Detroit Light Rail project (M-1, Q-Line)

Is there any discussion in Detroit about the lifespan of the DPM and whether it will be maintained or replaced with a more conventional light rail solution?

dowlingm wrote:Is there any discussion in Detroit about the lifespan of the DPM and whether it will be maintained or replaced with a more conventional light rail solution?

The DPM will never be replaced after it expires. It has been a colossal failure over its entire 27-year existence. Its proponents predicted an annual ridership of at least 13 million, and it was designed for a ridership of 15 million. Over the past 15 years, there were two years where its annual ridership fell below one million--763,000 in 1999 is one.

The year when its fare was increased from 50 cents to 75 cents fairly recently, its fare revenue that year covered less than 9% of its annual operating costs. Funds out of Detroit's emergency fund had to be diverted to the DPM in order to keep it afloat, back when Detroit had close to zero cash. Remember, the city of Detroit is currently running under Chapter 9 bankruptcy...

In addition, there have been occasional outages lasting up to several months when there was either zero service or operation only over a limited segment of its line. And it only travels one way--there is no way to arrive back at a rider's starting point other by going entirely around its circuit.

I ask anybody... Why would something as impractical as the DPM be allowed to persist for over a quarter century?

Here's an article from last August describing the DPM.

Detroit wrote:I ask anybody... Why would something as impractical as the DPM be allowed to persist for over a quarter century?

I don't understand how anyone thought it was a good idea in the first place. I've ridden it as a tourist and think that any money that Detroit throws at it is good money after bad. Let's home the Woodward light rail is a better use of money (but I'll admit I'm dubious after a ride on Seattle's Link light rail).

M-1 RAIL on time with completion of first phase of construction on Woodward Ave. in Downtown Detroit - M-1 Rail -- between Campus Martius Park (W Fort St.) and Grand Circus Park (Adams Ave.).

The line will extend between Jefferson Ave. and at least Chandler St., judging from the map in linked-to page. That map marks out construction at several spots in between.

Presently under construction, but set to open May 12, is Detroit's reincarnation of the streetcar. This line will be routed along.Woodward Ave - the "main drag" through Downtown Detroit - between the Renaissance Center and the present Amtrak station.

Originally the line was to be known as the M-1, but Quicken Loans, HQ'd in Detroit, acquired naming rights, and so the system was rechristened the "Q-Line".

Anyway, here is a historical piece on the end of previous streetcar operations under the municipal owned Detroit Street Railway name. Wouldn't it be a nice gesture if one equipment set could be so liveried?

Moderator's Note: merged into existing topic.

ExCon90 wrote:And possibly number the new cars beginning with the next number after the highest-numbered PCC? Other cities have done that, and it adds an element of continuity.

By 1915, Detroit streetcars numbered 1434 vehicles. PCC streetcars were introduced to Detroit in 1947, where they started numbering them as 100 to 286. Even 100 was renumbered 141. Since they started renumbering over again in 1947, what's wrong doing it again in a new era? And if you wanted to number them consecutively, where do you start, at 1435 or at 287?
http://www.detroittransithistory.info/TheDURYears.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What's so wrong with doing a little bit of research before proposing numbering schemes? And who knows how high the car number climbed to between 1915 and 1947? More research is obviously needed.

The Detroit streetcar line is now open: Homepage - M1-Rail It opened May 12.

It runs from the Coleman Young Municipal Center near the Detroit River in Woodward Ave. to Grand Blvd.