Timothy Mitchell was all set to ride the QLINE on Tuesday morning. The 18-year-old jumped on the streetcar at Grand Circus, planning to head north on Woodward to Wayne State University, where he'd meet up with his friends.

Within minutes of hopping on the train, however, he realized there was an issue.

"Are you paying in cash?" a woman wearing a highlighter-yellow "QLINE" T-shirt asked.

"Huh?" he responded.

After being free all summer, Detroit's new streetcar system on Tuesday began charging riders — $1.50 for three hours, $3 for a day pass, 25 cents for a 3-hour bus transfer.

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The woman in the yellow tee was an ambassador tasked with helping riders figure out the new changes — as well as asking riders to leave if they weren't paying.

Mitchell, who is a student at Wayne County Community College, didn't have the cash. He got off at the next stop — Montcalm — in front of Comerica Park.

"Oh well," he said, noting that he'd just ride his bike up Woodward instead.

While the teen said he will probably continue taking the QLINE — he said $1.50 isn't too bad of a price, he just didn't realize he needed to pay today — he is still skeptical of the investment.

"Personally, I feel like the QLINE was a waste of money to begin with," Mitchell noted before jumping on his bike. "They put millions into a train that only goes a few miles and some meters when they could have invested the money into the neighborhoods that are in shambles."

The QLINE, which began operating in May, runs 3.3 miles — 6.6 miles round trip — on Woodward between downtown and the New Center area. The much-hyped streetcar system, like everything in Detroit, has boosters and detractors.

Those in favor of the QLINE point to it being a clean, easy to use mode of transportation — something that they hope will help draw investments into the city. In May, for example, M-1 Rail, the organization that built the streetcar system, published a report saying the value of the economic development along the QLINE's path — both planned and completed — was worth an estimated $7 billion.

Critics, however, say Detroit really needs reliable transportation for all — specifically those who live living in the neighborhoods outside of downtown and Midtown. A millage for regional transit was rejected last fall, and the opening of the QLINE, which is funded largely by philanthropic and private money, but which also received millions of dollars in federal, state and local funds, irritated the wounds of the defeat.

More than half a million rides have been taken on the streetcar system since it launched in May, according to Dan Lijana, communications officer for M-1 RAIL. Lijana noted that in August, the QLINE averaged 5,500 rides per day, a jump from 4,000 per day in May — not including opening weekend — when it opened.

But until now, riders didn't have to pay to ride.

Lijana said a dip in ridership is expected but that said it's still too early to tell how big the impact will be.

"I won't get today's data for a couple of days," Lijana said, explaining that he and his team are still debating the right time to assess how the fare will impact ridership. "We're not sure yet."

On Tuesday, however, ridership seemed balanced.

"I don't see much of a difference," said Detroit Police Officer Ken Meeks, who has been assigned to ride the street cars for eight hours, five days a week, since the QLINE opened.

Meeks, who leaned against the side of the car, answering navigation questions for riders, noted that it was fun to see the QLINE "bringing together a lot of people from all over."

This commingling of people has been one of the assets of the QLINE. However, some, like Mitchell, note that real diversity would come from a streetcar that goes beyond Woodward.

"There is no point in having this if it's only for downtown; people from the neighborhoods can't even get down here," said Emanuel Montgomery, a chef at Comerica Park who was sitting at the QLINE stop in front of his workplace, listening to music Tuesday.

Montgomery, who is staying in New Center, said he regularly took the QLINE to work, but he doesn't plan to take it now that it costs money.

"It takes 15-20 minutes to get from here to New Center because of all the stops, versus on the bus, it's only 10 minutes," he said.

He said he plans to start taking the bus again.

Lijana has heard the complaints about the QLINE's limitations before.

"We have talked about this a lot. A frustration with transit in Detroit is understandable. The QLINE specifically has always been a vision of the board as the beginning of regional transit and not the end."

Lijana noted that M-1 RAIL has a three-hour transfer agreement with the Detroit Department of Transportation and SMART, the suburban bus system.

"We are both sympathetic to these sentiments and hopeful that the success of the QLINE can result in greater transit options being available to neighborhoods in Detroit and the metro region."

For tourists Maria Winters and grandson Brendan O'Boyle, the QLINE was the perfect vehicle to tour the city Tuesday.

"I had to find a grandchild to take with me," said Winters, who lives in Canton and had yet to take the QLINE.

The grandmother had three crisp dollars in her hand, ready to pay.

For O'Boyle, who is 25 and lives in San Francisco, Calif., the trip on the QLINE was exciting.

"I've been to all of these other cities in the country, but hadn't really checked out the biggest city in my home state," said O'Boyle, who grew up in Battle Creek.

Not all riders were tourists.

Shariale Reardon, 23, was riding the QLINE on Tuesday afternoon with her 2-year-old, Angel. They were heading to McDonald's; Reardon said the new prices hadn't influenced her decision to ride.

"It's quieter than the city bus and actually comes on time," the mom explained, noting that prior to the QLINE, she probably would have walked to her destination.

While Mitchell was kicked off the QLINE early on his trip, a Free Press reporter was not asked once about whether she had paid. On her car heading south, back to the office, there was no ambassador on board.

The lack of ambassador created a bit of confusion.

TreShawn King, who lives in New Center and works downtown at the Spa the Westin, noted that he hadn't paid yet.

"My thing is, if they're not checking, nobody will pay. I didn't know I had to pay," the 23-year-old said. "It also seems like they only take cards."

What King was referring to was the fact that the pay machine at the stops only take cards and the ones on the cars take only cash. This, however, was not clear.

This lack of an ambassador on board meant that a few stops later, Carmen Hawkins, a frequent rider of the QLINE, got off after only one stop when the cash machine on the train refused to take her dollar bill. There was no one to tell her how to proceed — or even kick her off, for that matter — but she still got off when she couldn't get a ticket.

Lamarr Scott, 66, a parking attendant at the Joe Louis Arena — who will be heading to Little Caesars Arena next month — appreciates the QLINE.

Scott, who lives on the city's west side, says he has taken the QLINE seven or eight times. He takes DDOT downtown for work and then has jumped on the QLINE for errands around the downtown area. On Tuesday, he was heading from Campus Martius to New Center, where he was planning to go to the post office and to buy cigars.

"I love the QLINE. It's faster than the bus and much quieter," the 66-year-old said, noting that it couldn't run for free forever.