Tomorrow finds the People Mover turning 20 years young. To celebrate, the City of Detroit is offering free rides all day.
Yippee!
In truth, I’ve always found the People Mover to be a rather shabby, ill-founded thing–more trouble than it’s worth, really. Unlike the massive subways of New York, DC, or other major cities, the People Mover doesn’t move you very far. It doesn’t take you from the suburbs to the city. It doesn’t take you across town. It shuttles you to and from stations that often can be just as easily reached by walking. If it took you from Cobo to the New Center or Cultural Center, then it would be something.
But how could it be a serious mode of transportation in the Motor City? I’m sure the automotive power players have allowed it to be, regarding it these 20 years with nothing but nudges and winks to each other, encouraging its construction twenty years ago with tongues planted in cheeks. It would never cause any threat to their industry, at least in this city. To them, and to many others, it’s nothing but a coy little joke.
But I’m going for a ride tomorrow. A visit to The People Mover’s website, created by the Detroit Transportation Corporation, has given me an urge to visit The People Mover itself. The site offers pages dedicated to the art at each of the different stations, with interesting descriptions and vivid photos. I’d like to see these all in person. It should be a fine day for riding, stopping off for a nice drink every few stations perhaps.
I truly hope that reliable public transportation is a possibility for Detroit. Groups like Transportation Riders United, or TRU, are fighting for it, and with a new consciousness in America about the climate crisis at hand, maybe some change will occur.
Until then, The People Mover is still a bit of a joke compared to other transit systems in the US. But it’s not a bad little joke, after all. Might as well enjoy it.