Mayor, DDOT officials celebrate graduation of 30 new drivers, spurring service improvements on some routes

• DDOT’s January graduating class of 30 is largest in years; at least 50 more expected to graduate in February 
• New operators will support service improvements taking effect Jan. 22 
• DDOT to keep hiring until it reaches goal of 600 drivers 

Mayor Mike Duggan today joined with officials from the Detroit Department of Transportation to celebrate the graduation of 30 new bus operators, the largest class in years. 

The operators, who completed months of classroom and on-the-road training before receiving their official operator badges, were honored in a ceremony attended by Mayor Duggan, DDOT Interim Executive Director G. Michael Staley, and other members of DDOT’s leadership and operator training teams.  

The graduation comes just one day after the Mayor and DDOT officials announced an agreement to increase bus driver pay by $3 per hour and to increase each driver’s potential good attendance bonus to a maximum of $6,000 per year, roughly the equivalent of another $3 per hour wage increase.  

“Under the leadership of Director Staley and President Collier, DDOT is turning a major corner this week,” said Mayor Duggan. “We are so proud of these individuals who have chosen to serve our residents in such an important way, and the more we are able to hire, the more new service we can add.”  

The size of the graduating class is an example of the City’s expanded efforts to increase its number of drivers. Currently, DDOT has approximately 400 operators, with approximately 100 having received their official badges during 2023. DDOT continues to hire additional operators to reach its target of 600, including another graduating class of nearly 60 new drivers next month.  DDOT also is recruiting mechanics to fill a need in that area, as well. View all City of Detroit employment opportunities here.  

“Any day we can welcome more operators to our work force is a good day, especially a group of this size, which we have not seen in years,” said Staley. “This class of operators has dedicated themselves to train for the most difficult job at DDOT. Every operator plays an integral role in providing much-needed transportation to the City of Detroit.”  

Added service coming on some routes Jan 22 

The additional operators will support increased service frequency on 9-Jefferson, expected to go into effect Monday, Jan. 22. The route, which will become a Bus Rapid Transit pilot, will see daytime frequency increased to every 10 minutes on weekdays and 15 minutes on weekends.  Through implementation of improved services on Jefferson, city amenities will feature: 

• Temporary bus stop islands, eliminating the need for buses to change lanes and merge in and out of traffic  
• Bus stop consolidations for a consistent ¼-mile spacing helping to speed the service 
• Permanent boarding islands in coordination with DPW improvements 
• New/improved shelters with information displays at selected locations
• “Connection Corners” improvements at major transfer intersections 

Bus frequency also will be added to 16-Dexter and 18-Fenkell, and peak period runs will be added to a number of other routes although the exact amount will be determined later this month based on the quarterly driver “pick” where they have an opportunity to select which route they prefer to drive.  Those routes include: 

• 3- Grand River
• 13- Conner
• 15- Chicago/Davison
• 19- Fort
• 7- Seven Mile
• 27- Joy
• 60- Evergreen
• 67- Cadillac/Harper