by
Woodward streetcar rides are at least a year away and lots of details aren't on track yet -- including an unannounced branding name that M-1 Rail and Quicken Loans will try to get us to use.
We published a few details this week, and concern arises about one item we reported in a brief post Wednesday:
Dan Lijana, communications officer for the transit system, says . . . hours are tentatively set for Monday-Saturday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Trains will run longer during events such as baseball, football, hockey games, concerts and festivals, though he said it's not clear yet how much later they will run after the events.
More than a few readers see the shutdown hour as more Mayberry than metropolitan. Here's what Scott Tarr of Canton tweets:
It's early for most cities, not just drunks, foodies and dancers. Just try something like this in NYC.
Similar gripes are among 17 replies under the post and 75 comments in a Reddit thread that starts with a link to our short.
Seattle streetcars are made by the same company building Detroit's.
One Redditor who sent an email to info@m-1rail.com got a reply that includes this:
"The system will operate weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m,. and weekends and special events until midnight. As our system is operated by a conductor and requires fare inspectors, security and janitorial staffing, we are using this year as our baseline. If service demands extended hours in our second year, we will then move forward with that option."
So it sounds as though M-1 already backs away from the original 10 p.m. weekend shutdown target, even when there's no big event.
A sampling of reactions follows a look at how late streetcars run elsewhere.
This roundup includes cities larger and smaller than Detroit. Most of their trolley or streetcar systems have multiple routes and span areas larger than Detroit's 3.3 miles of tracks with 12 stops.
When streetcar service ends
(Ranges are for multiple-route systems with varied shutdown times)
► Baltimore: 11:30 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. weekdays; 8:30 - 10 p.m. Saturday; 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
► Philadelphia: Between 12:40 a.m. - 1:20 a.m. daily.
► Toronto: 24 hours daily on most of the 10 routes.
► Minneapolis: 2 lines runs until 2 a.m. weekdays and Sunday; 3:45 a.m. Saturday. Service to and from downtown St. Paul runs until 4 a.m. daily.
► Seattle: 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday; 8 p.m. Sunday and holidays.
► Portland: 11:30 p.m. weekdays and Saturday; 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
► Denver: Between 1 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. daily.
► San Francisco: Between 1 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. daily.
► New Orleans: Between 11 p.m. - 4 a.m. daily.
► Dallas: 10 p.m. Monday - Thursday and Sunday; midnight Friday and Saturday.
► Phoenix: 12:15 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday - Thursday; 4 a.m. Friday; 12:15 a.m. - 1:15 a.m. Sunday.
► San Diego: 1 a.m. - 1:45 a.m. daily.
Portland streetcars operate until 11:30 p.m. weeknights and Saturday.
In Detroit, the Department of Transportation just announced that 24-hour bus service starts Jan. 23 on three routes: No. 53 Woodward, No. 34 Gratiot and No. 21 Grand River. "We received countless requests for better night service," director Dan Dirks says in a news release quoted by the Free Press.
But officials can expect an earful If streetcars stop linking downtown and New Center at 10 p.m. each night when service starts in 2017. Here's some of what readers tell us and say on Reddit:
- "I would expect at least midnight during the week and 2 a.m. on weekends. Like this is a no-brainer." -- Terietta M. Ingram
- "They're gonna need to extend those hours on weekends. People are out a lot later than 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. At least they recognize that special events like games and concerts will have increased demand at night. There will be thousands of more customers in the area." -- Bernie
- "My biggest issue is that late night ridership should be a big driver of the economic success of this thing. One of the main purposes should be for Midtown residents to get to Downtown bars." -- 'Khorasaurus'
- "10 p.m., really?" -- Jon Adams
- "10 p.m. is something of a joke." -- Dexter
- "From 6 a.m. -10 p.m.? Pffft --.that's just shortsighted as hell. There's not one world class city on this planet that shuts down its transit at 10 p.m. . . . M-1 is just a pandering trinket for daywalkers, and has no love whatsoever for the nightlifers, even though it's the nightlife that actually makes a city a world class destination to begin with." -- 'Snow Storms in Detroit'
- "Definitely need to extend the hours until midnight at least. I mean come on.." -- 'G Cracka'
Toronto, with North America's largest streetcar system, serves riders around the clock daily.
