Metro-Detroit's overall bus system is spotty and costs a few bucks. But in these upscale areas, watch for a free trolley ride.
Mass transit it sure isn't — but the allure of a free trolley ride seems contagious.
After the success of trolleys in the Grosse Pointes and Troy for high-spending diners, shoppers and tourists, a fresh trolley plan is in the works for southeast Oakland County and the edge of Detroit. It would stop for Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge, Royal Oak, the Detroit Zoo and the Livernois corridor of Detroit from 8 Mile south to the University of Detroit Mercy.
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“We have this concept we call Fab Cab,” said Jordan Twardy, Ferndale’s economic development boss and mastermind of the plan. Like trolleys in the Grosse Pointes and Troy, it would link key destinations with free ridership on a rubber-tired trolley car, augmented if demand is strong by SMART’s small connector buses that seat 12 to 15 people. The new service would roll from 10 a.m. until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
...Pleasant Ridge officials voted recently to allocate $10,000 for the first year of the service. Ferndale is set to approve $130,000 later this month “to really get this started,” Twardy said. The Detroit Zoo is being asked to allocate $30,000, and shares for Royal Oak and Detroit are pegged at $50,000 apiece.
In Troy...The free service "has been very, very successful," city public affairs director Cindy Stewart said Monday. It is being subsidized by Troy businesses, she said.
...The success of local trolleys is evidence that "many communities are chomping at the bit for more transit service," said Megan Owens, executive director of the nonprofit group of mostly bus riders called Transportation Riders United.
...For the first few years, dollars from local governments — including Detroit — would support the free rides, but after that the hope is for commercial sponsors and advertising on the buses to pick up the tab for Fab Cab, the documents said..."
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