  Miketoronto Member Username: Miketoronto Post Number: 258 Registered: 07-2004 Posted From: 65.92.150.213 |
Hey guys, I just got home from my little trip to Detroit-Windsor. As always it was a blast and Detroit is looking really good. I don't want this to sound like a rant about SMART. But here are some serious issues I had with SMART bus service. I had to ride SMART this time for the first time, to get out to Royal Oak. I have to say, the buses are very well kept and clean, and move pretty fast. The timetable for Woodward Ave is also pretty good. However there was a couple problems, that are simple to fix and may not seem like big deals, but they are, because they would make it easier to take the bus. So here are the problems I noticed on my bus ride on SMART. 1. SMART has very poor bus stop signs in downtown Detroit. We had trouble figuring out what stop was for DDOT and what stop was for SMART, as many downtown stops are just shelters with no signs for SMART or DDOT. They don't post their bus stop sign at each stop, Grand River and Woodward is just a mess and you can't tell what stop is for what bus route. Anyway lucky the driver stopped and let us on, because really the sinage was bad and he almost went by us. 2. At Royal Oak Transit Centre it was even worse. There was no posted bus stop sign for the different routes. If we did not see other people waiting for buses, we would have had no idea what side of that building to wait at. No signs to tell you where to wait for buses going north or south. ZERO help at all. Bus route timetables at the transit centre where half hand written and half printed from a computer. Very unprofessional I have to say. 3. The drivers attitues. Maybe we just had a bad batch, but I asked the bus driver as we were getting close to Royal Oak to point out the tranit centre. And he made a rude remark and said "don't you know where your going" and acted like it was a chore to point out the transit centre. Going back downtown the driver gave a elderly man a very hard time as we were approaching the last stop in downtown Detroit. The man wanted to know where the last stop was and where the bus turned, and the driver basically told the guy he was losing his mind and refused to tell the guy where the bus would stop. I thought that was very rude. I will say though there was a great driver on one of the buses that stopped at the Royal Oak Transit Centre, and she confirmed there would be buses going downtown from where we were waiting. Anyway overall SMART service is not that bad on Woodward Ave. But there are just some simple low cost things SMART needs to address, like proper bus stop signs downtown and at transit centres, etc. But taking the bus is not as scary or hard as some people think. Atleast on the Woodward Ave corridor it was o.k., as most of the service is provided on that route. | ||
Jenniferl Member Username: Jenniferl Post Number: 316 Registered: 03-2004 Posted From: 12.75.43.165 |
Your bus experience is typical for SMART. They used to have signs up at the Transit Center. I don't know why they took them down. | ||
Jfried Member Username: Jfried Post Number: 882 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 209.131.7.190 |
Miketoronto - if you have the chance, send you comments to Gloria Bradley, the SMART - Wayne County Community Obudsperson. gbradley@smartbus.org | ||
Machoken Member Username: Machoken Post Number: 1443 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 207.145.38.104 |
Detroit: Where the weak are lost and admonished. | ||
Bibs Member Username: Bibs Post Number: 542 Registered: 10-2003 Posted From: 198.208.159.18 |
My experience with Smart bus drivers have been good. I have had a couple curse drivers or scream at them. Their treatment of the passengers is alway exemplary. | ||
Trainman Member Username: Trainman Post Number: 189 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
The bus stop sign in front of Ford and near Amtrak is missing and there are no SMART or DDOT schedules at or anywhere near the AMTRAK train station despite both systems running buses in the area. Transit officials at SMART and DDOT are very much aware of these problems and will be reminded at the TRU meeting. | ||
Bearinabox Member Username: Bearinabox Post Number: 35 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 69.209.136.130 |
Last time I tried to ride a SMART bus (westbound 740 from Woodward to Middlebelt), I got fed up with waiting and eventually rode my bike. I stayed on the 740 route the whole time, keeping my eyes peeled for red and orange buses, and did not see a single westbound bus, although several fixed-route and connector buses passed me going east. Since I don't regularly ride SMART, I don't know how common this is or what might have caused it, but I'm glad I wasn't in a hurry. | ||
Miketoronto Member Username: Miketoronto Post Number: 265 Registered: 07-2004 Posted From: 67.71.51.137 |
Trainman anyway I can write a letter and someone reads it at that TRU meeting. To be honest lack of sinage and timetables is a very big issue in attracting people to buses. If people don't know where the hell stops are, etc, its very stressfull. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 121 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 64.12.116.204 |
Do SMART and DDOT show up to TRU? I know I would not show up at an organization that wanted to tell people to vote no against the transit millage so that transit will fail and we can fire everyone. | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 1074 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 152.163.100.8 |
When I was going to college at MSU, I loved how the CATA system had the timetables posted at each stop. How hard would it be for SMART to do this? I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with SMART drivers. | ||
Gumby Member Username: Gumby Post Number: 1355 Registered: 11-2003 Posted From: 68.60.143.186 |
Well first they would have to follow a timetable. | ||
Cabasse Member Username: Cabasse Post Number: 17 Registered: 01-2006 Posted From: 68.42.169.74 |
detroitplanner, tru told everyone to vote in favor of the millage, not against it. tru =/= trainman. | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 123 Registered: 04-2006 Posted From: 63.85.13.248 |
how about the vote 3 years ago? |
