All the best to the other two riders who are in the Federal Witness Protection Program

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

The effect I use to blur their faces is called "Witness Protection" in my editing software!

@jk484

18 күн бұрын

Why are they blurred out?

If the backrooms had a transit network it would be the DPM

@dacomputernerd4096

14 күн бұрын

As a metro Detroit resident, this made me laugh. A few places around here feel a bit like the backrooms lol

Fun fact: the People Mover's stations are video monitored. I was standing on the yellow line one time when there was no train approaching, just looking around, and a voice came over the speakers in the station telling me to stand back. It was alarming, but it's nice to know someone is looking out!

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

This happens to me at the end of this video!

@Jamestube8439

27 күн бұрын

It’s happened to me many times too, even for filming at the station

DETROIT MENTIONED!!!!

It's surreal to hear the Old TTC Door Chime in Detroit of all things, nostalgic for Toronto/Scarborough people but unreal for people in America

@Kipling45

3 ай бұрын

yea

@WahlstedToronto

3 ай бұрын

You can say that again...

@WCE107

3 ай бұрын

It also has the next station jingle of Vancouver's SkyTrain. And is also driverless like it. Like a little mixture between the SkyTrain and Line 3.

@secretagentcat

3 ай бұрын

@@WCE107 some of the cars in detroit are literally from the skytrain. the city bought some from an iteration IIRC. i may be tripping but i know detroit ordered new cars recently and they looked like the sky trains

@someonenew3478

24 күн бұрын

Detroit recently bought Toronto's cars but usnt using them yet.

The Detroit Institute of Arts was designed by Paul Philippe Cret, who migrated to teach at UPenn, who was also the architect of the National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge in the 1910s and even the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in the 1920s! The Majestic Theatre and Fox Theatre were both designed by C. Howard Crane who worked on St Louis's Fox Theatre, DC's Warner Theatre, and the former Earls Court Exhibition Centre (demolished in 2014) in London. The Detroit Public Library on the other hand was designed by Cass Gilbert who worked on NYC's Woolworth Building, the US Supreme Court in DC, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the state capitols of Minnesota, Arkansas, and West Virginia. The QLine is definitely useful, besides serving the university, Fox Theatre, and Little Caesars Arena (where the NBA's Pistons also play), Grand Circus Park station is walking distance to the Tigers and Lions stadiums as well! I visited Detroit back in Spring Break 2019 for a FIRST robotics world championship and when I was there, I loved downtown, Detroit-style pizza is honestly my favorite style of pizza (and I say this as a NYer born to NJ parents) and it definitely has a lot of potential! The DPM is a circulator because it was meant to have different rail lines as feeders in the original ambitious plan, but it and the suburbs couldn't decide on anything for the 600 million promised by Gerald Ford, and so only the circulator got built and the money was withdrawn by Reagan. So the QLine built in 2017 is a step closer to that vision. Something worth mentioning is Detroit has tried many times to build a subway or an L, like in 1920 when the proposal was vetoed by the mayor, the vote for it was put off the ballot last minute in 1927, 72 percent rejected it in 1929, 68 percent approved in 1933 but the government refused to fund it...yeah.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Man, that's so sad how close they got...multiple times! :(

@sentrygl

3 ай бұрын

​@@MilesinTransit suburban politician racism killed many different proposals up Woodward Avenue including even a subway proposal that existed well into the 80s. The real issue with Detroit transit is that the jobs are in the suburbs and the lines aren't built to take people there.

@ShoumikKundu

3 ай бұрын

Aye nice to see fellow FIRST Alum, I was at that championship too!

@TakenTook

3 ай бұрын

Thank you for pointing out that Ronald Reagan withdrew funding needed to complete the line. It was certainly a bipartisan disaster, but there are people who want to blame everything wrong with Detroit only on Democrats, and that is absolutely not the story.

@mergat2970

3 ай бұрын

You are literally everywhere

8:33 European here. The "People mover" is famous even here, it is the most strange / quirky transit system I know of . One way but automatic? Elavated, stations too close, you basically go nowhere and somewhere you can walk easily ? .... it is over-invested and under-invested in the same time? ^_^ .. pretty good frequency but nobody uses it? Also .. huge platforms and stations but tiny/short trains. I mean so many wonderful contradictions. I would love to ride it one day. What a strange gem for transit nerds! :) Detroit could make it as an attraction for transit tourists as well. You do not have such thing elsewhere

@chrisbernard673

3 ай бұрын

They honestly need to permanently remove a couple of the more redundant stations. There's a few that are only a block or two apart and it's just a waste of time to have a stop there. The most useful station is West Riverfront, since it's behind the convention center and connects several residential towers on the waterfront that would otherwise be pretty cut off from the rest of downtown. Grand Circus is also kind of useful since there's a direct transfer with the streetcar there.

@TakenTook

3 ай бұрын

It was supposed to be part of a larger system, with that first and still remaining portion being a proof of concept as well as central hub. There was state as well as federal funding in place to expand it, but President Ronald Reagan withdrew the funding when it wasn't used while Jimmy Carter was was still in office.

11:35 the track was enclosed through Huntington Place (formerly Cobo Hall) maybe 20 years ago.. I remember going to the Detroit Auto Show as a kid in the 90s and seeing the train pass overhead every few minutes, and from the train you could catch a glimpse of the exhibits as it passed through.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Whoa, that's REALLY cool

In the DPM's defense, it carries a lot more people during events (baseball, football, hockey, conventions, trade shows), its utility is much more apparent then.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Even so, the one-way-ness makes it hard!

@CAPDude44

21 күн бұрын

Sadly it doesn't even really work for sports anymore, because the Joe Lewis Arena is gone

Granted the People Mover only goes in a single direction only around Downtown, but the frequency is reliable and you normally don't have to wait anymore maximum 5 minutes if that. The Qline on the other hand is pretty unreliable, you can be waiting either a couple of minutes up to like 40 minutes.

@kberkstr

3 ай бұрын

That’s my main issue as a local user, the People Mover is the same no matter what. Always like a ten minute wait max. But I’ve waited up to 30 minutes for the Qline, and have gotten stuck on a stopped train when an entitled doordash driver parks on the tracks. For most suburbanites who are visiting, it incentivizes people to drive instead

@sentrygl

3 ай бұрын

Honestly feel like the Qline set back local transit

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Good point about the QLINE - we were heading back to the hotel one night and one of the streetcars wasn't running, so there was a 30-minute gap in service. We just took the 4 instead.

That giant Canadian flag across the river at 11:55 weighs approximately 45 kilograms and is 1,800 square feet, 18.24 meters wide and 9.12 meters tall with a 150 foot-flagpole! The Great Canadian Flag built in 2017 as the result of an ambitious community project chaired by Peter Hrastovec. Thomas McDade, a Windsor citizen, has been credited for coming up with the idea in 1980. If anything, Detroit should respond by building a flagpole that's even taller and has a bigger flag than the Canadian one, it's the American thing to do! It reminds me of the flagpole war of the DMZ. South Korea built a 100 m/328 ft flagpole in Daeseong-dong in the 1980s. In response, the DPRK built an even taller flagpole in Kijong-dong at 525 feet or 160 meters. After the DPRK built this flagpole, it was the world's tallest flagpole for quite some time! But since then, places like Jeddah, St. Petersburg, Dushanbe, and the New Administrative Capital in Egypt have built even bigger flagpoles. The station signs have Arabic because Metro Detroit has a huge Middle Eastern community! Dearborn's sizeable Arab community consists largely of Lebanese people who immigrated for jobs in the auto industry in the 1920s, and of more recent Yemenis and Iraqis. Renaissance Center used to be the site of SEMTA Commuter Rail's downtown terminus at Brush Street. SEMTA began in 1974 when it assumed control of the Grand Trunk's existing commuter trains over the route but ceased operations in 1983. The Renaissance Center was first conceived by Henry Ford II, the Ford Motor Company Chairman of the time. In 1970, to bring his idea to life, Ford teamed up with other business leaders to form the Detroit Renaissance to stimulate building activity and revitalize the economy of Detroit. Henry Ford II sold the concept of the RenCen to the city. The principal architect was John Portman, the architect behind Atlanta's Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel and Peachtree Center and Los Angeles's Westin Bonaventure Hotel. The first phase opened in 1977, two more towers were added in 1981, and GM wouldn't purchase it until 1996.

@KyrilPG

3 ай бұрын

I don't know the size of it but there's also the giant flag that's not on a pole but suspended under the arches of the Arc de Tfiomphe in Paris. It's either a French or EU flag, depending on the moment, or both together. Never knew about the DMZ flag rivalry, thanks for the info.

Other lines that traverse through buildings are Chongqing's Line 2 and the WDW Monorail! Liziba station on the Chongqing's Line 2 goes through a 19-story residential building and uses specialized noise reduction equipment to isolate station noise from the surrounding residences! Contemporary Resort station on the WDW monorail is in the resort's Grand Canyon Concourse where you can see a giant Grand Canyon-themed mural by Mary Blair (who worked on movies like Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan as well as the It's a Small World ride) inside the resort's concourse, and it's known for having a five-legged goat which was done on purpose by Blair to show that nothing can ever be perfect for we are human. The resort was designed with modular rooms constructed off-property and lifted into place by crane between steel frames. It makes sense for Line 2 to be a monorail because of Chongqing's insane terrain. And here's some Detroit pizza lore: Detroit-style is similar to deep dish but it's rectangular! Its car industry is why Detroit style pizzas are shaped rectangular! It was invented in 1946 at a place called Buddy's by Gus Guerra. Gus was searching for a high-end pizza pan to create the perfect pizza until he realized something. Detroit's auto assembly plants used blue steel utility trays used to hold parts (like nuts, bolts, etc). For these plants, they were just a thing to hold parts...to Gus, it was a Sicilian-like deep dish pizza.

@cooltwittertag

2 ай бұрын

the U Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Park station in berlin is also partially in a mixed use building, one half of it sticks out the middle of the building

0:54 "All right... It's a streetcar!" is my new favorite Miles in Transit one-liner, surpassing even "Lancaster... Pennsylvania!"

@JacksonBetz

3 ай бұрын

2:27 wow that bowling alley is phenomenal! I love the little bowling pins on the street-facing side of the individual letter tiles!!!

@JacksonBetz

3 ай бұрын

2:58 holy CRAP that theater is even better than the first one!!!!!

@JacksonBetz

3 ай бұрын

4:02 "this is gonna be fun" ties directly into my theory that the more fun something is for transit fans, the worse it is for the public haha

@JacksonBetz

3 ай бұрын

6:29 what country was this shot filmed in?

@JacksonBetz

3 ай бұрын

8:17 story of a girl

I don't watch Miles in Transit for the humour (usually it's for the high quality water fountain and elevator reviews). But I just about died when the PA operator called you out for being close to the edge. Great video Mr. in Transit!

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much! Glad we can provide the high quality niche reviews you're looking for 😂

@Nderak

3 ай бұрын

timestamp

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

@@Nderak 12:39

I grew up in Detroit and now I live in Vancouver. The sound of those LIM trains accelerating is so soothing. That being said, those Mark I trains are SO LOUD!!

@halenlindberg

3 ай бұрын

Being on a Mark I train when it goes through the tunnel between Columbia and Sapperton in New West will make your ears bleed. Even worse when it's warm and people open the windows

@robertcartwright4374

3 ай бұрын

That is a loud stretch, for sure. Also some of the mk.1 trains have loose panels that make a terrific racket. But I'm going to miss them when they go. I've fallen in love with their look. If they'd only made the Expo line with 100 metre platforms so we could have 8-car trains, they'd be perfect.@@halenlindberg

As someone from Scarborough, I miss the propulsion sounds of the Mark I trains. Funny that we sold our remaining RT cars to Detroit for 1 million dollars

@ahuman9143

3 ай бұрын

Shows that you still could have a Line 3 if the TTC umm maintained it… also line 3 was in a far better shape than Londons Central line where almost half its trains have died…

@riceexe

3 ай бұрын

@@ahuman9143 Yeah if the tracks were redone and the trains had another overhaul the line probably could've made it to 2030. Or even better, fix the curves, add some heated rails and purchase some new trains. But of course, politics happened, and we're getting a subway, throwing away all the existing infrastructure

The building it goes through if the convention center formerly called Cobo Hall. You used to be able to see down to the convention hall floor while passing through. The extra loop outside it used to service Joe Louis Arena which has since been replaced by Little Ceasers Arena. The people mover was always business before or after an event at the arena circulating people from downtown bars and restaurants to and from the games.

To actually live here and be born near the downtown area and to see it being displayed on KZread, this it's surreal!!! I love the beautiful downtown Detroit area!!! ❤❤❤❤

Another urban peoplemover system is the Bukit Panjang LRT and Punggol LRT in Singapore. For starters, they call it an LRT when it's very much not. They chose to build a people mover (while cheaper to build, it costs more to operate than the Singapore MRT) with very low capacity in an extremely dense area like Bukit Panjang (you'd need three of the LRT cars connected together just to match the capacity of a single MRT car; they're two connected together). The accessibility is very bad as even if stations have elevators, they're useless when you can't cross the very busy roads to the stations without going up steps. The ride isn't comfy because of all the twists and turns (which makes the system unreliable), basically a roller coaster. And I've seen Twitter accounts post about how cool the windows are on the Bukit Panjang LRT because they're special panels made to block people's apartments when they're not cool, it's quite silly and they often don't work like they're supposed to, sometimes leaving the whole car opaque! For Punggol, the developments there were built around the Punggol LRT. Plans for the Punggol LRT line were drawn up and announced in January 1999 with the development of Punggol New Town. Construction began in June 2000 by a consortium at a cost of S$354 million. Meanwhile, the Punggol LRT line was awarded to Singapore Bus Service (present-day SBS Transit) in May 1999. The East Loop opened in 2005, however, due to limited developments around some stations on the loop at the time, only certain stations opened. Meaning that they built all these stations in 2005 and opened them only when there were developments. In January 2005, all East Loop stations except Oasis (2007) and Damai (2011) opened. In June 2014, West Loop except for Sam Kee (Feb 2016), Teck Lee, Punggol Point (Dec 2016) and Samudera (March 2017) opened. Teck Lee has remained closed since, but will open in 2024 because of the Punggol Digital District.

@crystalbrooke75

3 ай бұрын

Wow, so cool to see Singapore mentioned here! I always wonder what Miles and friends would think of Singapore public transport (I’m an American living in SG for many many years, and I think SG public transport is amazing.) Miles, please come to Singapore and review the transit system… if you can stand the heat! 🥵

@alexhaowenwong6122

3 ай бұрын

I've been on the Punggol and Sengkang but not the BPLRT. My main issue with the Punggol and Sengkang LRTs is that due to interlining at the MRT interchange, they're limited to 3 minute frequencies. I also think they should have ran 4-car Crystal Movers like in Macau.

Love watching this after my town just approved a transit system which is...a one way bus loop-circulator with 30-60 minute frequency. Yay!

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Oof :( I'm surprised they didn't go with a "microtransit" thing, that's what seems to be all the rage right now!

@EngMadison

3 ай бұрын

@MilesinTransit no, they were looking to replace their city owned taxi service which was going to get very expensive. So they contracted the neighboring city (Madison) to provide bus transit. Except they looked at boarding trends of their taxi service and connected the dots...that's basically how the system was created. So now we have a system that does not serve downtown, or major employment, and requires at least 1 transfer and 60+ minutes to get downtown Madison despite being the next city over. It's absolutely bare bones stuff.

The same cars are notorious in Vancouver for being R E A L L Y L O U D

Outstanding that when you connected to the Wi-Fi your first notification was for Planes Trains Everything. Scott will be pleased.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Such a good channel!!

This video has everything I wanted. Little Caesars World HQ while I'm eating pizza. And MilesinTransit Living on the Edge.

Right in time for my trip to Detroit this weekend

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Nice, have a good time!

The one closed stop used to go to Joe Louis Arena until it got demolished. Also, at Huntington Place (Cobo) there is a tile mural behind the rail car of older cars.

You can hear the anticipated disappointment in miles voice as he’s about to ride the people mover lol

The river view of the people mover is nice, and the people mover actually comes in handy for conventions, I love the river walk as well

I actually first learned of the Detroit People Mover in Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition on the PSP, wayyyyy back in 2005. It also featured the San Diego Streetcar and the Atlanta Subway...ish. I remember following the trains and buses as much as I could (as I do in games like GTA V and Saints Row). Legit thought it was fake until I saw photos of it online.

@chrisbernard673

3 ай бұрын

This comments brings back memories. I loved that game because it was the first time I'd seen Detroit featured in a video game.

@roaddawg3217

16 сағат бұрын

​@@chrisbernard673 we are in quite a few now, check out a game called: Detroit. Becoming Human... It's pretty good 😊

Great video! The reason the DPM vehicles have the "Toronto" chime is because it's actually the UTDC Chime! UTDC, or Urban Transit Development Corporation, was the Ontario Provincial Crown Corporation which developed ICTS, or Intermediate Capacity Transportation System - the vehicles you're on. The Scarborough RT was the prototype ICTS system, and when it was built, they needed a chime... and came up with the 3-tone chime. UTDC was acquired by Bombardier, and they continued to use the chime on many of their products. Since Toronto (until now) has been buying exclusivley Bombardier products, all Toronto vehicles have the 3-tone chime you hear! You can hear it all around the world - a legacy of UTDC!

@retro_wizard

3 ай бұрын

That announcement “ding” is a remnant of the SkyTrain! Part of the same recording from a Yamaha DX7

@IainHendry

3 ай бұрын

@@retro_wizard Ahh cool! Like when you say Yamaha DX7, what do you mean? I had to look it up - looks like that's a type of keyboard? The DPM's announcement voice & diction are SO good.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

@@IainHendry So you're telling me the MBTA Red Line cars that were built by UTDC could've had that same chime?? Darn!

@IainHendry

3 ай бұрын

@@MilesinTransit Maybe! I suppose if they were built before 1985, then they wouldn't have had it...

The People Mover was supposed to be a much larger system, connecting downtown Detroit to the suburbs, with extensions out to the airports. But city politics, corruption, and loss of funding from state and federal grants caused the project to be largely abandoned outside of the circle in downtown.

@healinggardensofmichigan7114

3 ай бұрын

No it was actually that the suburbs didn't want it. It's the same reason DOT stops at city limits. It's by design Detroit was red lined many years ago

@Knightmessenger

Ай бұрын

​@@healinggardensofmichigan7114cities and suburbs could not come to an agreement of how the 600 million would be divided up. I've read a major part was whether a subway line running on Woodward was to be underground or elevated.

The Detroit People Mover gives me serious NCRT (the metro from Cyberpunk 2077) vibes. I mean, that system has multiple lines, many branches and is actually useful in-game, but the weird dystopian design with going through buildings and stuff is pretty similar.

Ever heard of “trains are awesome”? You and Aleena need a collab with Thom and Lindsey

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

It's only a matter of time before we inevitably run into each other in the wild

I hear the Renaissance Center, and all I can think about is how when Howard Stern got hired at a WWWW (Detroit's W4) he was told that the station was there, and then he got there on his first day and found out it was actually in a ramshackle house in the worst neighborhood in the city. But they were "totally moving into the Renaissance Center soon!" That was in 1980. Forty-four years later and the station never moved.

Oh wow the sound of the Mark 1 acceleration (Vancouverite here) is like an instant Pavlovian response for me lmao. Those cars are loud as shit to actually ride but I wish all the later models somehow kept that sound while remaining as quiet as they are, because it's such an iconic bit of Vancouver-iana (that's not a word but it is now)

I didn't realise the Detroit People Mover was charging a fare again - I was there in July 2022 and it was free to ride. It is somewhat zany though 😅

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

It's been made free again this year!

@Jamestube8439

27 күн бұрын

They were still recovering from the long closure periods due to Covid. A lot of the stations have been fixed up and renovated since then.

We need Miles to rate American vs Lafayette Coney Island

Whenever there is new miles in transit I jump for joy

Ahhh, The People Mover. I have fond memories of riding this with a girlie I met at Movement Festival. Nice way to see the sights of Downtown Detroit. We couldn't get the token machine to work, so we just hopped the turnstiles. Also, we had the exact same trains in Toronto on Line 3 Scarborough and they were also insanely loud . I say had because one of them derailed last year, leading to the entire line being decommissioned. I used to joke that Line 3 is what the subway would be if it were a carnival ride. RIP 🖤

I know people who worked on this product! The LIM-based rapid transit carries a few really neat technological advantages: 1. really tight curves (vertical and horizontal) that's how you made the turn inside the road intersection. 2. quiet. Detroit's system is old. Compare to the new Vancouver or Kuala Lumpur SkyTrains, with newer vehicles, for a better vibe. 3. the LIM means snow and ice don't stop operation, it doesn't matter if wheels slip when the wheels aren't what make the train go. 4. substantially lower civil costs. LIM is much MUCH lighter than rotary motors. That translates to less concrete and steel in your structures. 5. headways. Detroit operates every 7.5 minutes, but the system can go tighter (Vancouver's max in 75 seconds!) This means you can run more small trains per hour, instead of fewer big trains, to get the same throughput. That means smaller stations. Thanks for featuring it :)

I love all of your videos but a lot of the fun is seeing your friends too. You have such sweet transit friends and they are fun to watch too. Just sayin’! 🙂

As someone who used the Cleveland system a lot for years, I can confirm those are exactly the same fare gates as are used in the hub station at least. Most of the other stations don't have gate lines and instead require boarding at the front and taking fare at a machine on the train itself (which, as you can imagine, slows boarding).

Great video! I visited the big D last summer and rode the Q line quite a bit, staying in Greektown and took it all the way to the Fisher Building. Guy next to me kept whining about how they were supposed to extend it but never did! However, I did not take the People Mover and now I live with that regret.

I'd argue the People Mover makes sense for one purpose: if you want to go to Cobo Hall for a convention and don't want to bother with the parking situation at the riverfront. Back when Joe Louis Arena was still a venue, that might also be a viable case.

I think I fell in love when you didn't know the sports team. Cheers to you. Fantastic!

@DaveHogg

3 ай бұрын

And didn't even notice the baseball stadium on the other side of the street!

@jkberridge

3 ай бұрын

@@DaveHogg Now I like this even more. 🪅

A correction: the LIM trains are also in Kuala Lampur and Osaka

@TheRandCrews

3 ай бұрын

And Guangzhou! Biggest system user of LIM. Toei Subway also used it on one line.

@mileitman

3 ай бұрын

Do they use the same UTDC tech?

@haoxiangwu6735

3 ай бұрын

@@mileitman Kuala Lumpur yes (after UTDC sold it to bombardier). Japan had their own tech.

@williamhuang8309

3 ай бұрын

They don't use the original first-generation skytrain technology. Vancouver, Toronto and Detroit all use/used to use the first generation skytrain technology with Mark 1 trains. When Bombardier took over from UTDC they created the second generation of Skytrain technology which is used in KL. In essence, the only place where you'll find an original skytrain is Vancouver or Detroit.

@jason38321

3 ай бұрын

And Beijing, and New York.

I don't know if the systems should be called weird. Maybe unique. As I like to say, "I'm not a freak. I'm just unique." They seem to work well enough. I hope you enjoyed your time in the Motor City. Thanks for sharing your adventures with pixelated friends!

I grew up in Metro Detroit and remember when the People Mover was new and I am just now realizing how old it looks (I haven't been down there in a while). However, given that it still continues to run nearly 40 years later with barely any investment at all is really a testament to how durable that equipment is. None of it has ever been updated. As I'm sure others have said elsewhere, the People Mover was only one part of what was supposed to be a much larger regional system with high speed rail out to the suburbs but it never happened. The idea was you would ride rail into a station with the People Mover and use it to get around the downtown core. It was built with federal money as a prototype.

Super cool that you featured Detroit! I’m a Wayne State student and I appreciate the public transit but it’s… limited. Some of the main attractions in Detroit like Eastern Market aren’t connected to these systems and it makes it difficult to travel. I wish the q-line had designated lanes because it frequently gets stopped due to cars. I love the Detroit representation though and hope our transit system can (slowly) improve!

@Knightmessenger

Ай бұрын

MDoT is considering plans to redo Gratiot Avenue. Some of the options include dedicated bus lanes. I encourage you to submit public comments supporting that option if they have a future open hearing.

one day the DPM will be extended and it will be glorious, also the Q-Line has great potential to be extended up and down the Metro Detroit area's gigantic boulevard type streets with massive medians in the middle

@niggalini

3 ай бұрын

From the lodge to Rosa parks you can still see some old rails on the red brick paved part of Michigan Ave, would be nice if they returned street car functionality maybe even expanding it westward towards Dearborn though that's a bigger distance than the current Q line. I'm all for it especially if it finally gives them an opportunity to totally repave the road too lol

@TakenTook

3 ай бұрын

It was supposed to be extended back in the day. And then Reagan took away the funding after he won the presidency

we used to ride this thing in the late 80's as teens as a joke. It was like a disney ride just going around in a circle. you could look at some cool buildings but it never really went anywhere you wanted to go from a point you needed to be. It was also kind of dangerous back then.

The best part of everything is that the scooters are the quickest way to get around, lol

TIL that the Vancouver Skytrain stock is also used in Detroit, however Vancouver has invested and is rolling out a fourth(!) iteration of the stock, whereas Detroit still seems stuck with the Mark I stock 😂

there should be an EAS alarm when miles uploads

[REDACTED] and [EXPUNGED] seem nice, I hope we see more of them

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Ooh, I like [EXPUNGED]

Next time I am in Detroit I totally gotta get one of those People Mover tokens!

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

It's free this year, I think they've covered up the machines :(

Cool video! I saw someone who used to drive the Q-Line operating a Cincinnati Connector streetcar once. I also appreciate your respect of your partners' privacy, noticing that you even pixelated their reflections on the windows. Great video Miles 😊❤

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Really wish they would expand the People Mover around the city as a metro. The QLine is a streetcar. I think another line could be added going east/west from Southwest Detroit to Corktown to Belle Isle. Maybe another line going from Woodbridge to Downtown to Eastern Market and (maybe) Hamtramck. It needs to be kept small and compact though.

Miles In Transit Notification: Me: 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️

omg omg omg!!!!!! I always watch your videos because transit sucks so much here! the q line is a good start for detroit, though it was supposed to go farther north on woodward. this was stopped by the suburbs as residents tend to have a negative view of the city, as well as the "motor city" not being able to give up car infrastructure. ie, I-375 is being removed (which was a popular idea for a more walkable city) and its getting replaced with stroad ._. majestic theater is a nice venue! the bowling alley next door has a much smaller venue upstairs called the magic stick, which I think is such a cute play on words. little ceasars and family own an incredible amount of propety in detroit and have left so much of it to rot..... this city has a lot working against it but it's so beautiful now compared to when I was a kid thank you for visiting

at 2:44 the detroit red wings (NHL) and detroit pistons (NBA) play at little ceasers arena

Sometimes when a Mark I skytrain pulls up i skip it and wait a couple more minutes for the next one hoping it's a newer one just so i can spend the next 30 minutes in a quieter car. I'm trying to imagine how loud they can get when they (and the tracks too i guess) don't get as much maintenance. At least Mark I's acceleration sound is pretty cool

The People Mover was supposed to be the downtown circulator for 4 subway lines that were supposed to be built starting in the mid-1970s. President Ford yanked the funding for that part of the system when the region argued about funding it. Say what you want but Detroit actually got their part of the system built. The Q-Line was championed by the owner of Rock Financial (and a few others) who were responsible for a lot of redevelopment downtown.

@AverytheCubanAmerican

3 ай бұрын

It was Ford that promised 600 million, though Reagan was the one who yanked it

@Knightmessenger

Ай бұрын

Ford offered the funding initially, it was Reagan who yanked it.

Ill be honest. I love that ugly urban renewal building.

I think even more impressive than it being so loud you can hear it from Windsor... is the fact that it's so loud that you can hear on VIDEO from Windsor.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Good point!

As soon as I heard how loud the people mover was, I had flashbacks to riding the SRT on the TTC. So. Freaking. Loud. I knew people who took the SRT everyday from Scarborough to and from Kennedy station. And then the reveal that Detroit is buying the old SRT cars - damn.

The whole people mover system got a real Jetsons vibe - 21st century transportation from your home door step right into the office building for work and back via a 'sky' mall. All automated and managed by robots with jet turbines on the back ... well, at least the sound wise :))

The pause between the name of the station and the word station in the announcement is so irritating gnargh. I know detroit is THE car city but it's so strange that these two are all there is, not even some derelict EL or Buffalo style subway.

9:54 "Could you call this useful?" "If it were completely different, it would be useful, so yes."

First 30 seconds are chaos. Welcome to Detroit.

How does the noise level compare to your experience in Toronto SRT (RIP) and Vancouver SkyTrain.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Basically identical!

The long deviation after the convention centre is due to the fact that the Joe Louis Arena the old arena for the red wings used to be there

Wait...THAT'S Redacted Rail??? I was randomly recommended HIS VIDEO with the Detroit People Mover, and I thought it was AWESOME!!!

I wish the Q line just went further , for me it’s pointless to use when trying to get home because then I’d have to take 3 vehicles instead of just 2 buses. Smoother ride tho 👍🏾

Haha, the station you started at was broken and had been hit before we visited in March of 2023... crazy it's still broken!

It's funny that now. They just redid the people mover and it's free to ride now

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought Vancouver Skytrain (but those old cars are on the verge of replacement). By the way, you should go explore transit in Vancouver. So many ways to get around on one pass.

trying to ride the people mover for the first time, at night, tipsy, and alone was so scary with all those stairs of doom 😭

6:16 I think the reason it’s so loud is the same reason that the orange line in Boston is so loud: Most of the tracks are laid out on a road bed that is almost level with the tracks.

Make Detroit Cool Again.

The loop you thought was weird at the convention center was built to serve the Joe Louis Arena (now demolished)

The Detroit People Mover is useful during conventions and the conferences.

I went to Detroit before they opened the QLine. I liked the place; I'd like to go back now because the QLine runs right by the cultural stuff and also to Amtrak. I happened to be there in stunning weather and we did a lot of walking around the downtown and river areas. And of course I read the People Mover the whole way, multiple times!! But the Museum was a bit far for walking in the time we had (I was there for a conference). I hope things continue to improve there and if the Qline helps them with tourism I'm there for it.

Me and my friend almost rode the People Mover at Youmacon back in November (we didn't know what it was called, so we kept calling it "the rapid," because we're from Cleveland)... but for whatever reason we forgot and didn't ride it.

I was just in Detroit last week (from Toronto). People Mover gave me PTSD about our own Scarbourough RT, now defunct. Those things are loud, cramped and are just packed with bad ideas (but good intentions). They are loud because of the linear induction motors.

hope Detroit is enjoying the trains that Toronto sent them

I kind of dig the People Mover cars. They're like weird, mini Chicago El cars. The interiors look like a strange cross between Chicago El cars and Philadelphia MFL cars. What a strange system. If they get full size trains on it, and get them running in both directions, and it went to more places, I bet that it would actually get some ridership, especially now that people are finally starting to move back to Detroit. And those stations are weird but they're kind of sick for a weird little people mover. I dig it

@bahnspotterEU

3 ай бұрын

Just look at the Vancouver Skytrain for the full-size version of Detroit‘s little theme park-esque ride.

@bkark0935

3 ай бұрын

@@bahnspotterEU Sure, Vancouver SkyTrain uses the same technology (linear induction motors) and train cars as Detroit’s People Mover, but only on 2 of the 3 SkyTrain Lines (the Expo Line & the Millennium Line) The Canada Line uses Hyundai Trains and standard electric motors.

@himbourbanist

3 ай бұрын

lol right, the Skytrain is an actual transit system@@bahnspotterEU

@kberkstr

3 ай бұрын

It was originally supposed to be the central hub of a much larger system that radiated out along the main roads, kind of like the El. Unfortunately, the federal government backed out just as the downtown loop was being completed, so we are left with something largely useless unless you need to go specifically between the Ren Cen, greektown, or the convention center

4:44: I remember when SEPTA first put those things in back circa 1970. I was with my parents, my sister, and my Grandmother, and we were trying to take the Broadstreet line. We all managed to pay our fares (tokens back then), except my dad's turnstile ate his token but would not let him through. He ended up vaulting the turnstile, for which his mother chastised him.......

It’s another video with those Witness Protection guys😂

Yay miles in my city!!

I don't get why your friends come along and experience these things with you, but then don't want to be in the video... Just gives you more work. Nobody cares how anyone looks. Seriously lol

Loud train cars where you can’t hear the announcements? Original BART cars in the tunnels to/from the airport. (I hope the new cars have solved that problem.)

Worth noting, when I last rode it (in 2019) it was looping in the opposite direction than it does now. So there was an era where it went the reverse direction

Could hear that sneeze in Canada too

Not to get semantic but a "heck of a lot of decay" isn't really right. I can think of only 3-4 vacant buildings along that entire three mile stretch of Woodward, and even those are still being maintained at least.

@MilesinTransit

3 ай бұрын

Fair enough, but it seems like there's more if you go halfway down the block on various side streets...this isn't meant to be an indictment or anything, it's just a street that's in a really interesting state right now!

I visited Detroit a couple of weeks ago to take both, yes, the People Mover's a bit odd but given that it was raining the second day I was there it was good to have it, better than nothing to get around the core in that circumstance. Carrying a suitcase up those stairs was no fun though :)

I'm getting the strong impression that the people of Detroit also just ride these things as a novel thing to do and that's all.

I love the blurred faces! I love your videos. I was there several times, in Detroit, exploring, you should really go to the river, and check out their downtown architestausre on some of the sky srapers, and Renaisance cnt. I noticed they have been rebuilding downtown and it looks very nice. It also was a city that did not get damanged during the BLM riots a few years ago. I noticed they had those cable cars or whatever you call them that are above ground downtown, always wondered what it would be like to ride them

For context the Detroit people mover was a loop designed to support multiple radial lines running out to the suburbs (much like Chicago). As the county governments couldn’t agree on where to build them and financing (this also happened during the white flight period of detroits history so some suburbs were extremely against the idea of expanding transit outside of Detroit). When the region couldn’t decide the end outcome was Detroit taking the federal money to build section in downtown hoping the rest would follow. TLDR: Reason for the people mover being confined to downtown in a loop is due to Nimbyism from multiple counties in the area.

Miles visits my hometown and (rightfully) slanders our "transit" system. My life is complete.

Gotta leave a comment here. I road the people mover once, and those curves are very leany. This was during New years Eve and I saw a red wings game at Little cesaers arena. In order to ride it, we needed tokens. Those token machines don't accept 20s, so just finding change for a 20 was an adventure.