Detroit People Mover: Past, Present and Uncertain Future (?):Lessons Learned

摘要

The Detroit Downtown People Mover (DPM) in the city of Detroit, Michigan was openedrnto public in July 1987. The DPM, which is one of the most technologically advancedrntransportation systems in the world, has 13 stations on a 2.9-mile route. The vehicles onrnthe elevated single track loop system run in one direction (counter clockwise) with a totalrnround trip time of approximately 14 minutes and 2-3 minute headways. The DPMrnoperates seven days a week and each car accommodates 34 passengers seated and 66rnstanding.rnDaily DPM ridership was at its peak in August 1987, when an average of 14,000 patronsrnused DPM on a daily basis. Since then the ridership has declined to current daily patronsrnof around 6,000. Initial estimate of ridership was around 20,000 per day. A number ofrnexternal factors have contributed the declined ridership of DPM. Some of them arernabsence of feeder service, mechanical problems, destruction of pathway during therndemolition of Old Hudson building and closing of stations due to GM headquarterrnexpansion. In this paper various incidents that impacted the DPM operation since 1998rnwill be presented and discussed. The DPM system is more than 17 years old and in needrnof major overhaul. This may cost as high as 20 million dollars. On one end, the future ofrnDPM appears to be very uncertain/bleak due to funding problems, lack of vision andrnlimited operation due to a number of downtown construction projects. On the other hand,rndue to change in Detroit downtown landscape, there is possibility of increased demand ofrnDPM service. As a part of this paper, authors will present a number of means to improvernfuture DPM operation, maintenance and ridership.