have been recently patched in Oakland County. But, 11 years later, Livonia is still one of the many Wayne County communities that lacks SMART service. Gaps like these, as well as issues with frequency and reliability still hurt many southeast Michigan residents, including Drew.
While Drew very much appreciated the affordable mobility the bus offered him when he needed it, the bus’s infrequency and inconsistency ate up a lot of his time. “When I depended on the bus for work, I always had to get to where I was going an hour early just in case one of the buses didn’t show up,” Drew added. “I had to get really good at hanging out outside all by myself walking around because you can’t just loiter places. You have to look like you’re going somewhere but you’re already where you need to be.”
Drew now works in Dearborn and was looking for an apartment. He says he no longer relies on transit but still enjoys taking his kids out on day adventures by bus.
“We try to catch the FAST bus on Gratiot to downtown. We take the DDOT Gratiot bus up to 8 Mile and make the transfer at the Burger King. I like to park my car at Macomb Mall when we do that. It’s easier to go downtown for day adventures when you don’t have to park your car. You can actually have a couple of beers.”
Today Drew volunteers with TRU to try to improve and expand the transit that helped him through hard times. As a volunteer with TRU and other groups, Drew played an important part in our past campaigns to expand transit and sustain transit in Oakland and Macomb County, respectively, and recently joined us to canvas in Ferndale [below].
Interested in joining Drew and others in the fight for transit? E-mail TRU’s Engagement Manager Joel Batterman at Joel@DetroitTransit.org, and help your fellow bus riders!
