DDOT sat for years on millions in ride service funds

Detroit officials sat for years on millions in transportation funds intended for a ride service to help low-income residents get to work.

The Detroit Department of Transportation received a total of $17.4 million in federal and state transportation funds in 2004-12 to start the program, called Job Access and Reverse Commute, that gives cheap door-to-door rides to work for Detroiters who lack cars.

The program has been mentioned as one possible solution to the predicament faced by James Robertson, a 56-year-old Detroit man profiled by the Free Press this week who, due to the region's limited bus service, walks about 21 miles a day in his commute to and from a factory job in Rochester Hills.

But not until last summer — under Mayor Mike Duggan's administration — did DDOT launch the rides program for Detroit residents. Why DDOT didn't set up the program earlier was not immediately clear this week.

The rides are $1.50 each way up to distances of 30 miles, and have given the poor reliable and time-efficient daily commutes in cities across the country.

"In essence the money was sitting there and the city never started the program," said DDOT Director Dan Dirks, who began in early 2014.

Since 2008, the ride service program has been available to low-income residents in Oakland and Macomb counties and areas of Wayne County outside of Detroit. It is coordinated by the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, and is even offered in communities that have opted out of SMART bus service.

Detroit has a history of mismanaging federal funds and then having them revoked. Former Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr had singled out the city's transportation department for not maximizing opportunities to use and obtain grants, which are typically a significant revenue stream for public bus services.

DDOT has gone through multiple management changes and upheavals in recent years. Its management was partially privatized in 2012 by the administration of then-Mayor Dave Bing. A Dallas-based firm called MV Transportation still has a handful of managers in DDOT under its contract.

Dirks became the fourth person in three years to head the department. He is a former general manager of SMART.

Up and running for seven months now, Detroit's Job Access and Reverse Commute program is proving popular. More than 1,660 residents have signed up, with nearly 1,900 trips each week, Dirks said.

To be eligible for the rides, residents must be seeking integration in the workforce through either school or a job. Their income must be under 150% of the poverty level, which maxes out at $17,505 a year for a single person and $23,595 for a family of two. Variations of the program also serve elderly and disabled residents.

Employment agency Detroit Employment Solutions has been using the program to help some of its clients get from home to work.

"There's a huge need," said agency CEO Pamela Moore. "People have been let go by their employer because they can't get to work on time every day relying on public transportation."

The program likely has enough money to keep running for at least four years, Dirks said.

Those interested in the rides can e-mail jarc_nf@detroitmi.gov or call 313-833-1017.

Contact JC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JCReindl.

If you need a ride

Those interested in the rides can e-mail jarc_nf@detroitmi.gov or call 313-833-1017.